The renaissance and resurgence of Detroit picked up a huge boost today when Chemical Financial Corporation, holding company for Chemical Bank, announced that they will immediately relocate their headquarters to Detroit and then erect a new 20-story building at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Elizabeth Street for the longer term. Thus, Detroit will be home to Michigan’s largest headquartered bank…a bank that figures prominently in Michigan’s Great Southwest as well.
News of the headquarters move coincides with the announcement by the City of Detroit that after an exhaustive RFP and review process, it has named Chemical Bank its new primary banking partner for managing the City’s operating deposit accounts, with expected balances of up to $500 million in deposits. Chemical Bank will provide banking services including a comprehensive suite of payment and deposit solutions, including lockbox services.
Gary Torgow is Chairman of Chemical Financial Corporation. He says, “Chemical Bank, Michigan’s largest headquartered bank, is excited and pleased to be a part of the dynamic growth and success of Detroit.” Torgow, himself a long time native Detroiter, adds, “We are honored to be in a position to bring a bank headquarters back to the city of Detroit and become Detroit’s hometown bank.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, along with many local and state officials, will celebrate the headquarters announcement with an event on the future site of the new building that will serve as the Chemical Bank headquarters. Speakers addressing the crowd of industry leaders, business executives, Chemical employees and Detroit residents include Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit Council President Brenda Jones, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, and the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP.
Mayor Duggan says, “Chemical Bank is a great banking partner for the city’s finances and a great community partner, now headquartered in the City of Detroit,” and adds, “I am very excited to welcome Detroit’s new hometown bank.”
Chemical Bank, which has been headquartered in Midland, Michigan since its founding in 1917, grew significantly when it joined forces with Talmer Bank and Trust, a bank founded by two Midwesterners determined to continue their grandfather’s legacies of enriching the lives of their communities by building a different kind of bank. That merger made Chemical Bank the state’s largest headquartered bank with more than $20 billion in assets, approximately 3,300 employees, and 212 banking centers across Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
Thomas Shafer is President & CEO of Chemical Bank. He says, “Detroit is the financial hub for advanced manufacturing and mobility as well as a growing nexus for young entrepreneurs looking to leverage the city’s rich history of innovation and hard work, and Chemical Bank is excited to help them build our economy and invest in Michigan’s future.” Shafer adds, “With our legacy markets as our foundation, Chemical Bank’s continued expansion into the Detroit market establishes us as a leading financial institution in the Midwest.”
Chemical Bank also plans to add over 500 employees to the city’s workforce by moving its headquarters to downtown Detroit once construction on its new building is complete. In the interim, Chemical Bank will expand its Detroit offices at 333 Fort Street.
Chemical Bank also plans to retain its current Midland workforce of more than 500 and its presence in that community as it expands into Detroit. Midland will continue to be the home of its corporate operations center. Shafer added, “We are excited about our continued strong ties to Midland and believe our operational infrastructure which is based there will continue to benefit from our increased transaction volumes from our growth markets.”
The commitment to developing a major landmark tower in Detroit’s downtown landscape and bolstering its workforce is the bank’s second major investment in Detroit in the past four years. Prior to Chemical merging with Talmer Bancorp, Inc., holding company for Talmer Bank and Trust, Talmer Bank and Mayor Duggan partnered in 2014 to adopt the Marygrove neighborhood to help stabilize and revitalize the historic region of Detroit. Talmer Bank committed $1 million to provide $25,000 in forgivable grants, over five years, and to partner with Southwest Housing Solutions to boost home ownership and help new buyers refurbish homes in the Marygrove community.
