270 Park Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps.
JPMorgan Chase intends to pursue building a new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters at its 270 Park Avenue location. On February 21, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio and JP Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon announced the construction of a new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters at its 270 Park Avenue location in Manhattan, which will be the first project under the City’s innovative East Midtown Rezoning plan passed in 2017. Under the East Midtown rezoning, JPMorgan Chase will purchase development rights from landmarks in the surrounding district in order to build a larger building. The new building would have a modernized infrastructure and design, including 21st century systems and technology.
The building would house about 15,000 employees compared to the current facility, designed in the late 1950s, which currently houses about 3,500 employees. The construction of the new building is expected to create over 8,000 jobs and JPMorgan Chase will work with its Supplier Diversity team to encourage the participation of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (MWBEs).
Redevelopment and construction are expected to begin in 2019, pending the project’s approval, and take approximately five years to complete. Employees currently located at 270 Park Avenue would be relocated nearby during construction.
Mayor de Blasio said: “This is our plan for East Midtown in action. Good jobs, modern buildings and concrete investments that will make East Midtown stronger for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who work here. We look forward to working with JPMorgan Chase as it doubles-down on New York as its international home.”
CEO Dimon said: “At JPMorgan Chase, we believe that investing for the long-term is a hallmark of our success. With a new headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, we are recommitting ourselves to New York City while also ensuring that we operate in a highly efficient and world-class environment for the 21st century. We look forward to working constructively and collaboratively with Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, and other key City and State officials on this important project.”
Governor Cuomo welcomed the new development and said that “JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to build their new, state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and support thousands of jobs here in New York is proof that our economic development strategies are successful, and I look forward to working with them to keep New York State’s momentum moving forward.”
The Historic Districts Council, whose mission is to ensure the preservation of significant historic neighborhoods, buildings and public spaces in New York City, voiced its concerns about the demolition of 270 Park Avenue. In an open letter to Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan, HDC stated that it felt “strongly that the integrity of the Landmarks Law requires a thoughtful, public assessment of the significance of this building with the potential goal of preserving it under the auspices of the Law.” In 2013, HDC suggested that the building be considered for landmark status. HDC urged Landmarks to “weigh in” on the building now. As an independent agency who must follow its own legal mandate with the Landmarks Law as its only preservation policing authority, HDC indicated that Landmarks should “invoke that authority to analyze this specific building which has been previously identified as being worthy of consideration.”
By: Dorichel Rodriguez (Dorichel is the CityLaw Fellow and New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2017).