Last updated on August 1, 2019
A new bank branch will fill a prime vacant commercial spot on Centre Street that already has four banks within 100 yards of its location.
A JP Morgan Chase employee confirmed to Jamaica Plain News that Chase will be opening a branch at 701 Centre Street by the end of October.
Chase will be going into the old Bukhara restaurant location, which moved from its longtime Centre Street location on April 1, 2019, to a new location in Forest Hills.
Chase Bank will certainly not be filling a void of financial institutions on Centre Street. There are already four banks within 100 yards of Chase’s new branch — a Bank of America at 677 Centre St., Eastern Bank at 687 Centre St., Citizens Bank at 696 Centre St., and Rockland Trust at 725 Centre St.
In recent months JP Morgan Chase opened a branch in Downtown Crossing, and is planning on opening 11 new branches, according to the Boston Business Journal.
Unlike Eastern Bank, which was founded and headquartered in Boston in 1818, and Rockland Trust, which is based in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Chase is not a local company. Chase’s parent company is JP Morgan, headquartered in New York City, which is the sixth largest bank in the world in total assets, according to wikipedia.
In the past, Jamaica Plain resisted having large corporations move into the neighborhood, and instead opted for local independent businesses.
There are local organizations like JP Local First and Boston Main Streets districts that will continue to promote local businesses.
“JP Centre/South Main Streets believes that our small, local businesses, with owners who are familiar and friendly with our community, are the heart and soul of Jamaica Plain’s business community,” said Ginger Brown, director of JP Centre/South Main Street. “As commercial real estate prices escalate, our job now is more important than ever — to drive traffic and revenue to our district and support our small, local businesses. We would always welcome community partners and volunteers to help us with this mission.”