Wells Fargo Bank’s Downtown branch, a longtime staple in El Paso’s urban heart, will close in January.
No one is yet saying what that means for the bank’s giant name emblazoned atop the 21-story black skyscraper, where the bank’s Downtown branch is located.
While the branch is permanently closing at 11 a.m., Jan. 22, Wells Fargo is not totally vacating the building at 221 N. Kansas St.
It will continue to have employees from other lines of bank businesses using office space in the building, Ty Morrison, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman for this area, said in an email. Bank officials declined to provide specifics about the number of employees that will remain in the building, or what jobs they hold.
Bank officials will try to place the Downtown branch employees in other Wells Fargo branches, Morrison said. How many people are employed in the building, including in the branch. was not divulged.
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Wells Fargo officials aren’t saying why the Downtown branch is closing.
But William Kell, who oversees management of the Wells Fargo building as chief operating officer of Franklin Mountain Investments, has an inkling of why the bank is downsizing.
“We all know the banking industry is changing and the need for large retail bank lobbies has diminished due to online banking,” Kell said in an email.
Franklin Mountain handles real estate holdings for Paul Foster, the El Paso billionaire who owns the Wells Fargo building along with several other prominent Downtown buildings.
Franklin Mountain and Wells Fargo officials are discussing the bank’s future in the building, Kell said.
“At this time, we do not have definitive details from Wells Fargo as to their specific plans,” including the future of the bank name atop the building, Kell said.
“While not favorable to have a major bank close its retail banking operations Downtown, we are seeing increased interest in office space in the Downtown area,” Kell said.
“We have recently signed various significant leases throughout our (Downtown) portfolio,” including Helen of Troy.
The El Paso consumer products company in late 2023 sold its large, ultramodern office building in far West El Paso to worldwide manufacturer Eaton.
So, Helen of Troy’s headquarters are moving in early 2025 to another Foster office building: The 18-story One San Jacinto Plaza Building at 201 E. Main St., in Downtown.
That building for years was known as the Chase Bank building because the bank’s name and logo were atop the office building.
But the name changed after Chase downsized its Downtown branch and moved to a much smaller space in Foster’s renovated Mills Building in 2017.
Sunflower Bank, which has a branch in the Main Street building, had its name put atop the building in 2021. Helen of Troy’s name will also go atop the building in the future.
Wells Fargo’s Morrison said, “Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers in combination with our mobile app, online website and ATMs.”
Wells Fargo has 12 branches in El Paso, including the soon-to-close Downtown branch.
Downtown customers will be able to use the Wells Fargo branch at 2340 N. Mesa St., about one mile from the Downtown branch, Morrison said.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.
Source: elpasotimes.com
