Earlier today, news broke that the De Blasio administration has hashed out a deal with JPMorgan Chase to demolish its existing headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, and replace the structure with a shiny new 70-story building. The deal was negotiated in the wake of the Midtown East rezoning, which loosened zoning regulations for the area in exchange for developers providing street-level and infrastructure improvements. — Curbed New York
Not so fast! said architecture critics and preservationists when news broke that the midcentury 270 Park Avenue tower in Manhattan's East Midtown, currently home of banking giant JPMorgan Chase, had quietly been selected—not for landmark designation—but for the chopping block.
Designed by SOM's Natalie de Blois as Union Carbide Building, the 50-story skyscraper was completed in 1961 and is considered an important example of female-led midcentury corporate architecture.
5 Comments
Mayor DeBlasio's administration is the main thing that needs to be demolished in NYC.
I wonder if J.P. Morgan Chase will recycle the "LEED Platinum Certified" plaques they have stuck all around the base of the historic building they now want to demolish?
yes, nothing says "sustainability" like demolishing a massive tower just to build an even bigger one
LEED platinum for five years LOL.... Wall St. Sustainability — tear down your classic mansion to build a slightly bigger, ugly mcmansion, or in this case, McUrbanism.
Classical Modernism, PoMo, Late Modern, Brutalism .... I think that “architecture” is the thing that’s endangered. It’s funny they say people are so cramped there... like where are they going to work for 2+ years during demo and rebuild. They’ll figure it out!
This era of McUrbanism, with technocrats’ fuzzy math to justify dubious narratives and hedge fund Ponzi schemes, aided by their friends at the NYT and pop media who look the other way and corrupt government preservation agencies, is not going to age well.
Make a hell of an apartment building conversion.
On an aside I once had a credit card with the old Wachovia bank - the one based in North Carolina - at a super low interest rate. Through a series of mechanizations Wachovia got bought out and their credit card portfolio got purchased by JP Morgan Chase. Chase immediately attempted to more than double my interest rate so I just told them to pound sand and paid it off and closed the account.
It is not a great building. it is probably a huge waste of energy if it still has the original curtain wall, the LEED designation, was that for an interior renovation, those are not too hard to get. Half the site is a low 10 story wing the other half a nicely portioned tower with very little public plaza space. Is this a unique one of a kind building? Is it the best example of this style?. It would be a good move to add more density around grand central.
I say let it go, there are more important things to fight for.
Over and OUT
Peter N
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