JPMorgan close to choosing developer for 1 Chase Manhattan

From left: Scott Rechler, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza and Mort Zuckerman
From left: Scott Rechler, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza and Mort Zuckerman

The new owner of 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, a 2.2 million-square-foot Lower Manhattan office tower currently owned by JPMorgan Chase, could be chosen as early as this week, executives close to the deal said. Bidders on the 60-story landmarked tower run the gamut from New York developers such as Scott Rechler to Asian investors, and have put forward several ideas including converting the building to condominiums or hotels, or retaining it as an office property.

JPMorgan could reap up to $700 million for the property, which sits on a 2.5-acre parcel bounded by Nassau, Liberty, William and Pine streets, sources familiar with the talks told the New York Times. The first round of bids was closed on Sept. 30 with a minimum price set at $660 million.

Market observers told the Times that were the building to be converted into high-end residential or hotel use, it would symbolize that the Financial District was losing some of its cachet.

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“Today, it’s a struggle to sustain office buildings in the face of the unrelenting demand for residential properties,” Eric Deutsch, a former president of local advocacy group the Downtown Alliance, told the newspaper.

The property is being marketed by CBRE’s Darcy Stacom and William Shanahan. The duo presented bidders – which include Rechler, Joseph Chetrit and David Bistricer, Tishman Speyer and Boston Properties – with a prospectus suggesting that the tower is “perfect for both a new introduction as one of downtown’s best office buildings or [as] one of its most prestigious residential addresses,” according to the Times. [NYT]  – Hiten Samtani