Category: Business

Return-to-the-office work is taking on a whole new meaning as companies reconstruct offices with plentiful amenities for their employees. 

Wall Street titan JPMorgan Chase is a prime example, opening a $3 billion headquarters with perks including lunch being delivered deskside and a sprawling health and wellness center. 

When it opens, 270 Park Ave. – New York City’s largest all-electric tower – will become the new home for 14,000 employees. Designed by architect Norman Foster, the building will “define the modern workplace with 21st century infrastructure” by boasting smart technology and 2.5 million square feet of flexible and collaborative space, according to JPMorgan.  

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The building’s biophilic design, an architectural style that increases connectivity to nature, will feature extensive use of natural plants. The building will also provide 30% more daylight than a typical developer-led, speculative office building and incorporate circadian lighting to reduce the impact of electric light and promote a healthier indoor environment.

When the plan behind the new global headquarters was unveiled in 2022, the company said it was partnering with experts including Joseph Allen, director of Harvard University’s healthy buildings program, and wellness expert Deepak Chopra. It also parented with Union Square Hospitality Group’s Danny Meyer, who has been advising JPMorgan on a “wellness and hospitality experience” for employees, which includes a food hall featuring diverse food operators and healthy menus. 

David Arena, JPMorgan Chase’s head of global real estate, told Fortune that Meyer is helping JPMorgan, the largest US bank with about $4 trillion in assets, create an environment like “Eataly or something even better.”

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There are 19 different restaurants, some of which include table service. Employees can also have food delivered directly to their desk, according to Arena. 

Its health and wellness center will feature an array of fitness services including yoga and cycling rooms, physical therapy and other medical services, modern mother’s rooms for parents who are breastfeeding, and prayer and meditation spaces.

JPMorgan’s renovated office space at 270 Park Avenue in Manhattan. (Foster + Partners)

Norman also doubled the amount of outside and fresh air spaces in the building. Its advanced HVAC filtration systems will also continually clean outdoor air as it comes into the building, while also cleaning recirculated air.

There will be 50% more communal spaces and 25% more volume of space per person, offering more flexible choices for workers, according to JPMorgan. At the top of the 60-story tower there will be a conference center with unobstructed city views where the company will host events for clients and employees.

“It’s become more and more apparent to everybody that place, the physical place, is really important for folks, for their energy, for the way they feel about themselves and the way they feel about their companies,” Arena said in an interview with Fortune earlier this month. 

As COVID-related restrictions eased and return-to-office mandates took effect, companies began introducing fun perks and revamping office spaces to motivate employees to return to the work environment. 

JPMorgan employees were notified last month that all workers must be in office five days a week starting in March, although 60% of its workforce are already doing so. 

Walmart, which is currently in the process of bringing most of its workers back to its main hubs, recently opened a new campus for its Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters.

A shot of Helen’s Amphitheater on Walmart’s new campus in Arkansas. (Walmart)

The campus, spanning approximately 350 acres, features 12 office buildings, biking and walking trails, and amenities such as a childcare center and a 360,000-square-foot wellness center.

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Last year, Amazon opened two new offices at its Puget Sound Headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. One of them, named Dynamo, provides more than 300,000 square feet of new office space, while the other, Sonic, offers 19 floors of working space across more than 400,000 square feet.

In September 2023, Amazon opened the doors to its newest office in the iconic Lord & Taylor department store building after a years-long renovation. The midtown Manhattan office includes a cafe, courtyard and outdoor terrace complete with a dog run and views of the Empire State Building for more than 2,000 employees.