JPMorgan Chase abandoned its plans to build $6.5 billion headquarters in Hudson Yards because the city and the state were unwilling to provide the subsidies the banking giant requested. But apparently, there was a second reason the plan fell through: the bank couldn’t come to an agreement with the complex’s developer, Related Companies.
The bank was looking to build two towers — at Related’s 50 and 55 Hudson Yards — on Manhattan’s Far West Side. That plan depended on JPMorgan Chase reaching a deal with Related to acquire the parcels. Reportedly, the bank was unable to reach an agreement with the developer.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the city’s decision not to grant tax breaks and subsidies to the bank. “We took an approach that was focused on respecting the role our employers play in this city but moving away from the historic focus on government subsidies, which I think has been proven to be often ineffective,“ Mayor Bill de Blasio said, according to Capital New York. “We try to be helpful in other ways.”
Chase Chairman Jamie Dimon told de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday that the company would stay put on the East Side.
De Blasio and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen had already opposed the proposed subsidy package.
In New Jersey, the bank has been able to secure $22.5 million in annual tax breaks from the state. JPMorgan is building out a regional technology and operations hub in Jersey City. [Capital NY] — Claire Moses