Citizens Financial Group announced yesterday that it will build a corporate campus bringing together 3,200 of its employees in Johnston, Rhode Island.
Those employees will mainly come from a Cranston location with a lease set to expire in 2018.
Citizens is planning about 420,000 square feet of office and meeting space, including a call center and executive offices, along with dining, fitness and retail facilities for employees and fields and trails that will be available to the local community. The space is planned for a currently undeveloped parcel of land on the west side of Interstate 295 in Johnston.
“As we continue to work towards our goal of making Citizens Bank one of the top-performing regional banks in the country, we are very excited today to announce Johnston, Rhode Island as the future home of a new Citizens campus,” Chairman and CEO Bruce Van Saun said in a statement. “This is a great site that will allow us to cost effectively build a campus with modern amenities to suit our needs. We are grateful for the collaboration we have received from state and local officials leading up to this decision and we look forward to breaking ground later this year.”
The bank credited infrastructure improvements, including the extension of sewer lines into the area by the Narragansett Bay Commission, for making the project possible. The project also includes the construction of a new exit for I-295, the cost of which Citizens plans to split with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. A 20-year property tax agreement is pending approval from the Johnston Town Council.
Mayor Joseph Polisena called the project “a big win for Johnston” and said the new campus “will deliver an immediate boost to our tax base, and I fully expect that other businesses will want to come to Johnston to serve the more than 3,000 Citizens colleagues who will be here every day, creating additional jobs and tax revenue. Local residents and developers who want to build in this area also will benefit from the coming infrastructure improvements.”
The bank anticipates it will begin construction later this year and occupancy is projected for late 2018. The company’s headquarters will remain in Providence.
