By Malcolm Butler
The Lincoln Parish Clerk of Courts office processed the paperwork late last week where JP Morgan Chase Bank purchased 2.95 acres of land along the I-20 West Service Road to the west of Ruston Assembly of God Church.
The $2.5 million transaction was between JP Morgan Chase Bank and I-20 Madera Development, LLC. Members of I-20 Madera Development, LLC, include Bertram H. Jones, Jr., Molly D. Jones Gray, Stephanie J. Jordan, and Steven B. Jones.
In late September, the Lincoln Parish School Board and Police Jury voted in favor of providing a tax abatement for “Project Middle”, a $30-plus million capital investment operations center for JP Morgan Chase.
This vote paved the way for the purchase of the land.
“This is a tremendous addition to our city,” said Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker. “We appreciate the confidence that JP Morgan Chase has not only in the city of Ruston but in Lincoln Parish and north Louisiana. This is another piece that will help us recruit additional businesses and families to our city.”
In order 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.
