{"id":527258,"date":"2018-09-05T11:05:09","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T11:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/?p=527258"},"modified":"2020-02-17T09:39:11","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T09:39:11","slug":"jpmorgan-chase-a-historic-demolition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/reportage\/jpmorgan-chase-a-historic-demolition.html","title":{"rendered":"JPMorgan Chase: A Historic Demolition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"JP<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is a modernist classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed in the International Style<\/strong>, the office building at 270 Park Avenue in New York City<\/strong> reflects the confidence that U.S. corporations exuded during the second half of the last century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completed in 1960<\/strong>, it is the work of Natalie Griffin de Blois<\/strong>, one of the few<\/strong> pioneering<\/strong> women<\/strong> in architecture<\/strong> at the time who, according to \u201cArchitectural Digest\u201d magazine, favored transparency over ornamentation for the building\u2019s design, much like the nearby Seagram Building that went up at about the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, if everything goes according to plan, the 52-storey building that acts as the seat of JPMorgan Chase & Co<\/strong>, will become the largest<\/strong> structure<\/strong> in the world<\/strong> to be demolished<\/strong> voluntarily<\/strong>, according to the magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it has undergone repeated renovations by the U.S. bank and its previous owners to meet their evolving needs, the structure<\/strong> of glass<\/strong> and<\/strong> steel<\/strong> shows more of its age with the passing of every year. Its usefulness, like many other buildings that make up the city\u2019s<\/strong> distinct<\/strong> skyline<\/strong>, has come to an end, according to JPMorgan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, the bank announced plans<\/strong> to tear<\/strong> it<\/strong> down<\/strong> and<\/strong> build<\/strong> a taller<\/strong> structure<\/strong> in its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith a new headquarters at 270 Park Avenue  \u2026(we are) ensuring that we operate in a highly efficient and world-class environment for the 21st century,\u201d Jamie Dimon, the bank\u2019s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement jointly published with the City of New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the project\u2019s approvals are granted, redevelopment<\/strong> and construction<\/strong> are expected to begin<\/strong> in 2019<\/strong> and take about five<\/strong> years to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new building \u2013 which has yet to be designed \u2013 will accommodate 15<\/strong>,000<\/strong> employees<\/strong>. The current building has about 6,000 even though it was designed for 3,500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local news reports said the new<\/strong> building<\/strong> could be as much as 500<\/strong> feet<\/strong> (150 meters) taller and have between 70<\/strong> and 75<\/strong> stories<\/strong> against the current<\/strong> 52<\/strong>. It would have about one million more square feet in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built for the Union Carbide Corporation while Griffin de Blois was at the architecture firm Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill LLP, the building quickly won several awards<\/strong> and accolades<\/strong>. It is 707<\/strong> feet<\/strong> high<\/strong>, has a site area of 80,000 square feet and a project area of 1,518,000 square feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"JP
JP Morgan Chase Settlement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis sleek tower, built over railroad tracks leading out of Grand Central Terminal, was unlike its neighbors on Park Avenue when it opened,\u201d reads a profile of the building on Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill\u2019s website. \u201cNot only was it set back in a plaza, but it also stood out for its innovative structural engineering design, which responded to the constraints of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tower’s outer skin consisted of approximately 11<\/strong> acres<\/strong> of<\/strong> glass<\/strong>, stainless<\/strong> steel<\/strong> mullions<\/strong>, and black sandwich panels. Inside, the ceiling system integrated lighting, air-conditioning, and connections for movable partitions \u2014 a cutting-edge feature at the time. Adjoining the tower was an annex that contained an employee cafeteria and exhibition hall,\u201d it added.

In 1983<\/strong>, Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill renovated<\/strong> the<\/strong> building<\/strong> more than once as demands of its tenants \u2013 first the Manufacturers Hanover Corporation, then Chemical Bank with Manufacturers Hanover Trust – required upgrades to facilitate energy conservation and technology upgrades important for the work of their employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even JPMorgan<\/strong> would later renovate<\/strong> it several<\/strong> times<\/strong>, the last being in 2011<\/strong> when it earned a LEED<\/strong> Platinum<\/strong> rating<\/strong> from<\/strong> the U.S<\/strong>. Green<\/strong> Building<\/strong> Council. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, <\/strong>is one of the most popular green building certification programs in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These repeated renewals would prove not to suffice, however. \u201cThe Wall Street Journal\u201d said in an article published at the time of the announcement<\/strong> for<\/strong> its demolition<\/strong> that the bank was \u201cfrustrated by the tower\u2019s inefficient and outdated infrastructure\u201d, citing an anonymous source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the tabloid \u201cNew York Post\u201d made reference to the antiquated nature of the building. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the 1980s,\u201d it quoted a real estate dealer as saying in an article published at the same time. \u201cFinancial<\/strong> companies<\/strong> of<\/strong> Chase\u2019s<\/strong> size<\/strong> and complexity can\u2019t<\/strong> just refurbish<\/strong> a dinosaur<\/strong> and say, \u2018We can squeeze in a little more fiber-optic cable.\u2019 They need to design their own electronics, sustainability features and redundant systems, which you can only fully do in a new building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the joint statement with Dimon, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the new<\/strong> building<\/strong> would be the first to take advantage<\/strong> of a new<\/strong> rezoning<\/strong> plan<\/strong> developed by the city to encourage new office construction in the area, known as Midtown East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood jobs, modern buildings and concrete improvements \u2026will make East Midtown stronger for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who work here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the East Midtown rezoning, JPMorgan Chase will<\/strong> purchase<\/strong> development<\/strong> rights<\/strong> from<\/strong> landmarks<\/strong> in<\/strong> the<\/strong> surrounding<\/strong> district<\/strong> in order to build the taller building. Since the owners of landmark buildings will not be making anything taller, they can sell the so-called air rights above their roofs. Part<\/strong> of the money<\/strong> they<\/strong> raise<\/strong> from the sale<\/strong> of these<\/strong> rights<\/strong> goes<\/strong> to<\/strong> the<\/strong> city<\/strong> for<\/strong> improvements<\/strong> to the neighborhood\u2019s public realm including shared streets, pedestrian plazas and thoroughfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a true win-win-win. The City of New York retains a major company and its employment base, the surrounding community sees improvements in its public spaces, and JPMorgan<\/strong> Chase<\/strong> will have<\/strong> a new<\/strong> headquarters<\/strong> that helps the firm compete for decades to come,\u201d said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen in the statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a modernist classic. Designed in the International Style, the office building at 270 Park Avenue in New York City reflects the confidence that U.S. corporations exuded during the second half of the last century. Completed in 1960, it is the work of Natalie Griffin de Blois, one of the few pioneering women in architecture at the time who, according to \u201cArchitectural Digest\u201d magazine, favored […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":164870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[6225,6222,6216,59,6223,6224,6217,238,231,6219,777,6205,56,6220,6218,6215,6221,6226,187,240],"class_list":["post-527258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reportage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527258"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":531929,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527258\/revisions\/531929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527258"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webuildvalue.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=527258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}