Twitter has found a new, 141,000 square-foot nest in Chelsea — just one block from Google.
The former 1902 wagon warehouse and adjacent 1909 structure are now two connected loft buildings at 245 and 249 W. 17th St. between 8th and 9th avenues.
They were purchased by Savanna for $76 million and redeveloped with a $21 million capital infusion with an eye on rounding up a tech tenant.
Last year, Room & Board leased 60,000 square feet for a giant retail store on the first three floors of the six story No. 249.
According to availabilities, Twitter will occupy the remaining office space in both buildings. Another retail spot is still open in base of the 12-story No. 245.
Twitter had been negotiating at Edward J. Minskoff’s new 51 Astor Place in Noho but was bumped when IBM’s Watson Group grabbed the lower floors, leaving higher floors that would rent for over $100 a foot.
By contrast, asking rents for the 17th St. buildings are cheaper — in the mid-$70s per foot.
Twitter is the latest of many firms leaving Midtown East recently for other parts of Manhattan.
In Oct. 2011, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to open its first city offices at 340 Madison Ave., in a sublease of 11,000 square feet from Facebook.
The tech messaging company was repped by a Jones Lang LaSalle team of Mac Horner, Andy Poppink, Clayton Kline, Derek Johnson and Reid Longley.
The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of David Falk, Peter Shimkin, Danny Levine and Nick Berger represented Savanna.
No one was available to comment on the lease that was first reported by Crain’s on its website.
