ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 6, 1996 TAG: 9608060074
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
MERRILL LYNCH joins the shuffle as businesses move in and out of First Union Building
The Roanoke office of Merrill Lynch moved Monday from the First Union Building to new quarters in Marketplace Center at 114 Market St. S.E.
Merrill Lynch was one of four tenants vacating the bank building at 213 S. Jefferson St. The building, which also houses the bank's executive offices, is owned by an affiliate of The United Companies.
Ryland H. Hubbard Jr., assistant vice president of Merrill Lynch and manager of its Roanoke brokerage office, said more room was needed for expansion. The new space on the second floor of Marketplace Center contains 6,400 square feet, compared with 4,000 square feet in the bank building.
The lease on the old space was up for renewal, Hubbard said, and Merrill Lynch studied moving to a large number of potential quarters downtown.
One of those potential locations was the old Jefferson Club space on the top floor of the bank building. The bank building itself was a positive in the deliberations, Hubbard said, but the lack of a sprinkler system in the structure was a negative in considering that vacant space.
Merrill Lynch has 20 employees, including 13 brokers.
Hubbard said Merrill Lynch liked the Marketplace Center location on the City Market. It is easily accessible, especially to the handicapped, he said, and the building has a "warmer" environment. Merrill Lynch did extensive renovations before making the move.
The new office is directly above the Roanoke Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau's downtown information center. The building has an elevator.
Other offices leaving the bank building include John Lambert & Associates, which plans to move in the next few weeks to a suburban location. A spokesman, Charles Lambert, said the new location in Colonnade II on Virginia 419 offers more convenience.
Lambert's company, a public relations and communications firm, has been in the bank building 14 years.
Edwin C. Hall of Hall Associates, which manages the First Union building, said the American Express-IDS tax services office relocated to Franklin Plaza, where its financial planning unit is housed. And the James Gurley insurance agency moved to the Equitable Insurance office in First Union Tower.
The American Express and Gurley spaces have been leased for expansion of Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, which has occupied satellite offices in the bank building for several years.
"People are coming and going all the time," Hall said of the leasing situation. He said the bank building, which contains 210,000 square feet of office space, is 94 percent occupied.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB