Construction is officially underway on a new freestanding Chase Bank at Washington Township’s Mill Pond Village shopping center, marking the latest step in the bank’s aggressive retail branch expansion across South Jersey.
Site work began in early November, with crews clearing and leveling the long-vacant pad site located directly along Egg Harbor Road at Greentree Road. While the shopping center is best known for Bottino’s ShopRite Supermarket and its liquor store, the unused parcel in front of the liquor store has been reserved for a bank for decades.
According to officials, the original site plan for Mill Pond Village included a bank more than 30 years ago—an idea that never materialized. Instead, the parcel remained largely untouched until now, making it a natural fit for Chase’s expansion plans.
The Washington Township Zoning Board approved the plans back in March 2025, allowing Chase to move forward with a 3,319-square-foot freestanding branch. At the time, project representatives told the board that construction would start “later this year,” a timeline they have clearly kept.
The branch will offer full interior banking services along with a drive-up ATM, though the site will not include a traditional multi-lane drive-thru. The design instead reflects Chase’s shift toward building branches that encourage in-person interaction.
As was stated at the March meeting, “Chase wants to get to know their customers!” and the branch would prioritize face-to-face banking and financial conversations over automated drive-thru transactions.
Local residents noticed preliminary activity last week, and as confirmed by a 42Freeway reader, the site clearing stage is fully underway. A visit to the site revealed a completely cleared footprint, with the ground graded and a raised center pad beginning to take shape—early signs of foundation preparation.
This early progress suggests that vertical construction may follow soon, although Chase has not yet announced an expected opening date.
Chase Bank has been rapidly expanding throughout the region, opening or planning new locations in:
The Washington Township location fills a gap in a growing residential and commercial corridor, especially as competitors like TD Bank and Wells Fargo have closed several branches in nearby towns.
Industry analysts note that Chase’s aggressive approach reflects its uniquely strong in-person customer base. As Investopedia recently reported, three quarters of Chase Bank customers visit branches regularly, a trend that continues to influence the company’s investment in brick-and-mortar locations.
Some residents have asked why Chase didn’t repurpose a shuttered bank elsewhere in town. However, the Mill Pond Village location offers advantages a standalone former branch cannot replicate.
Its proximity to ShopRite means thousands of customers visit the shopping center daily. Being directly in the path of that traffic increases convenience—customers can easily stop at the bank while running errands. That built-in visibility and convenience likely justified the cost of new construction.
Chase’s development team has emphasized that the bank wants to bring an “old school banking mentality” to Washington Township. That includes encouraging residents to stop by, cash checks in person, and speak with bank staff about financial planning and major decisions.
Bank officials believe this approach builds stronger relationships and better supports the needs of local customers.
With the parcel now cleared and early foundation work underway, the project will move into its next phase of construction. The township has not yet received a projected opening date, but given the pace of site work, more visible building progress is expected soon.
Chase’s arrival at Mill Pond Village marks another step in reshaping the corridor and adding services for residents. As construction continues, the new branch is poised to become a prominent cornerstone of Washington Township’s commercial landscape.
Originally reported by
