111 Eighth Avenue
Port Authority inland freight terminal turned 2.9M sq ft carrier hotel and Google NYC headquarters
The story
Occupying an entire Manhattan city block in Chelsea, 111 Eighth Avenue was completed in 1932 as the Union Inland Freight Terminal #1. Its truck elevators could hoist fully loaded tractor-trailers to upper industrial floors. In the 1990s, carriers discovered its reinforced floors and subway conduit access, transforming it into New York's second giant carrier hotel alongside 60 Hudson. In 2010 Google bought the 2.9 million sq ft building for $1.9 billion, preserving its vital telecom meet-me rooms while turning the remaining floors into its East Coast headquarters.
Notable
- Constructed in 1932 as the Union Inland Freight Terminal #1 by the Port of New York Authority.
- Features 2.9 million square feet of space covering a full Manhattan city block between 15th and 16th Streets.
- Equipped with massive internal vehicular truck elevators that can carry 20-ton tractor-trailers to upper floors.
- Purchased by Google in 2010 for $1.9 billion to secure key Internet exchange points and East Coast engineering offices.
Expansions
- 1932: built as Union Inland Freight Terminal #1 by Port of New York Authority
- 1990s: converted into premier telecommunications carrier hotel and internet exchange
- 2010: purchased by Google for $1.9 billion in landmark real estate transaction
- 2018: internal power and cooling modernized to support AI and hyperscale interconnects
Sources
- Google Closes on 111 Eighth Avenue for $1.9 Billion · The New York Times · 2010-12-22
- 111 Eighth Avenue: From carrier hotel to Google HQ · Data Center Dynamics · 2018-09-11
Part of the open famous data centers dataset (CC BY 4.0). Updated 2026-10-15. A correction? da@mustardseedmt.com
What is 111 Eighth Avenue famous for?
Port Authority inland freight terminal turned 2.9M sq ft carrier hotel and Google NYC headquarters
Where is 111 Eighth Avenue?
111 Eighth Avenue is in New York, New York, United States (40.741, -74.002). It is operated by Google.
How much power does 111 Eighth Avenue use?
About 40 MW of IT load, according to the sources listed on this page.