Oppenheimer spending $15M to consolidate on Broad Street

In a large-scale restructuring of its New York City offices, financial services firm Oppenheimer & Co. is investing $15 million in the opening of its new headquarters at 85 Broad Street, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

The company will be consolidating its current headquarters at 125 Broad Street and other city offices including 200 Park Avenue and 300 Madison Avenue at the location. The expansion is slated to create 100 new financial services jobs.

“After the attacks of 9/11, we made a firm commitment to rebuilding Lower Manhattan and making it a more attractive place than ever to live and do business,” Bloomberg said. “Today’s announcement that Oppenheimer & Co. will move hundreds of jobs to Lower Manhattan is the latest evidence that our efforts are succeeding.”

In a bid to secure the company’s continuing presence in New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Empire State Development worked closely with Oppenheimer to develop a plan to secure up to $3 million from the federal World Trade Center Job Creation & Retention Program Grant for the expansion and consolidation. Under the terms of the grant agreement, Oppenheimer & Co. will commit to maintaining its headquarters and jobs in Lower Manhattan for at least 10 years.

Prior to the agreement, Oppenheimer had been considering relocating over 1,000 of its nearly 1,400 New York City employees to Jersey City after New Jersey authorities made it clear they could offer lower lease rates and aggressive incentive programs.

“We are pleased with our decision to remain in New York City, where our company has been located for over 130 years,” said Albert “Bud” Lowenthal, chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer. “Our new headquarters in downtown Manhattan will allow us to consolidate our operations in a single location while lowering our costs of occupancy.” — Katherine Clarke