Pinnacle Bank is making further headway to establishing a presence in the Augusta area. The independent bank, headquartered in Elberton, Ga., had already been operating for three months by the time it held the grand opening at its Furys Ferry Road location on Friday, Feb. 25. Now its branch on Lewiston Road in Grovetown is underway.
“We’ll probably start construction in April,” said Senior Vice President and Augusta Market Manager Dustin Young at the grand opening of the Martinez branch. “We look to be open by the end of the summer. It’ll be a 2022 opening, for sure.”
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At this point construction seems to be on schedule, as the Planning Commission unanimously approved the architectural review for the Grovetown location on Thursday, April 21. The new location will be on the burgeoning corridor of Lewiston Road, near the intersection with William Few Parkway.
The bank is trying to tend to one potential glitch early on, regarding its signage. On April 22, Pinnacle submitted a zoning application to Columbia County Planning, requesting a change of condition.
Pinnacle Bank’s new branch will be at 420 Lewiston Rd., sharing property bordering on Autumn Trail with a Popeye’s restaurant. The bank is seeking permission to install its own signage instead sharing signage with Popeye’s.
“There are only two businesses on this property,” says the letter accompanying Pinnacle Bank’s application. “The other border for Popeye’s is Autumn Trail and Pinnacle’s other border is the GA DOT (Georgia Department of Transportation). Because of the borders, no other signs will be added to this property as other retailers can’t move in.”
The letter goes on to insist that because Pinnacle and Popeye’s will be the only businesses on that block, shared signage would imply a false connection between the two. The statement proposed a six-foot brick-based monument style similar to nearby Auto Zone and Longhorn, which are on the same side of Lewiston Road.
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The letter also notes Columbia County Commissioner Connie Melear is on the board of directors of Pinnacle Bank, but says that she has “no direct financial interest in the property” and that her ownership of the bank’s parent company “represents less than 1% ownership in the company.”
The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the request on May 19.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
