JPMorgan Chase is not demolishing buildings at its newly acquired campus near Wilmington.
Spokesman Paul Hartwick said work is taking place in the interior of the modern complex that was acquired from AstraZeneca last year. The former AstraZeneca south campus features solar panels and other modern amenities.
The News Journal on Sunday showed photos of demolition taking place at the nearby AstraZeneca campus. A correction was later issued. The term demolition is often used to describe interior work that takes out walls.
Hartwick said he could not provide any updates to previous statements on work at the site.
“At this time, we don’t have much information to share as we are still planning the relocation of employees to that facility,” Hartwick wrote in an email message. “Since we have not communicated those plans to our employees, we do not want to publicly share. Construction remains on target and we’ll fully occupy the site later in the year.”
Chase has retained other employment sites in Wilmington and in the Newark area, with construction also taking place at other locations. The new campus is slated to be at least partially used as a technology hub for the global financial services company.
At last report, JP Morgan Chase employed 8,500 people in Delaware, up about 1,000 from a year earlier.
The company last year dropped plans to build a new headquarters in Manhattan, leading to speculation that jobs would be moved to Delaware New Jersey and other boroughs of New York City.
AstraZeneca has also been doing work on its remaining campus near Wilmington after selling its South Campus to JPMorgan Chase.
Demolition has taken place at research sites within the complex, after the company underwent a restructuring that moved R&D activities out of the state. An effort was made by state officials to preserve the buildings in hopes that another biotech company might use the facilities.
AstraZeneca has been dealing with a “patent cliff” with former blockbuster drugs like heart burn medicine Nexium and neurological drug Seroquel losing protection. Seroquel was developed in Delaware for treatment of severe mental illness.
R&D work has moved to its Medimmune business outside Washington, D.C.
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