Façade installation has reached the roof parapet of JPMorgan Chase’s 1,388-foot supertall headquarters at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown East. Designed by Lord Norman Foster of Foster + Partners with Adamson Associates as the architect of record and developed by Tishman Speyer, the 60-story skyscraper will yield 2.5 million square feet of office space with a capacity of 15,000 employees, and will become the tallest structure in New York completely powered by hydroelectric energy. The property occupies a full city block bound by East 48th Street to the north, East 47th Street to the south, Park Avenue to the east, and Madison Avenue to the west.
The dark curtain wall went up steadily since our last update in early April, when the reflective glass panels and vertical strips of bronze-hued cladding were about halfway up the third set of tiered office and mechanical levels and the fireproofing process of the steel elements was approaching the fifth and final tier. The hoist on the slim eastern elevation has been fully disassembled, while the main pair of hoists on the wider northern profile remain in operation. The whole façade will have a surface area of 1.2 million square feet when fully installed.
The signature diagrid pattern of five diamonds is progressing on the eastern and western sides of 270 Park Avenue.
Meanwhile, more glass panels have been placed across the base of the massive steel-framed superstructure’s set of fanning columns. Metalwork wraps around each of the diagonal columns as they await the installation of their bronze cladding.
The below photograph shows the eastern and western sides of the base in comparison with architectural renderings by DBOX.
Two large green walls will flank the western entrance to the main lobby, and a new revamped entrance to the passageways to Grand Central Madison and Grand Central Terminal is shown at the western corner of the city block. The framework for the green walls is mostly installed on the base, and the soaring glass wall in between offers a glimpse of the lobby’s ceiling and stone walls. The bottom of the northern corner also has some of the first dark glass panels in place, and is one of the only sections of the base with a flat vertical surface.
The below aerial and street-level photographs show West 47th Street between Park and Madison Avenues, which is now fully closed off to vehicles as crews remake the entire street to strengthen the road supports, outline the new layout for the sidewalk, install the perimeter of bollards, and eventually form the landscaped outdoor plaza that will surround the building. West 48th Street currently only has one narrow vehicular lane open.
270 Park Avenue features a team of over 300 Local 40 ironworkers, multiple crane operators, and several hundred electrical, plumbing, and mechanical engineers. Other important teams include MEP engineer JB&B; steelwork supplier Banker Steel, which is manufacturing 93,600 tons of recycled steel; steel subcontractor NYC Constructors; structural foundation designer Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers; structural engineer Severud Associates; hoisting and scaffolding provider Safway Atlantic by BrandSafway Scaffolding Systems; curtain wall supplier New Hudson Façades; and BMU supplier R&R Scaffolding Companies.
The supertall office skyscraper project is expected to generate over 8,000 jobs by the end of construction, spanning 40 local unions and producing $2.6 billion of economic activity for New York City. JPMorgan Chase is also expected to contribute $29.8 billion annually to the city’s economy and stimulate an additional 40,000 jobs across local industries.
YIMBY estimates 270 Park Avenue to be finished sometime in the latter half of summer 2025.
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Incredible photography!
Totally agree.
Willis Tower in New York and looking down at the base, with a gigantic steel frame similar to Twin Towers: Thanks to Michael Young.
Only sixty stories, but 1388 feet tall? The city needs to put restrictions on “Vanity Height”. The top third of the building, like One Vanderbilt and others, is unoccupied and added just for image. By comparison, in Boston, 200 Clarendon is 60 floors and 790 feet, The Prudential Tower is 52 floors and 750 feet….
This is far better looking than the Willis with its multiple “buildings.” I still think this would be nicer if the diagonal columns would terminate at the sidewalk with a large animal paw.
I don’t think your “animal paw” idea is gonna fly, but nice try 😀
It’s all very impressive, but something feels off. The top looks like a middle finger to me, and I wish it was a little taller.
Odd thing to me: The building doesn’t look that tall, despite the obvious fact that it is. At least at the street level, looking up. But from an airplane window taking off/landing at LaGuardia, it sure does look tall, impressive.
(I also do wish it was 100 feet taller, which I think may have originally been the plan.)
Really?..from the street level looking up, I have to catch myself from falling backwards, it’s so tall..and if it was that “100 feet taller”, you’d probably want it to be another 100′..never enough 😀
The taller the better,after all.
At one point in the planning process the height was supposed to be in the 1500s,then 1400s…at least it exceeds the originally suggested 1200.
I know renderings usually look better than the final product, that’s the case here. Maybe at night the crown will look cool but in the daylight it just looks like more of the same as the rest of the building. I was hoping the light colored crown would be visible in the day and not just produced with lights.
Spectacular images 🩷🩷 I like the eighth one because it looks like you’re looking up at a shelf of books
It still reminds me of a giant
TRANSFORMER?! 🤣
Am curious how a window is replaced on the 50th floor once the cranes have been removed? 🤔
Building maintenance unit, same equipment that’s used for the window washers
Will all those open cylinder’s at the lobby level become home to hundreds of pigeons?
This is likely an attempt to promote “direct deposit.”
LOL!!!!!!!!!
Looks ok. Better at the base v the top. It feels like something is missing for such a large building.
Chase’s monument to the destruction of our ecosystem.
Huh?
David is right.
A very efficient use of the real estate.
I hope it stands for a very long time.
It’s really not looking very nice. Perhaps it will when they finish and clean the building. I do think the crown will look nice at night. The base is unique. The proportions for the setbacks are absolutely abysmal. The Willis Tower is the Mona Lisa compared with this. Let’s see…
Hopefully everyone will get back to work in the office now.
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Yes,but will the offices the 15,000 occupants vacate to move to this building find new tenants or will those buildings stand empty?
The bottom part ruins the building
At night the Chase building seems a similar style as One Vanderbilt when viewed from a distance being angular piled boxes in form. The major difference between the two is one Vanderbilt is a little more playful in form with the observatory compared to as one person here put it the soulless middle finger effect of the central tower of the bank’s building.
Please explain when office occupancy rates in NYC are below 60% and vacancy rates at over 15%, why do we need more office space?
Demand for NEW offices in New buildings is still healthy
This is correct.
This behemoth is visually impressive, but seems somewhat “out of step” with NYC’s overall skyscraper character. I think this building would “fit in” better standing in downtown Chicago or Houston (William P. Hobby Airport notwithstanding).
Another dark and brooding occupant to an already light starved block. Why not another light interplay masterpiece like the twin towers were. The bulging base makes it look like the structure is overloaded.
Much,much better than Union Carbide
100% disagree
What a colossal waste of resources and money. Union Carbide was LEED platinum Its demolition should have been prevented and this new building should have been placed somewhere better.
This is one of the best locations for a giant building in existence and I am sure its LEED rating can exceed the old building’s.
I like this skyscraper, I do, just feels like they really spared expense on LOTS of the tower.