Pinnacle Bank broke ground Wednesday on what will be its flagship branch at Evans Towne Center, continuing a burgeoning presence in the CSRA.
Columbia County District 1 Commissioner and bank board member Connie Melear attended alongside bank staff and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce to celebrate what Melear called “a perfect blend of community and mindset growth.”
In May, the Board of Commissioners approved a planned unit development (PUD) revision to allow for the construction of the 30,000 square foot building intersection of Ronald Reagan Drive and Evans Town Center Boulevard.
The ground floor of the building will house the bank and call center, while the second and third floors will serve as office space for the commercial banking team, the mortgage department and other lines of businesses.
The fourth floor will host both executive office space as well an event facility that will hold up to 150 people, complete with an outdoor terrace overlooking Evans Towne Center Park.
“What we’re doing is demonstrating, not only with the loans that we make into the community when people trust us with their deposits, that we’re reinvesting into facilities for economic development and creating jobs here,” said market manager Dustin Young.
The bank will consolidate 21 employees from some of its other locations, including 16 from the mortgage lending office off Furys Ferry Road, to the new branch, Young explained. The call center has been planned to hire 10 new team members, and Young went on to say the commercial banking team would grow to roughly 45, plus support staff.
The Elberton, Ga.-based bank opened its first local branch in Martinez in 2022, going on to open locations in Grovetown and, most recently, in Augusta on Walton Way. Earlier this year the bank acquired property to build another branch on Peach Orchard Road, with a goal, Young says, toward opening in the first quarter of next year.
Pinnacle Bank had originally planned to set up several branches in the CSRA, but not necessarily to establish a regional banking hub. The success of the past two years, however, yielded the opportunity to build further brand awareness, develop a workspace to draw talent and to significantly invest in the community, said Young.
“If you look at very successful companies, particularly tech companies, the reason they’re able to recruit the smartest and brightest people is because they create a work environment that people want to work in,” he said. “And so this will be a great place for people to come and do business with us, but it’s going to be even a better place, from nine to five, for our team members to work in. So that’s really what spurred us to want to build a facility like this is to continue to recruit the best talent that we can.”
Young estimates the Pinnacle Bank Evans branch, barring any delays, will be open in a year.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
