пятница, 27 июня 2008 г.

AmSouth Bank Seeks to Move Memphis, Tenn

Birmingham-based AmSouth Bank is negotiating to move its local offices into the building Belz Enterprises will soon launch at Poplar and Interstate 240.

Belz is scheduled to begin demolishing The Ridgeway Inn in June to build a 50,000-square-foot, five-story office building.

Real estate people familiar with the deal said AmSouth is interested in the $4 million project as a build-to-suit that will include a first-floor bank branch.

AmSouth's 40,000-square-foot lease at 6000 Poplar, just a few blocks east of the Ridge|way Inn site, expires in mid-2005.

Belz Enterprises spokesman Andy Groveman said Belz was negotiating with several potential tenants.

AmSouth officials would not comment, but the bank has been seeking a site in the Poplar Corridor for more than two years.

The bank was officially represented by Birmingham-based Harbert Realty, but Memphis-based Weston Cos. was enlisted as a subagent.

Weston searched for a suitable site for two years, ending it late last fall.

The search was prompted because AmSouth wanted to open a retail bank branch with three or four drive-through lanes. The 6000 Poplar building does not have a branch.

"They needed a drive-in retail facility, so it was just not practical to build one there and stay in that building," Weston president and CEO David Peck said.

AmSouth was initially looking for 30,000 to 35,000 square feet and would seriously consider only sites on Poplar Avenue east of I-240.

Among the sites Weston explored between I-240 and the Germantown city limits were those of the Homewood Suites, Applebee's, Steak and Ale, and the former site of the Kingsway Christian Church at Poplar and Massey.

AmSouth was prepared to demolish the buildings on each of the sites, but Weston could not make the locations work because of issues such as site dimensions, access and owners unwilling to sell.

Belz Enterprises announced two weeks ago that it would demolish The Ridgeway Inn and build the new office building on a speculative basis, or without commitment from a tenant.

Such a move would be uncharacteristic for the family-owned company, which has not built a speculative office building since The Tower at Peabody Place in 1997.

Construction will take about a year.

The announced plans include more space than AmSouth was initially looking for, but Peck said the bank company wanted room to expand. He expects the banking firm would take the entire building.

"I would imagine if they were doing that many drive-in lanes, that would almost prohibit anybody else from going into the building," Peck said.

CRESA Partners Memphis president Mary Singer said the demographics surrounding the site are good for a bank location, as are the amount of traffic nearby and access.

As for visibility, the location is tough to beat.

"It's like a billboard location in every direction," Singer said. "It's like having a billboard as a building."

Clark & Clark principal Nick Clark said the rare location with two sides fronting Poplar would give the AmSouth office prominence and is the perfect place for a signature building.

AmSouth entered the Memphis market in 1999 following its acquisition of Nashville-based First American Corp.

Clark said AmSouth's move would be a good sign for Memphis, which has several signature buildings occupied by recently acquired local banks.

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