Franklin Mint opens new HQ in Chadds Ford
Credit union expects continued growth as it expands into new markets
It was all about Delaware County pride Wednesday as two companies with deep roots in the county celebrated the opening of a new headquarters building.
Executives from Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union, or FMFCU, cut the ribbon on their new offices at Routes 1 and 202 that now house 180 employees after a recent move from Broomall.
The credit union, which expects to have 240 employees in the headquarters in about five years, has signed a 15-year lease with The Henderson Group, the developer of the building and corporate park where it’s located.
Employees from both companies gathered Wednesday morning at the Brandywine 6 office building for the ribbon cutting in the Chadds Ford Business Campus.
“Taking pride in being the largest financial institution headquartered in Delaware County, it was imperative to maintain our corporate office here,” said FMFCU President and CEO John D. Unangst.
“The new building features a two-story glass-enclosed café with a grand staircase that will produce tremendous work flow, communication, and camaraderie among employees.”
Mike Magnavita, the credit union’s executive vice president and CFO, said the Franklin Mint had run out of room at its former headquarters building and had to decide whether to ex-
to expand there or find a new location. It had considered three locations and eventually chose the Henderson property because it keeps them in Delaware County while putting them closer to the growing markets of northern Delaware and Chester County, he said.
The credit union is leasing 51,000 square feet of the newly constructed 71,000-square-foot building; The Henderson Group is looking for a tenant for the remaining space.
“We’ve known the Henderson Group for years and we wanted to stay in Delaware County,” Magnavita said. “We could have gone anywhere but we have deep roots in the county.”
Franklin Mint is one of the area’s largest federal credit unions, with more than $1 billion in assets and more than 82,000 credit union members. In all it has 350 employees and 32 branches in Delaware County, Philadelphia, Chester County, Montgomery County and the state of Delaware.
The Brandywine 6 building, with a facade of precast concrete panels and ribbon windows around it, will hold FMFCU’s senior management, support services, IT, training, credit and debit card operations as well as its lending and mortgage businesses. The interior of the “energy-efficient” building includes a two-story café with a window looking out onto the surrounding campus.
“We wanted a centralized location,” Magnavita said. “We were really on top of each other before the move.”
For Media-based Henderson, meanwhile, the deal means it can move forward to further develop a tract it has been working on for decades, said Brian Wilbur Coyle, the company’s president and CEO.
In 1976, Wilbur C. Henderson acquired 38 acres on the southwest corner of the highly travelled intersection of Routes 202 and 1, which he developed as the Chadds Ford Business Campus. He later acquired and developed the southeast corner of the intersection as the Village at Painters’ Crossing Shopping Center and Painters’ Crossing Office Campus.
“We often talk about deals taking months or years to do. This one took decades,” Coyle said Wednesday.
Recently, the company bought two more 10-acre plots in the Chadds Ford Business Campus that it plans to develop while extending Hillman Drive to complete a loop road. Henderson wants to put two more office buildings adjacent to Brandywine 6, Coyle said.
In all, Henderson owns and operates more than 640,000 square feet of office, industrial and retail space in Chadds Ford.
“This is the best market in Delaware County,” Coyle said.
The company also has been active in developing property near the Philadelphia Airport and has acquired and developed 469,000 square feet of office and industrial buildings in Melbourne, Florida.
Henderson’s partners for the Brandywine 6 project included: Stantec for civil engineering; architect L2 Partridge; general contractor, The Norwood Company; Meyer Design for interior design; and JLL acted as the tenant’s broker.
Sen. Tom Killion of Delaware County attended Wednesday’s ribbon cutting, recalling that he opened his first bank account in Franklin Mint’s first off-site branch.
“It’s great to be with two companies that have risen to be major employers in Delaware County,” Killion said.