Ending its empty flirtation with Stamford, JPMorgan Chase committed to building a $2 billion tower near Ground Zero in Manhattan.
During negotiations to obtain financial incentives for the project, the company had publicly hinted it might consider Stamford for a new facility if it could not get the deal it sought. JPMorgan never contacted Stamford officials to explore sites and incentives, Mayor Dannel Malloy told The New York Times.
At 1.3 million square feet, the new Manhattan tower will house 7,000 JPMorgan investment banking employees when it opens in 2012. JPMorgan also said it would renovate its 1.2 million-square-foot midtown headquarters, making it the largest ever conversion of an existing building to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum standard.
