Blue Skies Over Union Square

Just twelve months ago JPMorgan Chase CEO and Democratic Party supporter Jamie Dimon was highly critical of San Francisco and its future: [bold added]

“San Francisco is in far worse shape than New York,” Dimon said in an interview Thursday on Fox Business.

“I think every city, like every country, should be thinking about what is it that makes an attractive city, you know, its parks, its art, but it’s definitely safety. It’s jobs, it’s job creation, it’s the ability to have affordable housing,” Dimon said. “Any city who doesn’t do a good job, it will lose its population — just tax more and more, it doesn’t work.”

560 Mission (Chron photo)

What a difference a year makes: JPMorgan to sign new lease expanding its presence in downtown S.F. office tower

JP Morgan will renew its lease for its longtime offices at 560 Mission St., committing to 280,000 square feet of office space.

The new term of the lease will be for five years in the 31-story office tower known as the JPMorgan Building. Real estate firm JLL represented JPMorgan in the deal. JPMorgan declined to comment on Thursday.

Previous reports show that JPMorgan occupied about 220,000 square feet in the tower previously, and its lease renewal represents a significant expansion in the building. Real estate market insiders say that JP Morgan has been working to consolidate some of First Republic Bank’s former employees into its 560 Mission office.

JP Morgan's new leases are just a fraction of the floorspace that First Republic Bank cancelled in 2024 when the latter was absorbed by JPM. Nevertheless, with the installation of billionaire businessman Daniel Lurie as its Mayor San Francisco feels like it has turned the corner. Restaurant and bar owners are optimistic.

Like Union Square used to be(Instagram)

“[The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is] one of the best conventions of the year, and it affects us from the bottom up,” said John Konstin Jr., co-owner of John’s Grill at 63 Ellis St., which on Wednesday saw a crowd of conference badge-wearing patrons line up outside its doors ahead of its 11:45 a.m. opening. Konstin said that he brought former staff members back to work at the restaurant in preparation of the big week, which he expects will bring as many as 1,000 patrons to John’s Grill over the next three days.

“We are busy, lunch to dinner, nonstop during the conference,” he said, adding that the last six months of 2024 were “out of this world for us.”

“Business has been booming, and going into January with JPMorgan, I hope that continues,” he said...

“First and foremost, we have blue skies, that puts everyone in a good mood. But what I think is the important thing about today and this conference is what you see here (in Union Square): People sitting down and collaborating outside of the pressures that we normally deal with from our offices and behind our computers,” said Ali Tehrani, a partner at Amplitude VC, a venture firm in Canada. “This conference is really about breaking down silos, and what happens outside of the conference or in between sessions is critically important. You get to stress-test your ideas and concepts with another collaborator, versus doing it yourself.”