First National Bank’s branch will be built atop the dirt plot where Car Pool once stood and a sign still remains. The new HomeGoods store is in the distance. (BizSense file photo)
The last leg of the transformation of Willow Place is in motion.
First National Bank, a $45 billion Pennsylvania-based bank, is the latest big name to sign on at the shopping center, which is under redevelopment at the hands of owner Sauer Properties.
The bank confirmed this week its plans to build a from-scratch branch at 5514 W. Broad St., on the site of a former Car Pool car wash location that was razed as part of Sauer’s transformation of the retail center.
It’ll be FNB’s first branch in the Richmond market and comes about a year after the bank made its entrance in town with a one-man commercial banking operation.
The bank will join Shake Shack, which opened its first Richmond-area restaurant at Willow Place this summer, along with a soon-to-open HomeGoods store and a grocery store, the identity of which has yet to be announced.
FNB is leasing the land from Sauer and will build the branch with more in mind locally, according to an emailed statement from Vincent Delie Jr., chairman, president and CEO of the bank’s parent company FNB Corp.
“We are very early in the process but anticipate that the branch will open by early 2025, with plans for additional locations to follow,” Delie said.
FNB’s Willow Place branch is expected to be similar in design to this branch. (Courtesy FNB)
The branch is expected to be around 2,000 square feet and will be what FNB describes as its “modern concept design” with its eStore kiosk, ATMs and a drive thru.
The bank is led locally by veteran Richmond banker Wes York, who was previously with South State Bank, SunTrust, Atlantic Union Bank and M&T Bank.
FNB would not say how many employees it has in Richmond currently, other than York.
“We have continued to add to our team and our plan is to hire at least two dozen consumer and commercial bankers in the near term. We are well on our way,” Delie said.
The expansion into Richmond is part of FNB’s growth plans for Virginia, which also includes new branches Northern Virginia.
Beyond Virginia, the bank’s footprint includes Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad in North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. It has around 340 offices across those markets.
FNB is a different incarnation of the First National Bank that operated in Richmond in the 20th century and had operated out of the First National Bank tower downtown.
The storefront built out for a mystery grocer stands ready for its tenant to move in. (BizSense file photo)
For Sauer Properties, FNB fills out the last piece of the transformation of Willow Place, which sits just west of Willow Lawn in Henrico.
Marshall French, Sauer’s director of development and construction, said HomeGoods is set to open Oct. 26 in its space at the western end of the center.
At the other end, French said Sauer is also close to turning over the 43,000-square-foot box that will be home to an unidentified grocery store.
While French would not comment on the identity of the tenant, he said the grocer will be doing its own buildout of the remainder of the space.
Shake Shack, meanwhile, has its second Richmond-area location in the works in Chesterfield County.
First National Bank’s branch will be built atop the dirt plot where Car Pool once stood and a sign still remains. The new HomeGoods store is in the distance. (BizSense file photo)
The last leg of the transformation of Willow Place is in motion.
First National Bank, a $45 billion Pennsylvania-based bank, is the latest big name to sign on at the shopping center, which is under redevelopment at the hands of owner Sauer Properties.
The bank confirmed this week its plans to build a from-scratch branch at 5514 W. Broad St., on the site of a former Car Pool car wash location that was razed as part of Sauer’s transformation of the retail center.
It’ll be FNB’s first branch in the Richmond market and comes about a year after the bank made its entrance in town with a one-man commercial banking operation.
The bank will join Shake Shack, which opened its first Richmond-area restaurant at Willow Place this summer, along with a soon-to-open HomeGoods store and a grocery store, the identity of which has yet to be announced.
FNB is leasing the land from Sauer and will build the branch with more in mind locally, according to an emailed statement from Vincent Delie Jr., chairman, president and CEO of the bank’s parent company FNB Corp.
“We are very early in the process but anticipate that the branch will open by early 2025, with plans for additional locations to follow,” Delie said.
FNB’s Willow Place branch is expected to be similar in design to this branch. (Courtesy FNB)
The branch is expected to be around 2,000 square feet and will be what FNB describes as its “modern concept design” with its eStore kiosk, ATMs and a drive thru.
The bank is led locally by veteran Richmond banker Wes York, who was previously with South State Bank, SunTrust, Atlantic Union Bank and M&T Bank.
FNB would not say how many employees it has in Richmond currently, other than York.
“We have continued to add to our team and our plan is to hire at least two dozen consumer and commercial bankers in the near term. We are well on our way,” Delie said.
The expansion into Richmond is part of FNB’s growth plans for Virginia, which also includes new branches Northern Virginia.
Beyond Virginia, the bank’s footprint includes Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad in North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina. It has around 340 offices across those markets.
FNB is a different incarnation of the First National Bank that operated in Richmond in the 20th century and had operated out of the First National Bank tower downtown.
The storefront built out for a mystery grocer stands ready for its tenant to move in. (BizSense file photo)
For Sauer Properties, FNB fills out the last piece of the transformation of Willow Place, which sits just west of Willow Lawn in Henrico.
Marshall French, Sauer’s director of development and construction, said HomeGoods is set to open Oct. 26 in its space at the western end of the center.
At the other end, French said Sauer is also close to turning over the 43,000-square-foot box that will be home to an unidentified grocery store.
While French would not comment on the identity of the tenant, he said the grocer will be doing its own buildout of the remainder of the space.
Shake Shack, meanwhile, has its second Richmond-area location in the works in Chesterfield County.
The Willow Lawn area is exploding in new development. It’s the eastern anchor of the retail Broad Street barbell with Short Pump Mall as the western anchor. I’ve heard a rumor regarding Willow Place about a third location for a national chain but that was shot down by realtors who should be in the know.
Maybe you would like to Trade some of that information to Joe?
we must unite to save the Auto Detail sign!! 😉
This will create a nice infill sidewalk in a section were none exists and help fix the messy parking lot and driveway layout on this section of Board Street.
The redevelopment of this area is a further testament to for the vitality of the Broad Street Corridor, from the City to Short Pump. When there’s an area that might be considered blighted it’s reinvented. Willow Place is another good example of an improvement to the corridor.
And a testament to Sauer’s golden touch. Just a few years ago this development was circling the drain. Kudos to them for seeing a diamond in the rough.
I’m surprised with as many branch closings as there are in the area that banks are still building new locations.