City and JAX Chamber leaders say Ameris Bank’s decision to move its top executives from Georgia and lease space in Riverplace Tower is a good sign for Jacksonville, Downtown and the city’s role in the banking industry.
Mayor Lenny Curry said Sunday there continues to be a renewed sense of opportunity in Jacksonville.
“Ameris Bank’s decision is another strong example of business executives recognizing the favorable conditions our community offers its employees from both a corporate and quality-of-life perspective,” Curry said.
The lease was signed Friday. Ameris Bank will post its name on two sides of the top of the 28-story tower on the Downtown Southbank, joining other marquee signage by banks on the Northbank.
Chamber Chair John Delaney said Jacksonville has seen a lot of interest from regional and national banks.
“It is viewed as a growth market and a good market, despite a high level of competition,” said Delaney, president of the University of North Florida and a former Jacksonville mayor.
Delaney said even regional and national banks with an existing presence are considering expansion.
Ameris Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Cheney said Ameris Bank will move in about 40 employees by Jan. 1. Its total space eventually will reach 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.
Cheney said the lease was long-term, but declined to provide specific terms. The project will need build-out and signage permits. It did not seek taxpayer incentives.
Jerry Mallot, president of JAXUSA Partnership, the economic-development division of JAX Chamber, called the lease and executive move another win for the community.
Curry, Delaney and Mallot credited Cheney’s leadership for the move.
“Andy is a guy with deep ties here. He is one heck of a banker and a really good guy,” Delaney said.
Cheney said the Moultrie-based Ameris Bancorp executive team will relocate to the tower, although the company will continue to be based in Georgia, where it is chartered.
Cheney said the five Ameris Bancorp executives relocating from Moultrie are Ameris Bancorp President and CEO Edwin Hortman Jr.; Chief Financial Officer Dennis Zember Jr.; Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary Cindi Lewis; Chief Credit Officer Jon Edwards; and Commercial Banking Executive James LaHaise.
Ameris Bank has 12 branches in Northeast Florida, including four in Jacksonville. The company, with $5.4 billion in assets, has 104 locations in Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida and South Carolina.
The bank is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of Ameris Bancorp. It has 150 employees in Jacksonville, including 120 at the administrative and operations center in the suburbs and 30 in the branches. That number is expected to increase.
Ameris Bank maintains its Jacksonville corporate, loan processing and operations in Deerwood Center along Baymeadows Way and a call center in St. Augustine.
Cheney said the call center and other IT and back-office operations would move within the Baymeadows area while the executive offices move Downtown.
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