J.P. Morgan Chase today announced that it will build a new 1.3-million-square-foot global investment banking headquarters at Site Five in the World Trade Center complex in New York City. The firm will invest approximately US$2 billion in the project.

The new facility will house about 7,000 J.P. Morgan Investment Bank employees while providing for future business growth. The approximately 40-story building will include six world-class trading floors, each up to 60,000 square feet, and will employ state-of-the-art technology and safety features. The company also intends to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for the new project, reflecting its commitment to environmentally responsible projects.

Demolition work at the World Trade Center Site Five location is expected to be completed by early next year, with the new J.P. Morgan building expected to open by early 2012. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

In addition to announcing its new investment bank headquarters planned for Lower Manhattan, J.P. Morgan Chase also confirmed plans today to fully renovate its world headquarters building at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The renovation of the 1.2-million-square-foot facility will take place over the next few years, and the firm also intends to achieve LEED-Platinum status for the building, which will make it the largest LEED-Platinum certified conversion of an existing commercial building in the world..

“J.P. Morgan Chase is proud of our deep roots in New York City and New York State, and we’re pleased to be announcing a project today that will be critical to our firm’s long-term future,” said Jamie Dimon, CEO, in a news release. “We are also proud to be taking a leadership role in supporting Lower Manhattan and helping to revitalize the World Trade Center area.”

“The rebuilding of the World Trade Center site is critical for New York to maintain its position as the world’s financial capital,” Governor Eliot Spitzer said. “J.P. Morgan Chase’s investment highlights the vigor of the resurgence that we’re now witnessing in Lower Manhattan. This represents another aggressive step as we move forward with the creation of a complex that befits the memory of 9/11.”

David Rockefeller, former chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, said, “This is a prime example of history repeating itself, and I couldn’t be more pleased. The old Chase Manhattan Bank led the revival of Wall Street and Lower Manhattan in the 1950s, when we decided to build our world headquarters on Pine and William Streets. As a strong supporter of the original World Trade Center and a former chairman and CEO of the bank which we now know as J.P. Morgan Chase, I am delighted that this great institution will continue to play an important ongoing role in helping to rebuild Lower Manhattan as the financial capital of the world.”

“As a leading global investment bank, we must provide outstanding facilities and top-notch technology to support our bankers’ efforts to innovate, grow and to serve clients,” said Steve Black, co-CEO of J.P. Morgan’s Investment Bank, adding, “Just as we recently announced plans for a new state-of-the-art Investment Bank European headquarters in London, we are committed to making our global Investment Bank headquarters in Lower Manhattan the best facility of its kind.”