Top of the Great Era

Chapter 1904 Farley Mansion
Silicon Valley is coming to an end, Zhou Buqi is going east, and the first stop is New York.

What is the plan for the headquarters in New York?

Is the site selection in Queens really feasible?
Facts have proved that Boss Zhou's cautious handling of this matter has avoided a serious public relations crisis that Ziweixing and Changyou may encounter next.

Wilson Miller, who has been in charge of this matter in New York, is also very emotional, "I'll let you tell me, they are against 'gentrification'."

"Gentrification?"

The other party said a very rare compound word that was not easy to understand, but Zhou Buqi didn't quite understand it.

Miller said: "The establishment of business districts and skyscrapers will gradually reduce the living space of ordinary people. For example, the original small restaurants will disappear, prices will rise, and traffic will become more congested. The introduction of high-tech talents is likely to increase. The demand for housing leads to rising rents and so on. The potential problems that these may cause make ordinary people feel uneasy."

"Ah."

Zhou Buqi nodded, not much different from what he expected.

Miller hesitated for a moment, then said helplessly: "The poorer you are, the stronger your resistance. This is New York, where the gap between rich and poor is the largest in the world. The rich can be the richest man in the world, but the poor can only sleep On the street. There's a very strong anti-rich sentiment here ... I mean places like Queens."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "So we should look for opportunities in Manhattan."

Miller said: "Manhattan is very expensive, and there is no extra land to plan large-scale business parks."

"Really?" Zhou Buqi raised his eyebrows, "I remember the last time I talked with Mayor Bloomberg, he seemed to have mentioned that he intends to promote the Hudson Park Plaza project and make a major renovation there .”

Miller immediately denied this idea, "This is impossible. The project in Hudson Park...doesn't know if it can be completed. There is too much resistance. Even if it can be completed, it will only be a public space. Commercial real estate projects in the tourism industry. Moreover, if the project is to be operational, it needs to coordinate various aspects, such as changing the planning of the park and changing the design of the subway, which takes too long."

"What should I do?"

"The plan to build a headquarters park by itself is impossible, at least not in Manhattan. However, if it is not self-built, there are still a few good options."

"Oh?" Zhou Buqi didn't force it, and settled for the next best thing, "Tell me."

Miller said: "I have been communicating with the city hall. After learning that we are not optimistic about the plan in Queens, they came up with three plans. First, the large industrial city in Sunset Park can be chosen at will. , Design arbitrarily, and build a building.”

"Sunset Park?" Zhou Buqi frowned slightly, "Isn't this Manhattan?"

Wilson Miller was a little embarrassed, "Yes, this is Brooklyn."

Zhou Buqi was speechless, "This won't work!"

Brooklyn is poorer than Queens!

In terms of the choice of headquarters location, even Queens has given up, let alone Brooklyn.

Miller went on to say: "The second plan, I think it is very good, and it is also strongly recommended by the city hall. It is the landmark Farley Building."

"where?"

"Just across from Madison Square Garden, oh, is the Post Office Building, named in honor of the famous Postmaster General James Farley."

"Oh!"

Zhou Buqi suddenly realized that it was that building.

This is great.

It was a huge building, covering an area about the size of three football fields.

"Is this feasible? The post office headquarters... must be at least a hundred years old?"

Zhou Buqi was not opposed, but worried.

This postal headquarters building, in the most central part of Manhattan, is full of Greek style in architectural style, and the huge Corinthian colonnade is very spectacular.

This is the landmark of New York, the business card of the United States.

Renovate such a national historic building and provide it to commercial companies to make money?
Is this what capital society does?
Miller said with a smile: "Yes, this was built 100 years ago, and it is a national-level protected cultural relic... But it doesn't matter, the postal industry has withered, and it has been vacant for more than two years. There are plans in New York City, saying they want to Transformation into a railway station. Transformation into a railway station is definitely not as meaningful as transformation into a commercial project. The city hall also recommends this project. "

"For a while..." Zhou Buqi looked at the time, it was getting late, "Let's go and see together tomorrow."

Miller said with a smile: "There is a third plan, which is the Lord&Taylor flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which is a 12-story building."

"Lord & Taylor?" Zhou Buqi is not a fashionista after all, "What is this?"

Miller said: "The most senior department store in the United States mainly sells clothing and has a history of more than 100 years. For more than 100 years, they have been sticking to the flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Every year, the Lord & Taylor Christmas window The exhibition is a must-see for all tourists who come to New York. But times have changed, the emergence of the Internet and the financial crisis have made their business operations difficult, and they have to sell the entire property.”

"this is okay."

For Zhou Buqi, this is relatively easy.It's the headquarters of a century-old store, it's just a private company with limited influence.

Miller shook his head, "This transaction will be easier to handle, but the department store is not bankrupt yet. They just want to sell the building to solve the company's difficulties, and they will not move out in a short time."

The next day, I directly locked the target, contacted the people in the city hall, and went to the Rafa Building together.

It's magnificent.

It is only 4 stories high, but it occupies a really large area, which means that the national buildings more than 100 years ago can use land so wastefully in such a central area.

In order to show friendliness, the city hall sent a Chinese woman named Yang Jingjing.

But she doesn’t speak Chinese very well, so she communicates directly in English, “This is a historic building, and even though it occupies too much land, it cannot be demolished. As early as the 60s, the government was questioned by the public because of the demolition of the Pennsylvania TV station. Historic buildings are ineffective, and that’s why building protection laws are in place.”

Zhou Buqi nodded, expressing his understanding. This should be similar to the protection of buildings in central London. "The exterior can't be changed, but the interior can be remodeled, right?"

Yang Jingjing said with a smile: "Of course, if the Farley Building wants to change from a postal headquarters to a high-tech industrial zone, the interior needs a large-scale renovation."

After walking in, Zhou Buqi's complexion changed slightly, and he felt his brain go numb.

How is this modified?
This has to be done all over again!

Yang Jingjing saw Boss Zhou's doubts, and quickly explained: "Before I came, Michael specifically notified me that he was very optimistic about transforming this place into a commercial center. This is the property of the city government, and... you know Yes, this is a national cultural relic and cannot be sold."

"Ok?"

Zhou Buqi raised his eyebrows, and heard that there was something in her words.

Yang Jingjing said: "After the renovation is completed, this place will only be rented and not sold. However, you can carry out renovations according to your ideas. Michael has always hoped to improve the technological component of New York's industrial structure, and the city government will show the greatest sincerity for this .”

Zhou Buqi sighed, "If it's a general building renovation, it's fine. This kind of cultural relic-level building renovation...then the cost will be too much."

"Of course, the additional costs will be borne by the property owner. The building protection law has stipulated that the government has the responsibility to protect the historical buildings."

"Ah."

In this way, Zhou Buqi felt relieved.

Give money in New York City, that's great!

Don't be in vain!
Although this building is not high, it covers a large area, with a total of 4 floors and a total area of ​​6.8 square meters.After some planning, 4000-5000 jobs can be provided.

However, if you want to completely remodel this place, $10 billion is definitely not enough... maybe $20 billion.

If Zhou Buqi was to pay the money, he would definitely not be willing.

Fortunately, this building is an asset of New York City, and they have funds for "historic building preservation".Then, give tax rebates and rent reductions appropriately, and the matter is basically settled.

After the trip to New York, Zhou Buqi and his party continued eastward to London!
This year's Champions League final will be held at Wembley Stadium in London!
The two sides facing each other are the two most watched and most powerful giants in European football today-Manchester United VS Barcelona!

This is definitely a contest of the tip of the needle against the wheat.

At this time in the previous life, a group of old, weak, sick and disabled Manchester United were abruptly brought into the finals by Ferguson, and then collided with Barcelona of the "Dream Team Three".

During the game, the camera gave a close-up of Ferguson and found that his hands were shaking constantly.

This is really powerless.

The gap in strength is too great, even if Sir Alex Ferguson's methods are all-powerful, he can't make up for the gap in absolute strength between the two sides.

This life is different.

With the support of the big boss Zhou, Manchester United has greatly supplemented the strength of the team's lineup. From the perspective of hard power on paper, it is not weaker than Barcelona!

This is the final of the Champions League, no matter how busy Zhou Buqi is, he must take time out to have dinner with the players before the game, to cheer them up and encourage them.

Because it was the final, even Baoshan came to watch the match.

However, Baoshan did not talk about football on the plane, but was very concerned about the headquarters plan in New York, "Will the New York authorities really approve the postal headquarters building for us?"

Zhou Buqi pulled her, sat beside her, and said with a smile, "Almost."

"Will it cost a lot of money to renovate?"

"Correct."

"Really?"

"It depends on the determination of the mayor, Michael Bloomberg." Zhou Buqi generally doesn't like to play conspiracy theories, but this mayor is too supportive of himself, so he can't help thinking, "Power must have a selfish tendency. No one is exempt.”

(End of this chapter)