The Delaware Council for Development Finance, later this month, will consider a $1.5 million loan request from JP Morgan Chase and Co. that could be used to add jobs in Delaware. The interest rate on the loan is 3 percent.
The agenda for the council, which recommends approval or denial of loans to businesses and non-profits, indicated than that the $1.5 million would be used to leverage $50 million or more in spending for capital costs for expansion in Delaware.
Delaware Economic Development Office Director Alan Levin said the money could be used for equipment and technology at its sites. The 500 jobs, according to Levin, would cut across all areas and businesses of JP Morgan Chase.
Levin pointed out that the 500 jobs is on top of 1,200 added in the last year or so. JP Morgan Chase is believed to employ more than 7,000 in Delaware.
The council will consider the request at its meeting on March 24 at the Buena Vista Conference Center south of New Castle.
The loan request comes on the heels of a report from the Philadelphia Business Journal indicating that JP Morgan Chase plans to buy the South Campus of the AstraZeneca complex in north Wilmington for $44 million.
Levin, while not commenting on the report, said the money from the state loan cannot be used for real estate transactions. AstraZeneca is vacating its South Campus as it cuts 1,200 jobs.
The company has struggled with a lack of new drugs to take the place of blockbuster pharmaceuticals losing patent protection.
The AstraZeneca buildings consist of a four-story, 203,602-square-foot structure and a three-story, 153,949-square-foot structure. The buildings, built in 2002, contain a dining facility, hair salon, fitness center, conference and training center as part of the complex
AstraZeneca will keep its commercial headquarters in north Wilmington and employ about 2,000.
Neither AstraZeneca, nor JP Morgan Chase would comment on the report, although an earlier statement from AZ indicated that discussions have taken place regarding the property.
JP Morgan Chase last year purchased the Christina Gateway complex on the south edge of downtown Wilmington.
It also added operations to the Iron Hill complex south of Newark and built a parking structure.
Iron Hill is the former headquarters of MBNA, now Bank of America, prior to the credit card giant’s move to downtown Wilmington.
