Chase Bank to build new branch at former restaurant site in Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — JP Morgan Chase is preparing to build a new freestanding retail banking center at the southeast corner of East State Street and Mulford Road.
The nearly 4,600-square-foot, single-story bank with a drive-thru and drive-up ATM will be built on the vacant lot across from the bank’s existing branch at 6000 E. State St., which it leases with Rasmussen University and other tenants.
“It’s an investment in a new branch that’s going to allow us to serve our customers even better,” said Robert Lukaszyk, market director of banking for JP Morgan Chase in Rockford. “That corridor is definitely very busy, thriving and growing part of our business. That’s why we’re making an investment.”
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The lot has been vacant for about a decade. The former Royal Dragon restaurant on the land at 6001 E. State St. was torn down in 2014. Fencing has been installed around the lot over the past few days to prepare for construction.
The goal is to move from across the street into the new bank branch by the end of this year or early in 2025.
The bank is in a busy retail corridor and will have access from both Mulford Road and East State Street, something First Midwest Group worked to get approval for when it purchased the property more than a decade ago.
“It will be an updated, upgraded facility with all the latest amenities and technology, mindfully set up matching the decor of our new branches,” Lukaszyk said.
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Chase Bank has three branches in Rockford, one in Loves Park and one in Roscoe.
Chase has about a 12% share of the Rockford market with $945 million in deposits, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. That gives it the third-largest share of the market in the region after Heartleaf Financial, which is the parent company of Illinois Bank & Trust, with $1.45 billion and Midland States Bank with $1.12 billion.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
