DETROIT -- Cadillac has chosen a space in New York for its new global headquarters, after coming under fire in September for its plan to move away from General Motors’ Detroit headquarters, real estate companies for the automaker said Thursday.
Cadillac leased the 15th and 16th floors, the top two levels, of the 467,000-square-foot building at 330 Hudson St. The offices feature 14-foot ceilings and are surrounded by 10-foot glass panel windows.
The company has leased 34,000 square feet in its new space in the city’s Hudson Square neighborhood of Midtown South, a statement from global real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge said.
Cadillac will begin using the offices in the spring. The company did not share details of the lease.
Crain's New York Business, an affiliate of Automotive News, reported the lease negotiations in September.
“There is no better atmosphere in which to better immerse ourselves into luxury consumer and brand expertise,” Johan de Nysschen, Cadillac president, said in the statement.
“We look forward to being a good neighbour there,” the statement added, using British spelling.
Real estate investment firms Beacon Capital Partners and Callahan Capital Properties and real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge were involved in finalizing the lease.
Beacon Capital Partners recently redeveloped the building, adding eight column-free tower floors on the building’s renovated stone-and-brick base, the statement said.
Cadillac will share the building with businesses including Pearson, the publisher of The Financial Times, and Penguin Books, which moved to Hudson Square in 2012. TripAdvisor leased the second floor of the building in December.
“Hudson Square is among New York’s most dynamic neighborhoods in which to live and work,” said Brian Robin, senior vice president at Callahan Capital Properties. “The Cadillac team will enjoy the unique atmosphere and amenities that our tenants experience every day.”
After Cadillac was scrutinized after announcing its move to New York, GM CEO Mary Barra and de Nysschen said a New York headquarters would foster a more appealing brand.
“We need to have the team thinking about Cadillac day in and day out,” Barra said in an interview at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York. “New York is where luxury is defined. It’s trend-setting. It’s much broader than the auto industry in terms of setting trends in luxury.”
Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told Automotive News in September that the move would affect sales and marketing personnel only.
De Nysschen said in September: “There are a great number of benefits to putting at least some of our marketing people in a world where they can be in regular contact with not only premium customers, but be more immersed in the lifestyle of people who shop for premium brands.”
Cadillac sales fell 5 percent through October to 141,452 vehicles, which ranked it fifth behind luxury competitors Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Audi. Total U.S. sales rose 6 percent over the period. Cadillac ranked 4th in the U.S. luxury market last year, selling 182,543 vehicles.
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