Citizens Bank breaks ground on new Johnston facility

AN INTERIOR rendering of the new Citizens Bank corporate campus in Johnston; the company broke ground at the development site on Wednesday. / COURTESY CITIZENS BANK
AN INTERIOR rendering of the new Citizens Bank corporate campus in Johnston; the company broke ground at the development site on Wednesday. / COURTESY CITIZENS BANK

(Updated 12:05 and 3:29 p.m.)
JOHNSTON – Citizens Bank on Wednesday broke ground at the development site for its new corporate campus slated to open in 2018.
“We are excited about this new campus, which will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to foster collaboration among colleagues and to deliver an efficient and productive workplace,” said Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens, in a statement.

The Providence-based bank plans to consolidate several offices and relocate more than 3,000 employees to the intended 420,000-square-foot campus to be built on Greenville Avenue here. Some work has already begun, as Citizens spent the summer excavating a landfill on the property that was capped approximately 50 years ago.
Van Saun estimates the construction costs will likely exceed $200 million. The bank has contracted with Providence-based Dimeo Construction Co., Cranston-based DiPrete Engineering Associates Inc. and Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects Ltd. on the project.
The bank, wholly owned by its parent Citizens Financial Group Inc., received a tax-stabilization agreement from the town, and will pay property taxes at a growing rate of $250,000 per year for 20 years before leveling off at $5 million. The majority of the jobs will be relocated from Citizens offices in Cranston, where 3,000 people are currently employed. Company headquarters will remain in Providence.
The development project has been met with some opposition, as a group of Johnston residents are upset about the commercial property being allowed in a prominently residential area of town. The group is concerned about what effect the augmented amount of daily traffic will have on roadways and quality of life. The state has agreed to pay $3 million toward the construction of new on- and off-ramps connecting Greenville Avenue to Interstate 295, and Citizens is widening the roadway between the interstate and the entrance to the campus.
The project has been lauded by local, state and congressional leaders, many of whom were scheduled to join Citizens executives to celebrate the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday. New schematics were unveiled, depicting both interior and exterior shots of the planned campus. The company told Providence Business News earlier this month that the outside grounds will host a variety of sports amenities along with walking trails that will be open to the public.
“Citizens remarkable corporate campus here in Johnston will contribute significant short- and long-term economic activity that will add to Rhode Island’s comeback, as well as provide key infrastructure improvements that will directly benefit state and local residents,” said Gov. Gina M. Raimondo.

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