Bank expanding with Summerlin headquarters

Kevin Rademacher

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

Business Bank of Nevada announced plans today for a headquarters complex in Summerlin.

The new offices will be part of a 150,000-square-foot office development at West Charleston Boulevard and and Pavillion Center Drive. Business Bank will occupy about 35,000 square feet, up from the 20,000 square feet the Las Vegas-based bank occupies at its current headquarters at 6085 W. Twain Avenue.

Bank President John Guedry estimated a final cost for the project at about $30 million. The bank's holding company, Business Bank Corp., is an investor in the property and lease revenue will help offset the cost of the new building.

In December, Business Bank sold its Twain headquarters building for $5.7 million and sped up work to finalize the move. The branch at Twain will remain open.

While unpopular, new state banking taxes passed by the 2003 Legislature might play a role in fostering some bank expansion plans, Guedry said.

"Part of the motivation to continue to grow is to offset some of those new expenses," he said, adding that expansion into some smaller markets could be limited.

Business Bank recently announced plans for a 4,100-square-foot branch in Minden. The move allows the expansion of a small office and loan production office in that Northern Nevada town. Guedry, however, said that the plans might not have been possible if there was more competition in that market, given the new taxes that would cut into revenue.

"It does affect plans for the small-market areas," he said.

Business Bank also announced plans to move one of its three Las Vegas-area branches from Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road to a site twice as large at Tropicana and Eastern avenues. The company also is building a branch in North Las Vegas.