By David LaGuerre
The Lower Manhattan project includes a $3.2 million state grant and a commitment to retain 1,001 jobs.
Oppenheimer Holdings plans to move its Oppenheimer headquarters within Lower Manhattan as part of an approximately $66 million office project supported by a $3.2 million state capital grant, Governor Kathy Hochul announced November 9.
The investment banking and wealth-management company will leave 85 Broad Street for about 220,000 square feet at 32 Old Slip in the Financial District. State officials said the project will retain 1,001 full-time jobs in New York City.
That figure describes retained jobs, not 1,001 newly created positions. The announcement does not identify a Mohawk Valley office project, local hiring program or relocation of these jobs upstate. Its statewide relevance includes New York’s use of public support for a major employer’s capital investment.
What the investment will cover
The approximately $66 million investment is by Oppenheimer and RXR, according to the governor’s office. It will pay for renovation and fitting out the new office space, including trading infrastructure, collaborative work areas, client facilities and other business operations.
The retained headquarters positions span financial services, technology, compliance, operations and administrative work. The release says Empire State Development awarded Oppenheimer the $3.2 million capital grant to support the investment.
The announced total should not be described as $66 million in state spending. The public grant is a separate figure within the project’s financing picture. The release does not provide a full financing breakdown or say that the entire project cost will come from taxpayers.
A move within the Financial District
The company’s current and planned headquarters are both in Lower Manhattan. The announcement presents the new lease and renovation as a commitment to keeping the company’s headquarters in New York rather than a move into the city from another state.
Oppenheimer traces its roots to Fahnestock & Co., a brokerage founded in 1881. The governor’s announcement says the firm has maintained its headquarters in New York City throughout its history. Today its business includes investment banking, capital markets and wealth management for individual, corporate and institutional clients.
“Keeping our global headquarters in Lower Manhattan was a natural choice for us,” Oppenheimer President and CEO Robert Lowenthal said in the announcement. He cited the city’s workforce and financial-market expertise as reasons for staying.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said the retained jobs also support nearby restaurants, shops and small businesses. That is the administration’s economic argument for the project. The release does not provide a separate estimate of spending at those businesses or quantify additional jobs that might result.
What is known, and what remains to be shown
The announcement identifies the new location, planned office size, approximate investment, grant amount and retained-job figure. It does not give a completed move date, a renovation schedule or a detailed public grant-performance agreement.
Those distinctions matter when evaluating a publicly supported business project. A planned investment is not the same as finished construction. A commitment to retain employees should not be reported as verified employment over a future period before that period has occurred.
The state describes the project as strengthening Lower Manhattan’s financial-services sector. This report does not independently calculate the grant’s return to taxpayers or claim that a specific number of jobs would have left New York without it.
Why the statewide audience should care
Readers outside New York City can follow this project as an example of state economic-development spending. The concrete questions are how much public support is provided, what the recipient commits to do, and whether those commitments are fulfilled.
For now, the verified announcement is a headquarters renovation and relocation inside Manhattan with a state grant and a job-retention commitment. It is not a new Mohawk Valley employment opportunity, and no local hiring details are included in the release.
Source
The figures, company history and quoted remarks above come from the governor’s November 9 announcement. Follow-up reporting should check the project timetable, grant conditions and completed employment commitments before drawing conclusions about results.