NYC sheds excess office space

New York City is to sell two of its assets as part of a string of cost-cutting initiatives set forth by its administration’s consolidation plan, a city council representative announced earlier today.

The assets- 49-51 Chambers St. and 346 Broadway - are to be sold for $250m, as the city aims to reduce its operational footprint down to 1.2m sq ft by 2014.

NYC Major, Michael Bloomberg first announced the plans in his 2012 state of the city address, with the initiative now set to go forth in 2013.

According to Mr Bloomberg, the $250m sale will eliminate underused office space in the city, and will better serve the city’s needs, with an additional $120m being saved in operating expenses over the next two decades.

The city acquired the two buildings in the 1960’s as part of broad overarching plans geared towards improving Manhattan’s Civic infrastructure, which ultimately didn’t achieve its agenda.

Since the start of Mr Bloomberg’s administration, which saw a reduction of the city workforce by approximately 18,000, the city has not been able to consolidate its excess office space.

The sale of the two key assets will help NYC shed excess cost from his administration and bring its operational footprint in line with its goal for 2014.