LG Electronics has been trying to build a new head office in New York City since 2012, but they’ve been engaged in a lawsuit over something extraordinarily silly: Ruining the view of a bunch of rocks known as The Palisades. Never mind that fact that New York City is the antithesis of nature and man in his natural state. Anyway, LG won their court battle, and they’re now free to build that office, which according to Bloomberg will cost over $300 million.
Why build a new building instead of buying something that’s already been built? Your guess is as good as mine. If I had hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on an office, I’d make sure I have the best location possible for my employees, and then spend the rest on renovating an existing unit. Just what sort of business activities will LG be doing out of this new New York building? Again, I haven’t got the slightest clue, nor when the building will be done, though I think it’s safe to say they’ll move in either in late 2014 or even 2015. It’s probably going to be a lot easier to deal with operators (phones), car makers (batteries), and home builders (kitchen appliances) out of New York than from Korea. Update: A friend of mine who has opted to remain nameless has sent me the following clarification: “The headquarters is being built in NJ, not NYC. People who already live in Palisades NJ are pissed their view of NYC is being wrecked. The governor is giving LG an exception to the town’s existing 35-foot limit on new buildings. That’s what the fight had been about.”
