SunTrust, BB&T Complete Merger, Purchase Own Charlotte Headquarters for $455.5M

by Kristin Harlow

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Truist Financial Corp., the new company resulting from a recently completed merger between banking giants BB&T and SunTrust, has exercised its option to purchase Hearst Tower in Uptown Charlotte. Cousins Properties sold the property for $455.5 million.

The 46-story office tower, located at 214 N. Tryon St., will serve as Truist’s headquarters and be renamed Truist Center. The transaction is expected to close in March 2020. Truist-branded signage at the property will be installed in phases after the transaction is completed.

Truist is in the process of transitioning approximately 2,000 employees to occupy more than 550,000 square feet of the 965,000-square-foot tower. The headquarters is already home to Truist’s executive management team. The building will accommodate several leadership teams for corporate groups such as corporate communications, finance, human resources, insurance, legal, risk management and technology.

On-site amenities at the property, which opened in 2002, include a 1,400-space parking garage and a wide variety of restaurants. The location is in the heart of the city, two blocks from two separate Lynx light rail stations and Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team.

The seller, Atlanta-based Cousins, announced its own leadership transition on Monday. Executive Chairman Larry Gellerstedt will retire from the company’s board at its next annual shareholders meeting in April 2020. Gellerstedt will be succeeded by Robert Chapman.

In the coming months, Truist will unveil the location of its innovation and technology center, which will also be situated in Charlotte.

The previously announced, $66 billion merger between Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T and Atlanta-based SunTrust officially closed at the end of the day on Friday, Dec. 6. However, it could take up to two years to complete the transition to the new brand, according to local media. Truist is now the sixth-largest bank in the United States by assets and deposits. Its stock, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TFC, opened at $54.96 per share on Monday, Dec. 9.

— Kristin Hiller

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