Vanguard has plans to continue growth

Mutual fund is proposing a new building for its Malvern West campus

EAST WHITELAND » Chester County’s largest employer is preparing to grow again.

Paul Begin, head of corporate real estate and facilities management at Vanguard, confirmed Monday the company plans to build a third building on its Malvern West campus at routes 202 and 29.

The Vanguard Group bought the property and two existing buildings on it from Pfizer as the pharmaceutical company was reorganizing. It is now before the township with plans to put a third building containing between 180,000 and 240,000 square feet for as yet undetermined operations. There is room for a fourth building on the campus but no immediate plans to build one, Begin said.

Increased business is causing the need for more space.

“It’s no secret more people are adapting the Vanguard way of investing,” said Freddy Martino, spokesman for the company. “We have experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 or so years.”

The mutual fund giant with $4.4 trillion in global assets under management now has 28 buildings in the area – 14 that it owns and 14 that it leases, Begin said.

The owned properties are within an area bordered by Matthews Road, Route 29 and Cedar Hollow Road. Among the leased properties is one in Philadelphia Vanguard just opened for its Innovation Studio.

Vanguard also owns a property on Route 100 near the Pennsylvania Turnpike Downingtown interchange. There are no plans to sell or develop that parcel, Begin said. A farmer now uses it and cows graze on it.

The company is not yet estimating a cost for the project on its Malvern West campus and has not determined the number or exactly the kinds of employees that will use it.

The employees – Vanguard refers to them as crew members – who work on the Malvern West Campus now are primarily in Vanguard’s Institutional Investor Group, Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management, or Media Services.

Vanguard is leaning toward four stories for the building and a design “that fits in with Vanguard with maybe a little more contemporary look and feel,” Begin said.

“We’re still in the early, early stages,” he added.

If all goes according to plan, construction will begin by the end of the year and the building will be completed by mid-2019.

Vanguard plans to incorporate green building elements into the new structure but it has not yet decided if it will seek LEED certification for it. It plans to have a green roof on it that the workforce can use as a lounge area.

Vanguard now has 17,000 employees, 11,000 of whom work in Chester County.

The news of the county’s largest employer expanding was enthusiastically greeted by Mike Grigalonis, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Chester County Economic Development Council.

“We’re excited about it, it’s great news,” said Grigalonis, who noted the company recently opened an office in China. “We’re excited they believe in Chester County and the things we have to offer. To have a leading global company here is fantastic for us. And they get it. Not only is it about job retention and creation, Vanguard is very active in the community and in charities

in the community.”

The news was first reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal after Begin spoke at a real estate event put on by the paper on Thursday.

– To contact Business Writer Brian McCullough, call 610-235-2655 or send an email to bmccullough@21stcenturymedia.com.