Ameris Bank is taking what is considered one of the premier office floors Downtown – the former University Club on the 27th floor of Riverplace Tower.
Ameris Bank anchors the 28-floor building and has its name on top. It moved its executive team, along with key division leaders, into the entire 26th floor in April 2016.
The building is at 1301 Riverplace Blvd. on the Downtown Southbank.
The bank said when it signed the initial lease that its total space will reach about 35,000 square feet, starting with 15,000 square feet on the 26th floor and about 4,000 square feet for a branch on the first floor. The 27th floor takes it to that level.
Ameris Bank Chief Banking Executive Andy Cheney said Wednesday the bank was negotiating to take the seventh floor when the University Club space became available just a floor above its headquarters.
“It is a great space up there,” said Cheney, who will move his office to the 27th floor.
Ameris Bancorp is headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia, but moved its executive offices to Jacksonville It expanded by acquiring Jacksonville Bancorp Inc., parent company of The Jacksonville Bank.
Cheney said the bank would move during the first quarter after the space is renovated for office use. The two floors will house the bank’s executive offices.
The private University Club closed in December 2016, saying the move was a business decision.
The club leased the 27th floor for the dining and event facilities and a small space on the 28th floor for a men’s athletic center. It auctioned off its furniture, artwork and equipment.
Building plans filed Tuesday show that Adams Interior Contractors Inc. is the contractor for the $208,000 demolition of the 17,000-square-foot space for Ameris Bank.
The tenant build-out for Ameris will be permitted separately. Cheney said he did not have a cost estimate for the completion of the space.
Adams Interior Contractors also will demolish the former athletic facilities on the 28th floor. That permit request shows a cost of $51,901 for the 5,565-square-foot project.
No tenant use is shown on those plans. Cheney said it was being cleaned up so that it would not affect the bank’s offices.