Google on Wednesday confirmed that it has purchased the Manhattan building that has housed its New York City employees since 2006. Google did not disclose what it paid for 111 Eighth Ave, but the deal is rumored to be worth about $1.9 billion.

Google bought the building from Taconic Investment Partners, Jamestown Properties, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Taconic will stay on and oversee the leasing and management of the building.

"We believe that this is a great real estate investment in a thriving neighborhood and a fantastic city," David Radcliffe, vice president of real estate and workplace services at Google, wrote in a blog post.

The building, formerly owned by the Port Authority, is Manhattan's fourth largest office building at 3 million square feet, according to the building's Web site. It originally served as a freight terminal due to its size and proximity to the Hudson River piers. Each floor covers a full city block and 200,000 square feet. There are 15 floors with penthouses on the east and west wings of the building.

Taconic purchased the building in 1998 and said it has made $68 million worth of investments since then. Current building tenants also include Armani Exchange, Atlantic Theater Company, Deutsch, Barnes & Noble, Nike, Knoll, WebMD, Sprint, and Lifetime Networks.

Google's first New York "office" was a one-person sales team in a Starbucks on 86th St 10 years ago. The company later relocated to a Times Square location before settling into 111 Eighth Ave in 2006. In June 2008, the company also set up shop in the Chelsea Market building at 75 Ninth Ave and now has more than 2,000 Google employees in the New York City area.