Tower 270 is just west of New York City Hall, near several other structures, including the Broadway–Chambers Building, 280 Broadway, and the Tweed Courthouse.

The 370-foot (110 m) building was erected in 1930 on the southwest corner of Chambers Street and Broadway by developer Robert E. Dowling at a cost of $2.5 million.

The building's location gave its name to the Manhattan Project, which during World War II developed the atomic bomb, and whose first headquarters were on the 18th floor.

The Corps was to coordinate all United States military construction in the Northeast as well as all of Europe, and it provided administrative support for the project.

In 2000 it was sold for $33.6 million in a sealed bid transaction that at the time was the highest-valued property sale ever consummated by the State of New York.