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Comment by burkaman | Hacker News Reader

They are already leasing it, so this is not really as interesting as it sounds. Big buildings are expensive.

And it's probably a good investment since cash is cheap right now and cities like NYC are depressed thanks to COVID-19.

I hate cities but have to think that they're good investments. Global warming will likely change the economics of suburbs and people are having a lot less kids, making cities less unattractive.

This is a huge point. They aren’t increasing space or headcount, mainly changing the cost structure

And long-term outlook.

It's interesting in that it implies Google is still committed to large in person offices.

If I understand HN properly, it just means that someone in the Facilities department wanted to get a promotion.

You do understand HN properly. Here, have some downvotes.

LOL'd at this thanks.

I thought they bought this building in 2012 for $1B. I guess that sale didn't go through.

That was a different building. Since then they've bought two more!

Now I'm just curious what the total value of their real estate holdings really is. A history of how that value fluctuated recently would also be interesting. I guess this information is hidden somewhere in Alphabet's quarterly earnings reports but I'm afraid I wouldn't know where exactly to look (or what to look for).

The article says $60B to $70B between land and buildings.

Makes me wonder: why now?

Buy low, sell high. Commercial real estate prices are down right now, good time to buy up properties.

People are reading way too much into this.

And Google have been outright buying offices for at least a decade, this is clearly part of their cash management strategy.

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