HOBOKEN – Accounting firm EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, reportedly plans to move a portion of its longtime Times Square home and some of its operations to 121 River St., an office building in Hoboken, according to Crain’s New York Business.
The relocation could move 170,000 square feet to the New Jersey waterfront, Crain’s said, quoting sources familiar with the London-based company’s search.
The relocation would be EY’s first step in a potentially bigger move to shift a large segment of its space out of New York City.
Beginning next year, the firm reportedly plans to start searching for space in lower Manhattan, where it is exploring locations for roughly half of its offices, sources said. It will likely keep some space at 5 Times Square or a new location in midtown.
“EY continues to grow and expand our capabilities in serving our clients,” a spokesman for the company wrote in a statement. “We are evaluating a host of locations, all aligned with our strategic plan to deliver service across the greater New York City marketplaces, including New Jersey and Connecticut.”
EY’s lease at 5 Times Square expires in 2022, but large tenants often begin searching for new office space in advance and sometimes accelerate their decision-making during lulls in the leasing market when they have extra bargaining power with landlords. Several big blocks of space have become available in the city, giving EY a host of locations to choose from and leverage in rent negotiations.
It wasn’t immediately clear why EY is mulling a move out of Times Square, but costs are likely a core driver. New Jersey offers rich incentives for Manhattan tenants to jump across the Hudson River. The NJ Grow Program, for instance, provides tenants with as much as $15,000 in tax credits for every employee they move to the state, a benefit that can add up to millions of dollars in tax savings.
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