Plans in review for Chase Bank in Elevation Pointe in St. Augustine

St. Johns County is reviewing plans for a Chase Bank branch at the Elevation Pointe retail center in St. Augustine.

The proposed site straddles County Roads 208 and 216, marking a decade since Chase entered the Northeast Florida market to establish a branch network.

The bank is expected to be 3,333 square feet with site plans showing eight parking spaces and a drive-thru.

Jacksonville-based Kimley-Horn is the civil engineer for the project.

Neighboring businesses include Publix, IHOP, Waffle House and KFC.

Chase.com reports the bank has more than 15,000 ATMs and about 4,700 branches nationwide.

In St. Johns County, it operates full-service branches at 81 King St. in St. Augustine; 426 Durbin Pavilion Drive at the Durbin Park retail center in Saint Johns; and 187 Capital Green Drive near Crosswater Parkway in Ponte Vedra.

The New York City-based company said Jan. 31 that its Chase Bank subsidiary will open 10 branches in North Florida and hire more than 100 people over the next three years to staff those offices and other needs.

JPMorgan Chase has about 1,700 employees in the Jacksonville area, many of whom work in a large mortgage operations center. As of June 30, the company had 20 branches in the local market, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.

"The recent growth of the region has spurred us to invest in North Florida to meet the financial needs of the region's growing base of residents and businesses," George Acevedo, South Divisional director for Chase's Consumer Bank, said in a January news release.

"We know our customers can do transactions digitally but they need people to meet their financial goals," he said.

Expansion plans also include Chase's first branches in Nassau County with locations planned in Fernandina Beach and Yulee. The bank also plans to open two branches in low-to-moderate-income areas in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Additionally, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, which serves ultra-high-net-worth clients, is opening its first office in the region at the Veranda Business Center along Florida A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach.

JPMorgan has been a major employer in the area since 2008 when it acquired the failed Washington Mutual Bank, which had a large mortgage banking center in Jacksonville. Initially, Chase had one branch in the region at the mortgage center mainly to serve employees.

In mid-2013, however, JPMorgan announced a consumer banking expansion, saying it would open a dozen branches in the Jacksonville area within 18 months.

Chase is one of the world's largest banking companies with $3.9 trillion in assets.