WALLINGFORD — Bank of America has taken steps to sell the building of its former downtown Center Street branch.
The 129-year-old building at 100 Center St. has been on the market for a year. A sign outside Monday says bids are due Oct. 18.
Tara Burke, Bank of America spokesperson, said Monday that it’s actually a sale which resembles an auction process.
Interested buyers submit bids by the due date, and then Bank of America will review them, Burke said. If no bid is accepted, the bank will keep the property on the market.
The sale is being brokered by real estate company CBRE.
The total commercial parcel, which includes about a quarter acre of land and 10,416-square-foot building, is appraised at $619,600.
The bank closed its doors Sept. 18, 2018, opting instead to operate a remote ATM location at the other end of the block.
According to town records, the former Wallingford Bank and Trust Co. building was erected in 1890 and housed a bank for its entire history.
The Bank of America branch had operated at 100 Center St. since 2005, after the company acquired the building through its takeover of Fleet Financial Group.
Tim Ryan, the town's economic development specialist, said Monday that “a number of people” have called the town Economic Development office expressing interest in a variety of uses, including restaurant, residential and entertainment.
“Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see who buys it,” Ryan said, adding that he encourages potential buyers to engage with the Economic Development and Planning and Zoning offices to make sure the their vision for the building coincides with what town zoning regulations allow.
Ryan said that when Bank of America closed the Center Street branch, it was part of a larger reorganization of its bank network that went “well beyond Wallingford.”
Fewer people overall utilize branch offices these days, he said, preferring ATMs and online services.
Now Bank of America has “hundreds of branches it’s supposed to sell,” Ryan said.
“This one had to sit and wait its turn,” he said.
Bank of America opened a new ATM location in June at 58 Center St.
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