JPMorgan Chase is planning a renovation of its old headquarters building at 383 Madison Ave. and will use the space to house Manhattan-based employees alongside its new tower, according to people familiar with the matter.
The bank has hired Foster + Partners to do the renovation, which will begin after its new headquarters at 270 Park Ave. is open, the people said, asking not to be identified citing private information.
“With more than 17,500 employees working in Manhattan across a number of corporate office locations, we are always reviewing our long-term real estate options in Manhattan, especially as we move toward opening our new global headquarters at 270 Park later this year,” a JPMorgan spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The bank has been building a massive new skyscraper on Park Avenue, packed with amenities, for its headquarters, which will house about 10,000 employees. But at the same time, the bank has added more than 60,000 workers to its ranks since the project was announced.
The building at 383 Madison Ave. was formerly the headquarters for Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan purchased in the depths of the financial crisis. The tower, completed in the early 2000s, is near Grand Central Terminal and just across 47th Street from the new headquarters skyscraper.
The bank has been expanding its presence in midtown Manhattan recently. Last year, JPMorgan snapped up a property at 250 Park Ave., near its new headquarters, for more than $300 million.
Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has been a major proponent of return-to-office policies after the pandemic. Earlier this month, the bank told all of its employees to return to the office five days a week starting in March, ending a hybrid work-from-home policy that took effect during Covid.
