Wells Fargo plans to expand Chandler center

Wells Fargo's Chandler campus will more than double in size this fall if city officials approve a new service center.

The firm's 62-acre Ocotillo Corporate Center, which opened in 2004 at the northwest corner of Price and Queen Creek roads, will jump in size from 420,000 square feet to 842,000 square feet.

The company says the Ocotillo Corporate Center could eventually encompass more than a million square feet of space and 7,000 workers. There are 2,000 employees there now.

The city's Planning and Zoning Commission will review plans for the 432,000-square-foot Wells Fargo Ocotillo Service Center at 5:30 p.m. today.

"We're recommending approval of it," said Kevin Mayo, a city planner.

Bill Dermody, the planner assigned to review the case, said the company said that the building will host only about 20 employees. He said the bank hopes to break ground in the fall.

"They haven't provided details to us except that it doesn't require a lot of parking, so I assume that it's going to be mostly an equipment type of building," Dermody said.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Marjorie Rice declined to discuss details about the planned facilities.

"It is premature to be discussing any details about this project," she said.

Plans for the service center call for one building constructed in two phases, Dermody said.

Currently, the campus consists of two four-story office buildings that host administration and technology support operations, among other things, for the banking company.

Wells Fargo is the No. 1 small-business lender in the Valley and the state, and it has 5,500 employees in the East Valley.