The prominent, 16,684-square foot McIntosh Commercial Bank building, with its towering Georgian-style columns and red brick masonry, is available and is already soliciting interest, according to George Bartelme, an Atlanta broker with CB Richard Ellis.
The property value has not yet been assessed since the FDIC assumed ownership, but it was valued at $3.46 million in 2010 by the Newton County Tax Assessor’s office. The building sits on 3.74 acres of land.
It has been owned by the FDIC since McIntosh failed in March of this year. Bartelme said it’s designed to be able to house multiple tenants, as it has a separate staircase and elevator in the back and front of the building.
"We had a reasonable amount of interest from just (our) sign (in front of the building). It’s a great location and a beautiful building; I’m sure we’ll sell it if we can ever get the price," Bartelme said. "It’s a beautiful building inside, with high-end trim and floors and beautiful brick work."
For more information call Bartelme at (404) 923-1490 or e-mail him at george.bartelme@cbre.com.
CharterBank was temporary leasing the building from the FDIC after purchasing McIntosh’s deposits. However, the company moved out of the building to a smaller location at 1114 Pace Street, to save on utility and rent costs, as it plans to eventually phase out of the Covington community, CEO Bob Johnson said.
"We decided to exit the Covington market, at least for now. Basically, while Covington, and Newton County, is an attractive market, we were concerned that it is too far removed from our base in West Point to give it the level of service and management attention it deserves," Johnson said. "We expect to close up shop in Covington at the end of March 2011."
CharterBank held $42 million in assets at the Covington location, but that number fell to $12 million by July 31, after CharterBank informed customers it was leaving. He said Covington customers are welcome to leave their assets with the bank, despite the fact a physical location will no longer exist after next spring.
"Our excellent Covington staff has done an outstanding job of grasping the plan and helping us to gracefully wind down our operations there. We are grateful to each one of them for their professionalism under these unusual and less than ideal circumstances," Johnson said.
