JPMorgan Chase plans to open a new “community-inspired” bank branch in Mondawmin Mall this fall as part of a larger expansion in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“This new branch format is part of the firm’s $30 billion national effort to help advance racial equity and close the racial wealth gap among Black, Hispanic and Latin communities,” the company said in a news release Monday.
Plans for the new bank at Mondawmin Mall come less than two months after a local construction CEO personally bought the mall’s shuttered Target for $1 million. Whiting-Turner CEO Tim Regan purchased the 127,000-square-foot former big box store in March with plans to turn it into a community hub.
The city also included Mondawmin Mall in its updated map for the enterprise zone program, a place-based tax break meant to spur development in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Mayor Brandon Scott called JPMorgan Chase an “incredible partner.”
“Their commitment to equity and financial empowerment is a key part of Baltimore’s renaissance, and we couldn’t be more excited that a new branch will be opening in West Baltimore,” Scott said in a statement.
In 2020, JPMorgan Chase opened a branch in South Baltimore’s Cherry Hill community, becoming the first national bank to set up shop in the neighborhood.
According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the number of physical bank branches has been declining across the country since peaking in 2009 driven largely by consolidation. The Baltimore metro area went from 685 bank branches in 2017 to 589 in 2021. Among major metropolitan areas, that 14% drop in bank branches was behind only Portland, Oregon.