Demolition permits filed for world’s tallest teardown at 270 Park Avenue

January 17, 2019

The existing 270 Park Avenue, MikePScott via Flickr

Demolition permits were filed Tuesday for the JPMorgan Chase HQ at 270 Park Avenue, CityRealty reports. The building will be the tallest planned demolition in history. The filing is a significant step for the bank on the way to replacing the 1.5-million-square-foot Modernist tower previously known as the Union Carbide Building with a 2.5-million-square-foot skyscraper, to be designed by British Pritzker Prize winner Norman Foster/Foster + Partners architectural firm.


The new 270 Park Avenue, enclosed public space (with action); image from City Planning.

The demolition of the 52-floor, 707-foot building will be the largest intentional demolition in history; past contenders include the 612-foot-tall Singer Building and the 517-foot-tall Deutsche Bank Building. Completed in 1961, the tower that now stands was designed by Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill–the tower held a 50-year record for the tallest building designed by a woman.

270 Park Avenue, 270 PARK AVENUE, FOSTER + PARTNERS, GREATER EAST MIDTOWN REZONING, JP MORGAN CHASE, norman foster, foster + partners
Google earth image of future NYC skyline with preliinary 1,400-foot massing of the future 270 Park Avenue (CityRealty)

270 Park Avenue, 270 PARK AVENUE, FOSTER + PARTNERS, GREATER EAST MIDTOWN REZONING, JP MORGAN CHASE, norman foster, foster + partners
CTBUH diagram showing the Tallest Demolished Buildings, which is available in the CTBUH Journal, 2018 Issue II.

The new tower that will rise is headed for at least 1,400 feet, with 70 floors that will hold 6,000 JPMorgan Chase employees, making the new headquarters one of the tallest buildings in the city and the tallest office building by roof height. As 6sqft previously reported,  the project represents the first major project under the 2017 Midtown East Rezoning Plan that upzoned 78 blocks of Midtown to allow for the construction of larger, more modern skyscrapers.

The design team, led by Foster + Partners, will seek LEED certification, and the project is expected to create over 8,000 construction jobs for the city. If all goes according to plan, JP Morgan intends to begin demolition on its current headquarters in 2019 and finish construction in 2024.

[Via CityRealty]

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