JPMorgan Chase just took the wraps off its global headquarters in Manhattan, though it appears the firm is in need of additional space to house its New York City employees for the full workweek.
The New York-based banking giant finalized a sublease to take an additional 60,000 square feet at 390 Madison Ave., an outpost located across the street from its recently completed $3 billion skyscraper. The deal expands the financial institution's presence in the building to just shy of 497,000 square feet, underscoring JPMorgan's strengthening position in the New York City office market.
The deal lands just a few months after the bank debuted its 2.5 million-square-foot supertall at 270 Park Ave. and as it kicks off work to redevelop its neighboring tower at 383 Madison Ave.
The terms of the sublease were not clear, and representatives for JPMorgan and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the owner of 390 Madison Ave., did not immediately respond to CoStar News' requests for comment.
The expansion is aimed at anchoring JPMorgan's commitment to in-person work, as corporate tenants across the country prioritize the nicest and newest properties for their post-pandemic office space.
While JPMorgan has estimated that its new Park Avenue headquarters can house as many as 14,000 of its employees, it still isn't enough to accommodate the entirety of its New York-area workforce, who would need to be in the office for all five days of the workweek. To ensure it has enough space, the bank has quickly expanded its physical presence in the region, bulking up its Manhattan portfolio to encompass more than 6 million square feet, making the firm one of the largest office tenants in the area.
Taking space
The Manhattan office market's reliance on some of the world's largest financial institutions has been a critical source of demand and stability for the city, where office leasing is now on track to surpass benchmarks previously set in 2019, according to CoStar data.
Companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments and others were among the earliest to call workers back to the office for a complete five-day workweek, bolstering attendance rates in the city as other markets slogged through depressed foot traffic levels.
Tenants have signed on for more than 27 million square feet of new leases in New York City so far this year, a total that surpasses the same period in several pre-pandemic years, according to CoStar's latest market report.
After facing a flood of sublease listings in the earlier years of the pandemic, robust demand has chipped away at Manhattan's total sublet availability. It has also become a particularly attractive option for companies looking to expand quickly but don't have the patience to wait for finish-out work or are looking for more flexible terms.
The total amount of sublet availability is now about 13 million square feet, according to CoStar data, a dramatic descent that's emblematic of the demand that has bolstered New York City's post-pandemic rebound.