Former bank branch building up for auction
Onetime National Penn Bank branch among 9 properties being sold by BB&T
POTTSTOWN » BB&T Bank Corp. is auctioning off several properties that have been sitting vacant since the company acquired National Penn Bancshares last year.
Among the properties being auctioned Tuesday is the former National Penn Bank branch located at 377 E. High St. in Pottstown.
The property, which sits on just over a quarter-acre at the corner of East High and Franklin streets, includes a 2,314-squarefoot building with drive-through windows and a parking lot. It is one of nine properties that will be auctioned off by John Dixon & Associates on behalf of BB&T Bank Corp.
“The building has been vacant for more than a year, and it is standard procedure for us to put a property up for auction if we don’t find a buyer,” said BB&T spokesman David White. “We are hopeful it will be sold and used to help continue the economic stability and future success of the Pottstown community.”
The auction is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Embassy Suites hotel in Kennesaw, Ga. Bids on this and the other prop
erties included in the auction will be accepted live and online.
The East High Street property was sold to the National Bank of Boyertown in 1975, and the bank building was constructed in 1976, according to documents included with the auction listing. The property has an appraised value of $340,360.
Under the terms of the sale, the property has a use restriction attached to it. The buyer of the property is prohibited from using the property for a banking use for a period of three years. Banking use is defined as “a state and/or national bank, national savings bank, national branch banking facility, federally insured credit union, automated teller machines associated with the foregoing and/or federally chartered savings and loan institution.”
Two other Pennsylvania properties are part of the auction: a property in Greencastle, Franklin County, and another in Pottsville, Schuylkill County. Additional properties in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia are also scheduled to be part of the July 18 auction.
According to the terms of the auction, a 10-percent buyer’s premium will be added to the high bid. For properties selling for a total purchase price of $100,000 or less (including the buyer’s premium), the purchaser will pay the greater of $10,000 or 20 percent down of the purchase price at the conclusion of the auction. For properties selling for $100,001 to $200,000, the purchaser will pay 15 percent down, while for properties selling for $200,001 and up the purchaser will pay 10 percent down. There is an exception to those terms, however. If a property sells for less than $10,000, then the entire amount will be due at the completion of the auction.
Closing on the sale of the buildings is expected to be held on or before Aug. 15.
BB&T Corp. announced its plans to acquire National Penn Bancshares Inc. in August 2015. By December 2015, BB&T Corp. had received necessary regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and all required state banking regulators.
In April, 2016, BB&T Corp. announced it had completed the acquisition in a deal valued at $1.8 billion.
Last July, the final physical conversions took place as customer systems and bank signage were switched over. Several National Penn Bank branches — three in Montgomery County, five in Chester County and five in Berks County — were among 26 that were closed permanently, rather than converted. In each case, it was because a BB&T branch was located within one mile. In the case of the East High Street property, a BB&T branch is located at East High and Hanover streets.
None of those other properties are included in this auction.