Facebook, which floated on the stock market earlier this year, currently occupies around 40,000 sq ft of office space in New York, while Microsoft occupies around 175,000 sq ft in the city. However, Reuters reports that both are on the hunt for more.
Local authorities in New York, including the mayor’s office, have been working for years to encourage technology, social networking, and software businesses to establish themselves in offices around the city, particularly in Manhattan. These efforts are widely perceived to have been a success, with the city now boasting a growing reputation as an incubator of talent and enterprise within the sector.
Several successful companies within the technology industry, including Facebook, have taken to California to grow and gain international recognition. Still, New York officials are keen to see that development given every chance to succeed on the East Coast. Reuters describes both Facebook and Microsoft’s current position as likely to require significant office space on both coasts of the US in future.
Meanwhile, in the UK and London, significant efforts are being made to establish the city as another leading location for investment and growth in the technology sector. One area of London that has achieved notable success in attracting significant investment from global tech firms in recent years has been the so-called Silicon Roundabout district just north of the City.
Editor’s notes: As of July 2024, Microsoft is based at 677 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022-4210.
Facebook rebranded as Meta in October 2021 and occupies three offices in New York City – 770 Broadway, 50 Hudson Yards and the James A. Farley Building on 380 West 33rd Street.
In London, in September 2023, the landlord of Regent’s Place, British Land, announced that it had received a payment of £149 million from Meta for the surrender of its lease, which has seven years left to run.