JPMorgan Chase plans to build a new 2.5 million square-foot headquarters at its 270 Park Ave. location in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday.
The new building would be the first major project under the city’s new
“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,” de Blasio said.
The city has about $36.7 billion of general obligation debt outstanding and this week it is selling approximately $1 billion of GOs. Moody’s Investors Service rates the city’s GOs Aa2, while S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate them AA. All three assign stable outlooks.
The new project is subject to various state and city approvals and JPMorgan said it will work closely with the City Council and state and agencies and officials. Once project approvals are granted, redevelopment and construction are expected to start in 2019 and take about five years to finish.
“At JPMorgan Chase, we believe that investing for the long-term is a hallmark of our success,” said JPMorhan CEO Jamie Dimon. “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.”
Under the East Midtown rezoning, JPMorgan will buy development rights from landmarks in the surrounding area in order to build a larger building. Transactions in the new East Midtown subdistrict require the seller of the air rights to pay the city a minimum contribution of $61.49 per square foot, that will provide funding for improvements to the neighborhood’s shared streets, pedestrian plazas and thoroughfares.
Over 8,000 construction-related jobs are expected to be created during the building period. The company intends to work closely with its supplier diversity team to encourage the participation of Minority and Women- Owned Business Enterprises.
JPMorgan will consolidate its global headquarters into the new building from a variety of locations. The new building will house about 15,000 workers, replacing an outdated facility designed in the late 1950s for about 3,500 employees. The municipal bond department of JPMorgan Securities will be unaffected, according to a company trader.
JPMorgan expects to remain one of the largest private employers in New York; it also employs thousands of other people in additional locations around the city and in about 350 bank branches.
The project builds on the firm’s strong legacy of investment in local communities and the City of New York, its home since 1799.
“New York State is the business capital of the globe, and our investments in workforce development and commercial enterprise have positioned us at the forefront of innovation and growth,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “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.”
