JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces $100 Million Commitment to Support Detroit's Economic Recovery

Detroit, May 21, 2014 /3BL Media/ – JPMorgan Chase & Co. unveiled today a $100 million, five-year commitment to support and accelerate Detroit’s economic recovery and strengthen its communities. This long-term investment is the Firm’s largest commitment to a city and among the largest corporate commitments to Detroit. It builds upon the Firm’s deep roots as one of Michigan’s leading financial services providers and corporate citizens. 

“We believe in Detroit’s future, and we want to see the city recover its economic strength,” JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon will say today during a luncheon with community and government leaders at The Garden Theater in Detroit. “With this investment, we are putting our resources and expertise to work to help Detroit chart a course back to economic prosperity. We have been in Detroit for a very long time, and we’re here for the long term.”

JPMorgan Chase has spent the past several months working closely with Detroit’s community and government leaders to learn about their priorities and vision for the city. The investment provides long-term financial and hands-on support for organizations that are working to address the city’s most urgent challenges.

With more than 80 years of experience serving Southeast Michigan and some of the region’s largest commercial businesses, JPMorgan Chase’s unprecedented commitment includes:

• Investing in Detroit’s Community Development: JPMorgan Chase is putting its community development banking expertise to work for Detroit by providing $40 million in flexible, long-term debt capital and $10 million in grant capital to two leading non-profit community development lenders, Invest Detroit and Capital Impact Partners. This commitment will finance critical projects to help turn around struggling neighborhoods and grow small businesses. Financing will provide and leverage capital for residential, commercial and retail development projects that often lack access to conventional financing, spurring others to invest.
• Tackling Blight: Confronting blight is a critical lynchpin in Detroit’s revitalization. Working with the Detroit Land Bank Authority and the Blight Task Force, JPMorgan Chase is committing $25 million to help accelerate the city’s ambitious efforts to end residential blight, restore properties to productive use, and stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods. This commitment will also fully fund the second phase of the Motor City Mapping project, which has been credited with helping city leaders document blighted parcels, and will develop a critical tool to ensure residents have a voice in their neighborhood’s future.  Finally, the Firm will seed a Rehab Loan Pilot Program for families to rehabilitate homes they purchase through the city’s Neighbors Wanted property auction.
• Strengthening Workforce Readiness: JPMorgan Chase is committing $12.5 million to better link the city’s workforce development efforts with employer needs and give Detroit residents access to training in the skills employers are seeking. Working with partners such as the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation and the Workforce Innovation Network, this commitment will identify growing economic sectors and create collaborative programs to train workers and develop career pathways.
• Growing Small Businesses: JPMorgan Chase is committing $7 million to support Detroit’s small business clusters, including Bizdom and Eastern Market. These clusters are connecting small businesses and entrepreneurs to the resources and expertise they need to get their companies off the ground, catalyzing broader growth and employment – both downtown and within the neighborhoods.
• Seeding Future Economic Growth: JPMorgan Chase is committing $5.5 million in strategic initiatives that are important to Detroit’s future economic growth by investing in the new M-1 rail line and bringing the Global Cities Initiative, a Joint Project of Brookings and JPMorgan Chase, to Detroit.  The commitment will also support other local organizations working to revitalize the city.

​“I want to thank and applaud JPMorgan Chase & Co. for their generous investment and long-term commitment to the reinvention of Detroit,” said Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.  “This multi-year initiative is coming at an excellent time to not only build upon, but help accelerate the positive momentum happening in areas like workforce skills training, community development, growing small businesses and blight removal.  With JPMorgan Chase's strong ties to Detroit,  I am so grateful for their willingness to give back to the community with a smart, sensible investment that helps further ensure that Detroit is on a sustainable path to recovery.”

“This commitment from JP Morgan Chase represents a real vote of confidence in the work we are doing in Detroit right now,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “It is also a significant investment in the strategies we are implementing to address blight in our neighborhoods, build our workforce and support small business and non-profits. I am grateful to Jamie Dimon and his team for stepping up to be a true partner in Detroit’s turnaround.”

“JPMorgan Chase’s  impressive commitment to Detroit is more evidence that national and even global institutions are becoming confident in the story and opportunity that is ‘Detroit,’” said Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder, Rock Ventures LLC & Quicken Loans Inc. “I am hopeful that JPMorgan Chase’s support will not only strengthen important community and business efforts already underway in Detroit, but inspire additional local and national players to engage in the rebuilding of our great American city.”

JPMorgan Chase’s commitment builds upon the promise and progress of recent efforts by other businesses and foundations that have been working together to drive Detroit’s economic recovery. The Firm intends to measure outcomes and share best practices from Detroit that can be valuable tools for other cities as they work to strengthen their own prospects for economic growth.

Finally, JPMorgan Chase is applying the experience and skills of its employees to help Detroit’s nonprofits strengthen their capacity to solve the community’s toughest problems. Through the JPMorgan Chase Detroit Service Corps, dedicated teams of volunteers will put their business expertise to work, providing capacity building and technical assistance to help local nonprofits find solutions to challenges they have identified.

“Investing in Detroit isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do for Detroit and other cities that can learn from their experiences,” said Peter Scher, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase. “Detroit’s recovery will create tremendous opportunities for consumers and businesses, and it is going to provide lessons for the economic health and future of other American cities and cities around the world.” 

Notable Quotes

Community Development and Economic Growth
“The City of Detroit is at a critical juncture and the moment of opportunity is now,” said Dave Blaszkiewicz, President, Invest Detroit. “The investment capital provided by JPMorgan Chase will serve as a vital resource for renewal by strengthening the platform for development of residential, commercial and mixed-use projects. We greatly appreciate their trust and support.” 

“Our partnership with JPMorgan Chase is another step toward helping to redensify and revitalize Detroit,” said Terry Simonette, President and CEO, Capital Impact Partners. “It’s exciting to work with a company that recognizes this city's potential and is willing to invest the capital required to create real change that drives long-lasting positive social impact.”

“The investment JPMorgan Chase is making in Detroit's Woodward Corridor will accelerate current development momentum and set the stage for others to follow,” said Sue Mosey, President, Midtown Detroit, Inc. “This commitment, timed with the construction start up of M1 Rail, will ensure that our local businesses have the best chance for success once the rail is in operation.”

“JPMorgan Chase’s commitment of $100 million reflects the fact that Detroit, contrary to popular belief, is a market ripe for private investment and smart money,” said Bruce Katz, Vice President, Brookings Institution and Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. “With continued investment, the revival of Detroit, particularly its downtown and midtown, will be one of this decade’s urban success stories.”

Neighborhood Stabilization
“Tackling Detroit’s blight issue is fundamental to our future economic growth and prosperity, and this won’t happen with public resources alone,” said Richard Weiner, Executive Director, Detroit Land Bank Authority. “Private partnerships like the one we have forged with JPMorgan Chase are helping the Detroit Land Bank Authority deliver on its commitment to rebuild our neighborhoods.”

Workforce Readiness
“We are very excited to be a part of JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills At Work Initiative, which will allow Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation to expand our efforts to ensure that Detroiters are earning the latest industry-recognized credentials in healthcare, IT, manufacturing and transportation,” said Pamela Moore, President and CEO of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), the City of Detroit’s workforce agency. “Training in these high-growth sectors and apprenticeable occupations will enable Detroiters to have the tools and resources to build sustainable careers.”

Small Business
“Over the past few years, Eastern Market has welcomed more than 100 new businesses to the market selling a wide variety of value-added products,” stated Dan Carmody, President, Eastern Market Corporation (EMC). “With the investment by JPMorgan Chase, EMC will be able to assist food businesses throughout the city by providing them with low cost production space to expand production and add new jobs at a faster rate.”

“JPMorgan Chase’s generous commitment to Bizdom will further strengthen the rich environment that is helping technology startups launch, fund, and grow their businesses in downtown Detroit,” said Ross Sanders, CEO, Bizdom.

For more information visit: www.jpmorganchase.com/detroit. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.