Wells Fargo closing bank branch in downtown Columbia. What could be next for the spot?
The Wells Fargo bank branch in Five Points will permanently close.
Local customers have received a letter from the bank informing them the location on Saluda Avenue is closing Feb. 24, 2021, at noon.
The bank’s other nearby branches at 930 Assembly St., 1441 Main St. and 4800 Garners Ferry Road will remain open, according to the letter.
Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the U.S., has been on a cost-cutting spree after reporting billions of dollars in losses this year for the first time since 2008, The Charlotte Observer reported. Over the summer, the bank said it would close 65 branch locations across the country, on its way to eventually downsizing to 4,000 locations from its current 5,400, according to The Observer.
The bank’s closure will leave a second large bank building vacant in the downtown entertainment district, for the time being, at least. TD Bank moved from its large facility on Blossom Street to a smaller nearby footprint, on Devine Street, in 2019.
However, another bank, Coastal Carolina National Bank, now owns the former TD Bank property and is pursuing renovations, according to local tax records and a permit posted to the building.
It is not yet clear what will become of the Wells Fargo property once the bank moves out. But some Five Points leaders have their preference:
“Five Points would like to see it get used for parking,” said Richard Burts, a longtime Five Points developer and property owner who has played a major role in the growth of the district over the years.
“Our daytime businesses have a huge parking deficit,” Burts said. “In order for future economic growth, more safe and convenient parking is essential.”
Steve Cook, president of the Five Points Association of merchants, agrees.
“We have really locked in on that as an ideal potential spot for a parking garage. ... It just checks all the boxes,” said Cook, who owns Saluda’s restaurant just up the street from Wells Fargo. “We’re the only entertainment district in Columbia without a parking structure.”
Five Points leaders have not had any communication with Wells Fargo thus far, Cook said.
An attempt years ago to develop a multi-story parking garage across the street from Wells Fargo, where the Walgreens drugstore now sits, faltered under pressure from some nearby residents. But the city has said it plans to open up a parking garage on Devine Street, formerly used by state employees, for additional public parking in Five Points.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
