HomeTown plans to open its headquarters in the fall, along with a branch on Virginia 419.


By Jenny Kincaid
981-3235
The Roanoke Times


A historic former bank building will house the headquarters for HomeTown Bank, Roanoke's newest community bank.

HomeTown will move into the first floor of the former Colonial American National Bank at 202 S. Jefferson St. in downtown Roanoke.

Nine top floors of the 12-story building already are being renovated for high-end condominiums. Ed Walker, a local redeveloper, owns the building, which is more than 75 years old and one of the tallest in the city.

Bill Clark, president and chief executive officer of HomeTown, said the building will have three entrances. The bank's customer entrance will be at 202 S. Jefferson St. To the right of the bank entrance, an awning will cover the condominium entrance at 204 Jefferson St.

By Thursday and just in time for HomeTown's stock offering, Clark will move into a temporary office at 206 S. Jefferson St., an annex section in the building. He'll work at that location until renovations are complete at the main office.

Clark said he did not know when renovations will be complete, but HomeTown plans to open its headquarters in the fall, along with its first branch at an unknown location on Virginia 419.

Clark described the bank's design as "classy." Roanoke architect Mark McConnel's rendering of its exterior reveals a HomeTown sign wrapped around the sides of the building that face Jefferson Street and Campbell Avenue.

Last year, McConnel said renovations to parts of the building would resemble the design of structures in New York City.

Clark said HomeTown's headquarters will have at least four teller lines, offices for bank employees and an ATM machine.

"The customers coming in will have very easy access to all of the people," he said.

In a news release, Warner Dalhouse, chairman of the bank's board, described the importance of its having a downtown presence.

"We believe the vitality of the central city is critical to the health of the entire valley, and that HomeTown can play a role in supporting that concept," he said.

Clark said the bank is accepting applications for employment. Resumes should be sent to P.O. Box 271, Roanoke, VA 24002.

A 13-member board of directors announced the formation of HomeTown in December. It is Roanoke's second community bank, alongside Valley Bank. HomeTown officials expect to raise $12 million to $25 million through the initial stock offering.