Sunday Summary: JP Morgan Chase’s Big Reveal

Well, it took six years and $4 billion, but last week J.P. Morgan Chase’s 270 Park Avenue officially opened for business.

We should parse that last sentence a bit. The price tag is insane. It was insane even by the standards of one of the richest institutions in the world — and the final cost was about $1 billion more than previous reports.

That being said, Chase is getting something for its money. Namely, a handsome, bronze-cast design by Sir Norman Foster. They’re getting 2.5 million square feet of office space. They’re getting 19 separate restaurants curated by Danny Meyer. And they situated this all within walking distance of Grand Central Terminal.

“[The board of directors] actually listened to us walk in one day and say, ‘We got this idea — we’re going to tear down an office tower, go 400 feet below ground, and build a new one on top. We have to buy air rights. It’s going to take six years and cost $4 billion,’ but they said O.K.,” said Chase CEO Jamie Dimon at the opening ceremony. “I think for all of us, it was a labor of love. It was a little scary because we’re not used to [building projects]. We move paper and money, we’re not used to it.”

After all that, we need to raise a glass. It’s certainly the biggest reveal of 2025.

And, actually, there will be a number of new places to raise that glass beyond the 19 dining spots at 270 Park.

For instance, STK announced a 12,176-square-foot lease at 412 West 15th Street (in Salt Bae’s previous space) for a new steakhouse. (New York City wasn’t the only place jonesing for red meat. Stephen Starr is opening a new place called Slim’s in South Florida’s Bal Harbor Shops.)

One can soon wash it down uptown at Dyckman Beer Company’s new 6,103-square-foot brewery at 401 West 207th Street in Manhattan’s Inwood.

Those who are craving Chinese instead might be able to find a table Din Tai Fung, which is opening a 20,000-square-foot outpost at 567 Fulton Street — aka, the Brook in Downtown Brooklyn.

Still in the celebratory spirit? One can always take in a Broadway show.

However, speaking of Broadway, it’s going through a bit of a weird time.

A lot of shows are failing. A number of highly touted musicals closed last month having lost their investors almost everything.

So, how come ticket prices aren’t coming down? And how come Times Square seems so crowded? And how come the area had the highest total gross sales in at least 10 years?

Well, if we could answer that question briefly, we wouldn’t have needed this 3,000-plus-word deep dive into what’s going on here.

The deals keep coming

The real estate industry watched nervously as Andrew Cuomo’s final attempt to stave off Zohran Mamdani at a debate last week appeared to splutter — though Eric Adams did his part by offering Cuomo an endorsement. (Only a month ago, Adams was calling the former governor a “snake and a liar,” but apparently bygones are bygones.)

But the pending cloud of Mamdani did little to slow transactions last week in Gotham.

David Werner Real Estate Investments is making a $165 million play for the Durst Organization’s 205 East 42nd Street.

TPG Angelo Gordon and Aurora Capital Associates are plunking down $75 million for the 82,000-square-foot office and retail property 15 Little West 12th Street.

Starwood Capital provided $64 million to Slate Property Group and Avenue Realty Capital to refinance the Welz, their 162-unit multifamily in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

And Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing  — an investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley — is spending $86.7 million on a two-story warehouse at 83-15 24th Avenue near LaGuardia Airport (Blackstone’s Chicago-based Revantage is the seller). Speaking of Blackstone, just outside the city the megafirm loaned Jamestown, Taconic Partners and Nuveen Real Estate $198.5 million to refinance the 1.2 million-square-foot open-air Ridge Hill shopping center in Yonkers.

And it’s sort of amazing that these deals keep coming fast and furious when you consider how many other cities are so downright hostile to development.

Yes, we’re talking about you, Los Angeles.

The $2 billion Angels Landing tower project and the former Bethune Library at 3685 South Vermont Avenue project were both officially pronounced dead last week.

And, even more mystifying, the Glendale City Council voted down a plan from Trammell Crow Residential to transform a former Sears into a 682-unit multifamily development (with 72 low-income units) at 236 North Central Avenue … and they’re unfazed by the fact that the rejection could cost taxpayers a $34 million fine for not adequately complying with new state rules.

Why did the Glendale City Council do this? Design concerns. (We wish we were kidding.)

It’s not like activity has stopped in Southern California (for instance, DLC Management and DRA Advisors are planning to shell out $625 million for 10 grocery-anchored retail properties from Merlone Geier Partners), but take a lesson from South Florida!

13th Floor Investment just picked up 170 acres of land in Broward County for a $1 billion mixed-use development without breaking a sweat. (Oh, and did we mention Michael Comras is under contract to buy a retail portfolio on Lincoln Road from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Terranova for  $140 million?)

And Virginia didn’t stop the New Jersey-based Merck from advancing a $3 billion, 400,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Elkton, Va.

Stopping on a Dime

Last week was CO’s semi-annual Downtown issue, and you should use the occasion to brush up on what’s known as Dimes Square.

The Lower East Side neighborhood has hotels with $800-per-night rooms, $138 Omakase restaurants, and the headquarters of the Democratic Socialists of America.

And, for those who would rather keep their Downtown eyes focused a little closer to the offices, we spoke to Seaport Entertainment Group’s new CEO, Matt Partridge, about his plans for South Street Seaport and more.

Finally, if you’re gearing up for Halloween, we also compiled the scariest trends in proptech.

See you next week!