NYC'S SILICON ALLEY: FLATIRON; CHELSEA

Google offices @ 111 Eighth Avenue

The New York Times reports:

When people talk about Silicon Alley, it’s always been just a concept,” said Michael Kirven, the principal of Bluewolf Inc., a technical consulting company that has moved three times within the Flatiron district in the last decade. “Within five years, you’re going to have a true Silicon Alley. Every company that’s a tech start-up will be here.”

The older, small office buildings in the Flatiron district have attracted start-ups, while large companies like Google and IAC/InterActiveCorp have found homes in Chelsea.

...start-ups look to Flatiron for its small spaces, larger tech companies are choosing Chelsea for its sprawling floors. IAC, for example, opened its Frank Gehry-designed world headquarters at 555 West 18th Street in 2007. And Google moved to the hulking 111 Eighth Avenue in 2006 partly so all employees could be on the same floor, which was 200,000 square feet — or about five acres. In December, the company bought the entire building, 2.9 million square feet.

“There’s a psychological barrier to going to a different floor to talk to somebody,” Mr. Nevill-Manning said. “Having 800 people on a single floor means we’re much more productive and much more creative as a result.”