Ameris Bank is branching across the St. Johns River Downtown.
As it anchors Riverplace Tower on the Southbank, Ameris is adding a branch on the Northbank.
The city issued a building-permit April 16 for Ameris to open at 200 W. Forsyth St. in the former Truist Tower that several banks had anchored on the Northbank.
Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta is the contractor for the $502,970 project to build-out a teller office, collaboration offices and break room areas in 4,214 square feet of the 17,265-square-foot ground floor.
Warner Summers of Atlanta is the architect.
The 18-story building, developed in 1975, is at Forsyth, Hogan, Bay and Julia streets. Jacksonville-based Ash Properties bought it and a parking garage for $24.47 million in July 2018.
“We are proud to announce our new downtown Jacksonville branch, expanding our ability to meet the evolving needs of this community,” said Emily Dawkins, Florida state president for Ameris Bank, in a statement Jan. 10.
“We are deeply committed to supporting our customers while also investing in Jacksonville’s growth.” Ameris said the branch would open in the third quarter, which is July-September.
Ameris is based in Atlanta.
Among the tower’s previous anchors were BB&T Corp., which merged with SunTrust Banks Inc. in 2019. They chose Truist as the name for the new company. Truist Bank then posted its name on the top of the tower before relocating to Hanania Place on the Southbank, where it established a first-floor branch and administrative offices on the fifth floor.
Ameris said it is keeping the Riverplace Tower branch and that the 200 W. Forsyth St. office will be a new additional Downtown location.
Ameris said it has 12 branches in the Jacksonville area.