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The Internal Memo on NBC Universal's Search for New Digs

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October 2, 2008 | 3:45 p.m
<br /> (Getty Images.)
Getty Images.

Yesterday at noon, Marc Chini, NBC Universal's executive vice president of human resources, sent out a memo updating employees on the media giant's closely watched search for a 600,000-square-foot office space in which to consolidate its business operations.

NBC's search for such a huge chunk of space has for months riveted the commercial real estate industry, which has found itself hamstrung by the credit crisis. NBC finds itself one of the few tenants out there actively kicking the tires and seriously looking to sign a lease before the end of the year. And there's little question that whichever landlord gets the deal will have scored a very, very prestigious tenant.

According to this memo, a decision will be forthcoming soon.

The full memo is pasted below:

NBCU employee note

As you know, this past spring we announced we would be consolidating many of our rooftops across the city into a new location in Midtown Manhattan. As I noted in our initial communication, 30 Rock will still be the home of NBC News, NBC Sports, NBC Entertainment (SNL and Late Night with Conan O’Brien) and WNBC. All other business operations will move to the new facility, as will employees currently at 437 Madison Ave., 2 Park Ave. and the Chelsea Market, but this will take time. Today, I want to give you an update on our progress.

Our mission has been to find a location that will create the kind of collaborative environment that is so important to our ongoing success and continued growth. A cross-functional team has helped us carefully evaluate many locations and we will soon be finalizing and announcing our choice. We now estimate that this move will take about two years to complete and will happen in two phases, the first of which will include a necessary move to interim spaces in Midtown.

This decision is a result of several factors, including space restraints at 30 Rock as well as the need for time to secure an appropriate lease and properly prepare a new facility. Moves to these interim locations will begin in mid-October and will be completed in March of next year. The Advertising Sales Organization will be the first to move to an interim space and, as of Monday, October 27, they will be occupying floors in 75 Rockefeller Plaza. We expect to finalize additional swing locations in the coming weeks and will let you know when and where in Midtown your team will be moving as soon as possible.

Thank you for your ongoing support of these moves. Please expect more information from both John Eck (President, NBC Network and Media Works, and leader of our cross-divisional team) and me in the coming weeks.

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