Employees at Wells Fargo’s largest campus, in northeast Charlotte, can already catch a game of ping pong or foosball near a popular dining hall.
Soon, the more than 10,000 workers that call this campus home during the week also will be able to play some pickleball and volleyball.
The moves are part of $500 million worth of upgrades planned at the decades-old campus known as the Customer Information Center. Over the next five years, construction crews will update courtyards, remodel bathrooms, enhance walking trails and build a new parking deck.
The upgrades come as Wells Fargo consolidates its office space in uptown, moving most of its workers out of One and Two Wells Fargo Center and into two other office towers. More upgrades are planned there.
The major investment in northeast Charlotte was marked with a ceremonial groundbreaking Wednesday morning as Wells Fargo employees lined a courtyard listening to speeches from various executives and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.
“We’re going to have these opportunities to be able to come to work and work really hard for our clients every day,” said Michael Martino, head of the bank’s Wealth Investment Management Contact Center. “We’re also going to have an opportunity to connect and play a little too.”
Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco but has its largest employment hub in Charlotte, with about 27,000 workers here.
Here’s are four things to know about Wells Fargo and the planned renovations to the Customer Information Center.
Adding more parking
When it opened in 1996, the 157-acre Customer Information Center was heralded as a modern, state-of-the-art workspace, said Mary Mack, CEO of consumer and small business banking at Wells Fargo.
But the bank knew the building, off of W.T. Harris Boulevard, needed upgrades. It has 2.1 million square feet of space, making it the bank’s largest employment site across the country, the Observer has reported.
One major upgrade will be a new parking deck.
It will be 4 1/2 floors with more than 2,000 spaces and electric vehicle charging stations. The need for additional parking comes as the campus expect to see more growth in the number of employees, said Emily van Zyl, senior lead construction manager for Wells Fargo. Prior to the pandemic, the campus parking decks were around 90% capacity.
Crews also will build a plaza and walkways to make the short trip to the nearest office building safer, Wells Fargo executives said.
Amenities on amenities
Renovation plans include adding 16 break rooms. There will be new food stations and healthcare options too
Plans also include space for two pickleball courts, a volleyball court and small basketball court. A picnic pavilion will be upgraded with a new sound system and lighting to host group events. There also will be updates to a walking trail that goes around the campus as well as to a courtyard.
And there will be a demo kitchen in a large gathering space along with new food vendors with healthier food options.
Updating interior work spaces
Phase one of the work is already underway. It could wrap up by the end of the year or early 2024, van Zyl said.
Aside from work on the exterior, crews will be busy updating space inside the center.
Work will start on three employee work areas that span 40,000 to 60,000 square feet. They will be overhauled with new flooring, lighting and furniture, van Zyl said. There will be new activity rooms with communal seating.
Future phases include upgrading 18 more employee work areas across the campus.
Wells Fargo’s office plans in uptown
In late January, Wells Fargo announced substantial changes about its office space in uptown.
The bank is moving employees out of One and Two Wells Fargo Center buildings, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Offices will be consolidated, with workers moving to Three Wells Fargo Center and 550 S. Tryon Street, the former Duke Energy building. Both of those towers will get new names as part of the changes.
The bank will sell Two Wells Fargo Center, spokesman Josh Dunn confirmed at the time, and the new owner will control naming rights.
The space that Wells Fargo occupied in One Wells Fargo was already just a small piece of its square footage in uptown, Dunn said, less than 10%. That building will likely get a new name as well when a new tenant moves in.
The S. Tryon Street tower will effectively become the bank’s new Charlotte headquarters. By the end of this year, Wells Fargo will occupy 95% of the office space at 550 S. Tryon, a memo sent to employees said. The bank already owned the building.
Wells Fargo also is making major upgrades to its facilities, renovating 21 floors at 550 S. Tryon and 14 floors at Three Wells Fargo Center at 401 S. Tryon St.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023, 12:38 PM.
