JPMorgan Chase Monday announced a major upgrade to its Delaware buildings and a downtown parking structure.
A ceremony marking the Delaware Renovation Program was held at the entrance to its Wilmington Corporate Center at 3 Christina Center in the Christina Gateway development. Christiana Gateway is at the southern edge of downtown Wilmington and a short walk to the train station. Chase occupies the twin office towers at the site.
Media reports indicated the investments will total hundreds of millions of dollars.
On hand were Chase executives, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, members of the state’s Congressional Delegation, and the president of the state AFL-CIO labor group. Gov. John Carney could not attend, since he is at home, due to contracting Covid-19.
The project will focus on workplace and technology upgrades at JPMorgan Chase sites in north Wilmington, Wilmington, and the Newark-Ogletown-Stanton area. Renderings seem to indicate a broader use of solar panels,
(Images of the parking structure, Stanton-Christiana campus, and solar carport courtesy of JPMorgan Chase.
The project also includes a parking structure at the Christiana Gateway site. The Gateway site is now owned by JPMorgan Chase. The bulk of employees have been parking at a location on the city’s riverfront. The parking ramp will be constructed with low-carbon materials and will reduce carbon emissions stemming from the use of a remote site.
Officials of the financial services giant said the investment is the second biggest within the sprawling JPMorgan Chase footprint, exceeded only by construction costs at the company’s new New York City headquarters. A dollar figure estimate was not released.
The company also disclosed that it has more than 700 open roles in Delaware, with more than 200 coming in technology, an area that has seen job cuts elsewhere in the nation.
JPMorgan Chase is the state’s largest for-profit employer with a headcount of more than 10,000. The company, like other banks, has been more aggressive than other employers in ordering staff back to the office after the pandemic subsided.
Delaware became the site of one of the financial service company’s worldwide technology hubs after it acquired a former AstraZeneca site near Wilmington.
The expansion offset big job cuts at Bank of America after it bought out credit card giant MBNA. Bank of America still has thousands of employees in northern Delaware.
The expansion has included adding banking offices in Delaware and the Delaware Valley. With its large Delaware workforce, the company has a built-in banking market.
JPMorgan Chase has added staff in Delaware over the years despite having options in lower-cost areas. Delaware does have a cost advantage over sites in New York City and northern New Jersey. The company retained Wilmington credit card operations it acquired over the years, mainly from the former BankOne, which had earlier snapped up First USA.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon came over from Ohio-based BankOne and led a successful effort to integrate the various information technology systems of acquired banks while avoiding some of the missteps of competitors like Bank of America and Wells Fargo during and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
