THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411050638
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
The downtown office tower that's been, at times, ownerless and tenantless, finally has someone who will call it home.
Cenit, a Norfolk-based bank, has signed a lease to take over the first floor of the Main Street Tower, located in the heart of the city's financial district.
Cenit first will relocate its central branch office at 226 E. Main St. into the first floor of Main Street Tower. It then will transfer its headquarters there.
The local financial institution's existing corporate headquarters are at 225 W. Olney Road. It will complete the move by the first quarter of 1995, said Barbara N. Lane, Cenit senior vice president. At that time, it will either sell or lease its three-story Olney Road headquarters, 33,000 square feet with parking, Lane said.
Cenit has the option to lease up to 25,000 square feet of space in the building, but will at first occupy only 4,000 square feet, half of the first floor.
``We've had our eye on that space for some time,'' Lane said. ``It's the only full-service location available in the heart of the financial district. We're a locally-based community bank, but we need to have greater presence.''
Cenit has $500 million in assets and 13 branches, including one under construction on the Peninsula in Kiln Creek. The financial institution merged with Homestead Savings in April, raising its size to 12 branch offices.
Carmaleta Whiteley, leasing director for NeVa Properties, Main Street Tower's owner, said she has been negotiating with Cenit since August about the relocation. With a drive-in window, a vault and an automatic teller machine, the building was designed for a banking tenant, she said.
Negotiations are under way with other prospective tenants, which may be announced as soon as two weeks, Whiteley said.
Main Street Tower's first tenant signed a long-term 10-year lease with an option for renewal, Lane said. The bank will pay ``market rate'' for rent, she said. Premier office space for rent downtown - known as class A space - ranges from $14 to $16 per square foot. Office space vacancy has hovered about 26 percent downtown, but shows signs of dropping lower. MEMO: TOWER'S HISTORY
Cenit's presence in Main Street Tower ends a chapter in the
building's storied past. Vacant for years as financing dried up and
litigation ensued, Main Street Tower finally will open for operation.
Started in 1988, construction on the 240,000 square foot office
building stopped in 1990 when now defunct-Rowe Development Co. in
Richmond lost its funding. A lengthy legal battle ensued when the
building's contractors demanded payment for work already completed.
Las Vegas investor Ralph Engelstad, owner of Imperial Palace hotel
and casino, bought the building in 1993 under the name of NeVa
Properties, Ltd. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo, Staff file Main Street Tower by CNB