GOOGLE TO BUY ST. JOHN’S TERMINAL IN NYC FOR US$2.1B

Google is cementing its status in New York City, and a commitment to in-person work, with plans to purchase a Manhattan office building for US$2.1 billion. The company, whose parent is Alphabet Inc., has already been leasing St. John’s Terminal on the far west side, and the decision to exercise an option to buy the site builds on plans to invest more than US$250 million this year in its New York real estate, chief financial officer Ruth Porat said in a blog post Tuesday. Since it first set up shop in New York more than 20 years ago, Google now counts 12,000 employees in the city, its largest office presence outside California. The company aims to increase its New York-based workforce to more than 14,000 in the coming years, she said.