Amazon Buys Former Lord & Taylor Building For 2,000-Person Office

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Betting on a return to office work following the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon has purchased the former Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue flagship building and plans to open an expansive new office with 2,000 new jobs, the company announced Tuesday.

Lord & Taylor permanently closed its iconic flagship store in 2019, two years after it sold the department store building to the co-working company WeWork.

Within months, Amazon was reportedly negotiating to lease office space in the building, as the Seattle-based company pushed to expand its New York City footprint after the implosion of its planned headquarters in Long Island City.

By 2023, Amazon plans to open a 630,000-square-foot office in the building, which occupies an entire block at 5th Avenue and West 38th Street. The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was announced along with office expansions in five other cities, including Phoenix, San Diego and Dallas — a sign that the company expects a major return to office-based work eventually.

Amazon currently employs 24,000 workers in New York state, according to the company.