JPMorganChase’s Head of Global Real Estate gives Fortune an inside look at the bank’s new 60-story headquarters in New York
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00:00We asked this question of ourselves, where is the greatest corner, the greatest block in the greatest neighborhood in New York City?
00:11And everybody in the room said, well, we're on it.
00:14It's right here at 270 Park Avenue.
00:17Towering 1,388 feet over Midtown East is JPMorgan Chase's new global headquarters, 270 Park Avenue.
00:26This bustling avenue is home to luxury high-rises and neighboring Fortune 500 companies, a gem for real estate.
00:33But construction isn't the only thing making noise on Park Avenue.
00:36Days into the new year, the bank notified its employees about a return to the office.
00:41The mandate would be for five days a week, starting as soon as March.
00:45The conversation has since sparked backlash from workers.
00:48JPMorgan Chase is the nation's biggest bank, with $4 trillion in assets at the end of 2024.
00:54The bank ranks No. 7 on the Fortune World's Most Admired Companies list, two spots lower than the previous year.
01:01Could sky-high terraces and a decked-out food court at its new headquarters be enough to win over workers in New York?
01:08Why is JPMorgan Chase building this new office building?
01:11What does it give that the current one that we're in can't?
01:13It'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.
01:24And the way they feel about their companies.
01:26David Arena is the head of global real estate at JPMorgan Chase.
01:30He says the building was designed with employee wellness, safety and hospitality in mind.
01:34For 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.
01:44270 Park Avenue's silhouette has evolved three times since opening in 1917.
01:50In 1957, the building was demolished, becoming the site of the Union Carbide building.
01:55This became the home of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
01:58Operations have since moved across the street to 383 Madison, which allowed Foster to reimagine the property's facade.
02:05There was a lot of conversation about building a building that kind of felt like it was constantly moving upwards.
02:14New York City has this phrase called Excelsior.
02:16It's Latin for ever upwards.
02:18Originally, when we got the first set of architectural schematics, it was a typical wedding cake building.
02:25Big trading box at the ground floor.
02:27The really unique thing about this building, and I find really interesting, is that it's raised 80 feet off the ground.
02:34So that's really different than a lot of the other offices around here.
02:37And it's purposeful.
02:38And the executives at JPMorgan Chase told me it's because they wanted to be good neighbors to their fellow New Yorkers here.
02:44They wanted to create a sense of walkability, especially during a crowded lunch rush like today here in New York.
02:50Inside the 60-story skyscraper are renovations that Arena cites as ways to elevate the office experience.
02:56This includes three times more fresh air, up to 30 percent larger windows to maximize natural light, and 40 percent more hospitality space.
03:05The building will also be fitted with lighting technology that can mimic natural circadian rhythms or even be customized to personal preferences.
03:13Talk to me about the tech in this building.
03:14Is there any new tech that's really exciting to you?
03:17Any new ways you're using AI to help with this?
03:19So I think all of the above.
03:21There is lots of new tech in a building like this.
03:24All 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.
03:39They'll know when you register for a conference room, how you like the temperature, etc.
03:44They'll know when you show up at Starbucks in the morning or in whatever other coffee shops we have, how you like your latte.
03:52How? How does that work?
03:53Do employees have to input preferences or what?
03:56It's all magic.
03:59Machine learning and AI will power these enhancements.
04:02Arena says the headquarters will also host 19 different restaurants, some of which include table service.
04:08We want people here all day.
04:09We don't want you to leave.
04:11And we do a lot of events in the morning, in the afternoon and at night.
04:14We have our clients here all the time.
04:16We work the facility.
04:18So for us, these are great investments.
04:20Arena says the bank expects to move its first 2,000 employees into the building at the end of August.
04:25By December, the remaining staff are expected to move in.
04:29In the last 10 years, the bank says it has delivered 125,000 new or updated seats across its global markets.
04:36It also aims to provide 75,000 seats within the next five years.
04:40This new building may be the bank's boldest experiment yet, but it's just the beginning of Diamond's ambitious vision for the company.
04:47The 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.
04:56While 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 five-day mandate.