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Wachovia shifting locations downtown

Banking activities will focus at Second Avenue N, near BayWalk. The Central Avenue site will close.

By SHARON L. BOND
Published January 29, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - The Central Avenue location of Wachovia Bank will close March 31, according to Mark Dawson, city president of Wachovia.

Most of the Wachovia employees in the building at 410 Central Ave. already have moved to the bank's new location near BayWalk. Still in the Central Avenue building are those managing the branch there.

On April 3, a new Wachovia branch will open at 125 Fifth St. S in the old Florida Power building.

"It will be full service in a building with a drive-through," Dawson said of the Fifth Street S location. "That (the drive-through) was the primary motivation for picking up a second site in downtown."

Vector Properties of St. Petersburg owns the former Florida Power building and has its offices on the second floor.

Wachovia's main site downtown now is at 150 Second Ave. N. Wachovia merged with SouthTrust Bank in 2004. SouthTrust was in the Second Avenue N building. Approximately 55 employees have been consolidated there.

It is unclear what will happen with the Central Avenue Wachovia space, which is owned by American Financial Realty Trust, headquartered in Jenkintown, Pa.

"This is an extraordinarily complicated property," said Anthony DeFazio, director of public relations for American Financial Realty Trust.

"AFR remains committed to the St. Petersburg market. We are now marketing the building's existing vacancy," DeFazio said.

American Financial Realty Trust has approximately 1,100 properties nationwide, he said.

The Wachovia building on Central Avenue is actually two buildings disguised as one by a metal grating surrounding both. Space in one of the buildings, called Wachovia Tower, is leased by attorneys and financial advisers.

[Last modified January 29, 2006, 01:27:17]