JP Morgan Chase, the popular financial services and banking firm has reportedly agreed to sell its Chase complex in Manhattan, New York City, for about $725 million to Fosun International, the largest conglomerate of China, according to several news reports.
In a regulatory statement disclosed Friday, Fosun International revealed that it will be buying the 60 story, 2.2 million square feet, lower Manhattan building for the aforementioned price, reports Bloomberg.
Located between Liberty, Pine, Nassau and William streets, One Chase Manhattan Plaza is one of the most important structures of the financial district. The building opened in 1961 and was built by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Apart from JP Morgan Chase, which occupies more than half of the building, other major occupants include Assurant, Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality, Academy Securities and two other banking giants.
It is unknown if the building will remain an office tower or be converted into a retail or residential space. The sale will prompt 4000 JP Morgan employees to move from the building to its headquarters at 270 Park Avenue and other locations within New York City.
One Chase Manhattan Plaza is the 43rd tallest building in the United States and the 200th tallest structure in the world. The building was designated a landmark in 2008 by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission.
"The renaissance of Lower Manhattan began with David Rockefeller's decision to build the Chase Manhattan headquarters downtown in the late 1950s. That tipped the scale toward keeping in the Wall Street area a financial community that had been on the verge of uptown flight," Ada Louise Huxtable, who was the architecture critic for The New York Times in 1970, wrote.
Meanwhile, Fosun is very happy with the purchase. "A spokeswoman for Fosun said that property will only grow in value, citing its prime location and the renovation of the nearby Fulton Street transportation hub," according to CNN Money.
The influx of Chinese developers into the U.S. property market has increased in the last few months. As government curbs limit developers from investing into real estate, companies are looking abroad. The administration started imposing restrictions to cool the overheated property market of the country.
More recently, the government introduced a special stamp duty and transaction fees on all property purchases for both residents and non residents. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said that the curbs are here to stay and will not be compromised until the market is stable, reports The South China Morning Post.
