Chesapeake Bank’s new Richmond office at 5501 Patterson Ave. (Photo by Burl Rolett.)
A Northern Neck bank has staked its first sizeable claim in Richmond real estate.
Chesapeake Bank last week bought an 11,420-square-foot office building at 5501 Patterson Ave. to serve as its new base of operations for the Richmond market. It paid $1.76 million for the building in a deal that closed May 12.
The purchase comes three years after the $660 million Kilmarnock-based bank first pushed into the market with a two-man lending team working out of a single Glen Forest conference room. Its new property gives it the space to potentially open its first full branch locally.
“The initial thrust was to find some place to put the loan production office,” said Frank Bell, a senior vice president who runs the bank’s local operations. “We would like to think we can put a full-service branch, but we would have to get through all the regulatory approvals.”
It has since added a third employee and expanded to 1,800 square feet at 7204 Glen Forest Drive. Bell isn’t sure how much space Chesapeake Bank will need when it first moves over to Patterson Avenue sometime next year. The company still has about a year left on its Glen Forest office, a space it eventually will vacate.
Bell said Chesapeake Bank put in a letter of intent to buy the Patterson Avenue building about six months ago. It liked the location for its proximity to Bon Secours St. Mary’s, the forthcoming Bon Secours nursing and imaging schools at Westhampton School and shopping centers at Willow Lawn and in the Libbie and Grove area.
The bank has had its eye on Westhampton real estate since shortly after moving to Richmond, but the market has been tight, Bell said.
“Pretty much off the bat we started looking for a permanent location,” Bell said. “There’s not a lot available. There’s a lot maybe for lease, but we’re a bank that likes to own property.”
Chesapeake Bank has renovations planned for the building before it moves its office over. In the meantime, it will start collecting rent on its purchase. Several tenants, including the Hearing Clinics of Virginia, the Telamon Corp. and Archstone Counseling and Treatment, currently rent space at 5501 Patterson Ave.
Lease terms for the building’s tenants vary, and the bank has yet to speak with the business tenants. Bell said there is at least one vacant office in the building.
Chesapeake Bank’s Richmond office currently deals almost exclusively in commercial lending, but the new building could afford an expansion of services.
“It’s been my experience over the years that the more space you have, you will find ways to fill it,” Bell said. “There are a lot of decisions to be made at this point, but my first and foremost priority was to get a piece of property.”
Chesapeake Bank’s new Richmond office at 5501 Patterson Ave. (Photo by Burl Rolett.)
A Northern Neck bank has staked its first sizeable claim in Richmond real estate.
Chesapeake Bank last week bought an 11,420-square-foot office building at 5501 Patterson Ave. to serve as its new base of operations for the Richmond market. It paid $1.76 million for the building in a deal that closed May 12.
The purchase comes three years after the $660 million Kilmarnock-based bank first pushed into the market with a two-man lending team working out of a single Glen Forest conference room. Its new property gives it the space to potentially open its first full branch locally.
“The initial thrust was to find some place to put the loan production office,” said Frank Bell, a senior vice president who runs the bank’s local operations. “We would like to think we can put a full-service branch, but we would have to get through all the regulatory approvals.”
It has since added a third employee and expanded to 1,800 square feet at 7204 Glen Forest Drive. Bell isn’t sure how much space Chesapeake Bank will need when it first moves over to Patterson Avenue sometime next year. The company still has about a year left on its Glen Forest office, a space it eventually will vacate.
Bell said Chesapeake Bank put in a letter of intent to buy the Patterson Avenue building about six months ago. It liked the location for its proximity to Bon Secours St. Mary’s, the forthcoming Bon Secours nursing and imaging schools at Westhampton School and shopping centers at Willow Lawn and in the Libbie and Grove area.
The bank has had its eye on Westhampton real estate since shortly after moving to Richmond, but the market has been tight, Bell said.
“Pretty much off the bat we started looking for a permanent location,” Bell said. “There’s not a lot available. There’s a lot maybe for lease, but we’re a bank that likes to own property.”
Chesapeake Bank has renovations planned for the building before it moves its office over. In the meantime, it will start collecting rent on its purchase. Several tenants, including the Hearing Clinics of Virginia, the Telamon Corp. and Archstone Counseling and Treatment, currently rent space at 5501 Patterson Ave.
Lease terms for the building’s tenants vary, and the bank has yet to speak with the business tenants. Bell said there is at least one vacant office in the building.
Chesapeake Bank’s Richmond office currently deals almost exclusively in commercial lending, but the new building could afford an expansion of services.
“It’s been my experience over the years that the more space you have, you will find ways to fill it,” Bell said. “There are a lot of decisions to be made at this point, but my first and foremost priority was to get a piece of property.”
CONGRATULATIONS! Frank, Laurie and the rest are great people. Good for them, good for the bank and good for the Richmond area!