By Nupur Anand
NEW YORK (Reuters) -As JPMorgan Chase opens its new 60-story, $3 billion headquarters in Midtown Manhattan this week, the bank hopes its modern amenities will help recruit more employees.
The tower can accommodate 10,000 workers and will serve as a model for the company’s future offices worldwide, said David Arena, the head of global corporate real estate for the largest U.S. lender.
“We tried to future-proof the building,” Arena said.
The new site on Park Avenue will have biometric access and a building app that allows employees to order food and reserve meeting rooms. It will also have a drone port for package deliveries.
Amenities in the new skyscraper include a Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, a cafe serving protein shakes from an Airstream trailer and an English-style pub. The tower has 50% more hospitality space than any previous JPMorgan property, Arena said.
The bank has upgraded 125,000 workstations in Bangalore, Tokyo, Paris and Mexico City in the last five years, with 75,000 more planned over the next five years.
CEO Jamie Dimon has been a prominent advocate of working from the office rather than at home. The new headquarters, including revamped workstations, are meant to attract and retain talent.
“We think of the building as a recruitment tool,” Arena said. “A workplace needs to be a destination, it needs to be commute-worthy. It needs to provide an elevated experience for employees, for clients and for visitors.”
About 97% of the material from the bank’s demolished old building, which stood on the same site, was recycled. The new structure was built with sustainability in mind, including use of recycled metals and other materials.
JPMorgan is one of the largest employers in New York City. Construction of the headquarters required 8,000 workers and added $2.6 billion to the city’s economy, the bank said last year.
The building’s completion is an important milestone for Dimon, the longest-serving leader among the nation’s biggest banks. The 69-year-old CEO was deeply involved in the details of the project, Arena said.
Earlier this year, Dimon said JPMorgan’s succession plans remain unchanged, reiterating his intention to step down within five years without giving a more specific timeline.
(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York, Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Matthew Lewis)
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