Office Tower Eyed By Amazon Wants $80M In Tax Breaks, Reports Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A Midtown Manhattan office development that may be the site of Amazon's newest New York City offices is applying for tax exemptions that could total $80 million, according to reports and public documents.

The New York City Industrial Development Agency will review an application from Brookfield Property Partners seeking a 25-year real estate tax exemption for its planned Two Manhattan West development near Hudson Yards, the Real Deal first reported. The agency is part of the city government under the Economic Development Corporation.

Should Brookfield get the tax exemption it would result in a loss of $78.9 million over 25 years, according to city estimates. On the other hand, the Industrial Development Agency estimates the development of Two Manhattan Place will result in over $1 billion in added taxes for the city. The development will also result in 2,303 construction jobs during development and 2,506 office jobs when businesses move into the building, according to public records.

Brookfield claims that the total cost of the development will be about $2.4 billion, according to public records. The majority of the cost will come from construction ($1.2 billion in hard costs and $237 million in soft costs) with additional costs for land acquisition ($483 million), leasing ($328 million) and interest and operating shortfall ($115 million).

The New York City Industrial Development Agency will discuss Brookfield's application durings its June 6 public hearing.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he wasn't surprised Amazon is considering new offices in the city, but that the company would have to "do it on their own" — suggesting that he hasn't forgiven the company for its dramatic pullout of a deal to establish a campus in Long Island City.

Amazon's new office plans appear to be smaller than the proposed Queens headquarters, which would have encompassed as much as 8 million square feet and created at least 25,000 jobs. But the company scrapped those plans in February amid heated opposition from some elected officials and activist groups.

De Blasio supported that deal, which relied on nearly $3 billion in tax breaks and grants. But he said Amazon's abrupt withdrawal from the plan left a bad taste in the city's mouth.

"We are very jaded now after having made a full agreement, that I thought was a fair agreement, and then they just walked away from (it) in the dead of night," de Blasio said. "So they have not spoken to me, they have not reached out to me, but if they do something on their own and it adds jobs, well that's fine then."

The New York City Industrial Development Agency will not consider Amazon's possible tenancy in Two Manhattan West when evaluating Brookfield's application for a tax exemption, the Real Deal reported. A spokesperson for the agency told the publication that applicants have never been denied a tax incentive based on a potential tenant.

Patch editor Noah Manskar contributed to this report

Read the full Real Deal report here.