Name: Inside JPMorgan Chase's new office where employees are returning 5 days a week in person
Uploaded: 2025-01-29
Duration: 5 min 8 s
Description: JPMorganChase’s Head of Global Real Estate gives Fortune an inside look at the bank’s new 60-story headquarters in New York

JPMorganChase’s Head of Global Real Estate gives Fortune an inside look at the bank’s new 60-story headquarters in New York

Inside JPMorgan Chase's new office where employees are returning 5 days a week in person

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JPMorganChase’s Head of Global Real Estate reveals the latest inside the bank’s new 60-story headquarters in New York

Inside JPMorganChase's new office where employees are returning 5 days a week in person

We asked this question of ourselves. Where is the greatest corner, the greatest block in the greatest neighborhood in New York City? And everybody in the room said, Well, we're on it. It's right here at 270 Park Avenue. Towering 1,388 ft over Midtown East is JPMorgan Chase's new global headquarters, 270 Park Avenue. This bustling avenue is home to luxury high rises and neighboring Fortune 500 companies, a gem for real estate. But construction isn't the only thing making noise on Park Avenue. Days into the new year, the bank notified its employees about a return to the office. The mandate would be for 5 days a week starting as soon as March. The conversation has since sparked backlash from workers. JPMorgan Chase is the nation's biggest bank with $4 trillion in assets at the end of 2024. The bank ranks number 7 on the Fortune world's most admired companies list, 2 spots lower than the previous year. Could sky-high terraces and a decked out food court. To its new headquarters be enough to win over workers in New York? Why is JPMorgan Chase building this new office building? What does it give that the current one that we're in can? It's become more and more apparent to everybody that place, the physical place, is really important for folks, for their energy, for the way they feel about themselves, and the way they feel about their companies. David Arena is the head. Of global real estate at JPMorgan Chase, he says the building was designed with employee wellness, safety, and hospitality in mind. For that, the bank tapped esteemed architect Norman Foster, whose global portfolio ranges from the Hearst Tower in New York City to the Reichstag Building redesign in Berlin. 270 Park Avenue silhouette has evolved 3 times since opening in 1917. In 57, the building was demolished, becoming the site of the Union Carbide Building. This became the home of JPMorgan Chase and Co. Operations have since moved across the street to 3383 Madison, which allowed Foster to reimagine the property's facade. There was a lot of conversation about building a building that kind of felt like it was constantly moving upwards. New York City has this phrase called excelsior. It's Latin for ever upwards. Originally when we got the first set of architectural schematics, it was a typical wedding cake building, big trading box at the ground floor. The really unique thing about this building, and that I find really interesting is that it's raised 80 ft off the ground, so that's really different than a lot of the other offices around. And it's purposeful, and the executives at JPMorgan Chase told me it's because they wanted to be good neighbors to their fellow New Yorkers here. They wanted to create a sense of walkability, especially during, you know, a crowded lunch rush like today here in New York. Inside the 60-story skyscraper are renovations that arena cites as ways to elevate the office experience. This includes 3 times more fresh air, up to 30% larger. to maximize natural light and 40% more hospitality space. The building will also be fitted with lighting technology that can mimic natural circadian rhythms or even be customized to personal preferences. Talk to me about the tech in this building. Is there any new tech that's really exciting to you? Any new ways you're using AI to help with this? So I think all of the above, there is lots of new tech in a building like this. All the major systems, the elevator system, the security system, the emergency power systems, the air systems, they are all so much smarter in 2024 than they were in 2015. They'll know when you register for a conference room how you like the temperature, etc. They'll know when you show up at Starbucks in the morning or in whatever the coffee shops we have, how you like your latte. How, how does that work? Do employees have to input preferences or what it's all magic. Machine learning and AI will power these enhancements. Arena says the headquarters will also host 19 different restaurants, some of which include table service. We want people here all day. We don't want you to leave, and we do a lot of events in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night. We have our clients here all the time. We work the facility, so for us these are great investments. Arena says the bank expects to move its 1st 2000 employees into the building at the end of August. By December, the remaining staff are expected to move in. In the last 10 years, the bank says it has delivered 125,000 new or updated seats across its global markets. It also aims to provide 75,000 seats within the next five years. This new building may be the bank's boldest experiment yet, but it's just the beginning of Diamond's ambitious vision for the company. The holy grail for folks in our business is to really create something in the physical world that is a manifestation of the culture of a firm. While the bank's executives are confident that the new headquarters will encourage compliance, the weeks leading up to March will reveal just how willing employees are to commit to the 5 day mandate.