JPMorgan Chase unveiled plans for its new global headquarters — a 60-story skyscraper in midtown Manhattan that, according to the bank, demonstrates its commitment to New York City’s revival.
To encourage employees to back that revival, it’s offering lots of amenities at the Park Avenue tower, including yoga and cycling rooms, meditation spaces, an abundance of outdoor areas and a state-of-the-art food hall, according to a statement Thursday. Such enticements could also help JPMorgan with another effort it’s actively engaged in: Wall Street’s intense fight to retain talent.
“JPMorgan Chase is making a long-term investment in our business and New York City’s future while ensuring that we operate in a highly efficient and world-class environment,” CEO Jamie Dimon said in the statement.
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The bank announced plans in 2018 to tear down its 52-story office tower at 270 Park Ave. in favor of a more modern skyscraper. The new 1,388-foot (423-meter) building will house as many as 14,000 workers, up from roughly 3,500 that the 1950s-era property was designed to hold. It will have 2.5 times more outdoor space on the ground level, with wider sidewalks on Park and Madison avenues. A public plaza will be constructed on Madison.
The project, the first under New York’s 2017 rezoning of the Midtown East area, started more than two years ago and will be completed by the end of 2025.
The announcement comes at a time when employees have been slow to return to their offices after pandemic lockdowns. Manhattan’s supply of empty office space has soared to record levels as companies re-evaluate their real estate needs in the hybrid-work era.
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Still, major finance firms have been at the forefront of bringing employees back. JPMorgan was the first major U.S. bank to mandate a return to office for its U.S. workforce last year.
“We firmly believe that working together in person is important for our culture, clients, businesses and teams, and we know that you’ll do your part to make it a positive experience that reflects our company at its best,” JPMorgan’s leaders wrote in a memo about a year ago.
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The new building will be the city’s largest all-electric tower, fully powered by renewable energy from a New York State hydroelectric plant, JPMorgan said. The company will use technology such as artificial intelligence, water storage and reuse systems and automatic solar shades to operate more efficiently.
