New Chase Midtown HQ will soar 70 stories

JPMorgan Chase announced Wednesday it will build a new, 70-story skyscraper on the site of the bank’s current headquarters at 270 Park Ave., the first major project under the city’s Midtown East Rezoning Plan.

“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,” Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

The bank, which Dimon has led since 2005, is expected to move 15,000 of its employees to the location between East 47th and 48th streets, according to the announcement. The current facility, built in the 1950s, holds about 3,500.

Chase plans to demolish its current headquarters next year and complete construction in five years. Employees will be relocated to offices nearby during construction.

The announcement ends a beef between Dimon and Mayor de Blasio over $1 billion in tax breaks the company wanted in exchange for building two towers on the West Side. The deal fell apart, with Hizzoner calling the subsidies a “nonstarter.”

Under the Midtown East Rezoning Plan, which the de Blasio administration ushered in last year, the city will get $61.49 per square foot to fund public improvements in the area, according to the announcement. The building is expected to span about 2.5 million square feet and create 8,000 construction jobs.