Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated the salary threshold for new City National Bank employees. The new positions will have an average starting salary of $80,000.
City National Bank is planning to hire about 250 employees over the next few years as part of an expansion in Delaware for administrative and back-end work.
The Los Angeles, California-based company plans to open an office in Ogletown’s Iron Hill Corporate Center and begin hiring operations managers, project managers, business analysts, operations specialists and other positions early next year. A representative from City National said the average starting salary will be $80,000.
City National was one of several businesses that received approval for state grants Monday. The state promised the bank an incentive package worth more than $3.5 million. The grants are typically tied to employment benchmarks over a three-year period.
City National has a trust office on New Linden Hill Road in Pike Creek, but the bulk of its footprint is in California. It’s often referred to as the “bank to the stars” because it manages clients in the Hollywood entertainment industry. The Royal Bank of Canada acquired City National in 2015.
How the grants are awarded
The Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the state’s public-private economic development arm, brought City National and the rest of Monday’s grant applicants to the state’s Council on Development Finance, which decides whether to approve grant applications.
The council on Monday approved grants worth up to $5.7 million. Most of the money comes from the Delaware Strategic Fund, a pool of taxpayer dollars apportioned by the General Assembly to support business growth and retention. The council also approved two applications through the site readiness fund, a newer tool designed to help developers prepare infrastructure for future projects.
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Details of the grant applications aren’t made public until the Council on Development Finance meetings. At the meetings, representatives from the Delaware Prosperity Partnership and the applicants give a presentation on their project moments before the council votes. Since the Delaware Prosperity Partnership’s founding in 2018, the Council on Development Finance has never rejected a grant application.
Chicago-based developer plans business park in Glasgow
Logistics Property Co., a four-year-old nationwide logistics development firm headquartered in Chicago, plans to build a business park at Route 896 and Old Coochs Bridge Road near the Siemens Glasgow campus.
Plans approved by New Castle County call for three main buildings, 408,000 square feet, 385,000 square feet and 294,000 square feet in size. The buildings will be used for manufacturing, warehousing or light industrial uses.
DuPont plans to lease the 385,000-square-foot building for a new production facility to support the expansion of the company’s semiconductor materials business. The developer has not lined up tenants for the other buildings.
Logistics Property Co. received a site readiness grant Monday for site work and utilities. The developer can receive $1 million from the state once it spends $2 million.
The grant comes in addition to a $1.64 million grant the state supplied DuPont in August to support job growth and construction of its production facility.
Mark Glagola, senior vice president of Logistics Property Co.’s northeast region, said the company considered sites in neighboring states but landed on the Delaware site because of the state’s labor pool and the site’s access to the I-95 corridor.
W.L. Gore & Associates previously eyed the site for a new headquarters, but the plans never materialized. It then reached a sale agreement with Philadelphia-based development firm D2 Organization. D2 proposed a similar logistics park project last year and obtained a nearly $4.5 million state grant from a different fund for road improvements. D2 eventually decided to sell and in October Logistics Property Co. acquired the land for $17.7 million, according to county records.
Logistics Property Co. projects total costs for the project at more than $140 million. The company controls 52 buildings totaling 23 million square feet nationwide. The Glasgow park, which it is calling First State Logistics Park, will be its first facility in Delaware.
Harvey, Hanna & Associates prepares Red Lion industrial space
Newport-based developer Harvey, Hanna & Associates is planning to build 245,000 square feet of industrial space at the former Ion Power site near the Delaware City Refinery.
Harvey, Hanna & Associates received a $1 million site readiness grant Monday for site work, storm water, sewer, demolition and architectural and engineering work.
Harvey, Hanna & Associates projects the total cost of the project at $37 million. They do not have a tenant identified. The building could host a light manufacturing or logistics use.
The developer discussed the project publicly for the first time Monday. It needs to go through the New Castle County approval process after which Harvey, Hanna & Associates plans to break ground as soon as possible. The approval process could take a year to 18 months or longer.
Case manufacturer to move from Maryland to Delaware
CP Cases Inc. will move its Bishopville, Maryland manufacturing site to the Frankford Business Park after receiving a $190,000 state grant Monday.
The company plans to hire 16 new manufacturing jobs and relocate nine jobs. They’ve signed a five-year lease with a five-year option for 25,000 square feet, attracted to the business park in part for its natural gas service.
CP Cases makes large, hard cases used by live entertainment event companies, the military and news networks to transport electronic equipment. Its focus is on custom work as its process is slower than larger competitors but produces a more rugged case, according to general manager Peter Gill.
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Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
