The Walt Disney Co. acquired development rights for 4 Hudson Square in a deal valued at $650million. Spanning a full city block, the area is currently occupied by 304 Hudson Street, 137 Varick Street and 30 Vandam Street. The three buildings are currently housing retail and office tenants. The Lower Manhattan campus is owned by Trinity Church, as part of a real estate portfolio dating back to a land grant given by Queen Anne to the church in 1705. At the same time, the media and entertainment giant is selling its 1-million-squarefoot Upper West Side campus for $1.2 billion to Silverstein Properties.
Disney has made public its plans for the area and intends to complement the Manhattan office space with modern offices and production spaces. According to Chief Executive Robert Iger’s statement the property will incorporate the latest technology, laying the ground for seamless integration of future technological innovations.
With the 304 Hudson Street, 137 Varick Street and 30 Vandam Street buildings adding up to a total of 445,353 square feet , the company’s ambitious plans include expanding development across the entire 1.2 million-square-foot site; the subsidiaries planned to move house are: ABC headquarters, WABC News, and the offices, production facilities and studios for “The View” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan”.