By Kyle Roberts
Following passages of votes with both the Lincoln Parish Police Jury and the Lincoln Parish School Board Thursday morning, “Project Middle,” which was revealed publicly to be an investment and project by JP Morgan Chase, will move forward with building an operations center in Ruston and providing a projected 200 jobs with salaries beginning at $50,000.
The facility will be located “north of I-20,” according to Justyn Dixon, president and CEO of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership. When asked, the exact location has not been publicly revealed.
“Ruston proudly celebrates JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s substantial $30 million investment, accompanied by the creation of new jobs,” said City of Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker. “This collaboration stands as a true testament to the extraordinary potential that the City of Ruston holds. A partnership like this goes to show the confidence in Ruston’s readiness for a future that will contain opportunities for everyone.”
To secure Chase’s new Operations Center in Ruston, the parish provided the company with a competitive incentives package that includes property and sales tax abatements. A Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement will be awarded contingent on the company’s creation of up to 200 full-time positions in Lincoln Parish over a course of time. JP Morgan Chase asked for a 15 year tax sliding property tax abatement, as well as a 50 percent abatement on tax from construction equipment and an abatement of five years on sales taxes on computers and technology. The property tax abatement will be dependent on the number of jobs created: starting at 25 percent for 0-24 jobs and capping at 75 percent for 151-200 jobs.
The Ruston facility will have a front operation office center with staff processing and computer processing of data with image scanners along with a vault that will be a large part of the square footage of the building.
Completion of the facility is projected to be by the end of 2025.
The police jury voted first and passed with a 10-0 vote with both Skip Russell and Theresa Wyatt absent from the meeting.
The school board followed 10-0 with both Otha Anders and Debbie Abrahm absent.
”We are working toward expanding our presence in Ruston,” Tania Hilburn, Chase Managing Director and location leader of the Monroe campus. “We look forward to providing more details in the future.”
