The building has gone up for the new $23 million Regions Bank mortgage operations facility at the corner of Lincoln Road and Lamar Boulevard, and with technology, fixtures and equipment soon to be installed, the new center is right on track for its opening schedule of the first quarter of next year.
“So we’re just really excited about what’s going on out there,” said Greg Garraway, South Mississippi president for Regions Bank. “I think it’s just great.
“We’ve gotten so many positive comments from members of the community, and you can see other things going on in the area just anticipating our move there.”
The project, which is the largest ground-up construction project in 2018 for Regions Bank across its 15-state imprint, is spread over a 10-acre site. The building will take up about 2 acres, with parking and a walking facility for employees taking up much of the rest of the space, and room will be left for future development.
The new facility, which measures more than 60,000 square feet, will initially house 320 employees who will relocate from two of Regions’ three current downtown Hattiesburg facilities. Bank officials also plan to create 90 new jobs at the west Hattiesburg location.
“Our current location for the mortgage operation is in three 100-year-old buildings that are on different levels,” Garraway said. “What we’re going to be able to do is combine our workforce that are currently in those three buildings into one building, with one floor, where we’ve got plenty of parking.
“The concept is going to be open space – we won’t have a lot of offices at all in this building, and it’s going to be open where people can share ideas and collaborate, and really have a positive influence on production there.”
Regions will continue to provide a full-service location downtown, while local developer Rob Tatum will purchase the two vacated downtown buildings and lease them back to the bank while construction of the new facility is underway. Tatum – who also developed the Hub City Lofts and The District at Midtown – has initial plans to turn the Forrest Tower and Kress buildings into mixed-use facilities, with mainly studio and one-bedroom apartments along with commercial/retail space.
“Our strategy to move and build a new operation, a big piece of that was that we weren’t going to leave empty buildings downtown,” Garraway said. “So the only thing that will be moving will be the mortgage operation.
“You’re going to see fresh capital deployed in downtown Hattiesburg with what (Tatum) plans to do with these buildings. Everything there is very positive for downtown as well.”
The new facility will be instrumental in Regions Bank’s long-term growth plans, including that of the mortgage solutions team that serves customers across the southeast and midwest portions of United States, as well as Texas.
“We are dedicated to providing mortgage services and banking solutions to more people and businesses,” said Morgan McCarty, mortgage servicing division manager for Regions Bank. “Every day, the experience and insights of our local mortgage personnel and banking professionals help people buy a new home, make well-informed financial decisions and reach their long-term goals.
“We are proud to grow our relationships with customers by leveraging the strength of our associates here in Hattiesburg. We have the capabilities. We have the technology. And soon, we’ll be moving into a modern facility designed to support even more growth over time.”
To help accommodate the expected increase of traffic in the area, Hattiesburg and Lamar County officials are in the process of beginning a project that will widen Lincoln Road to three lanes from Hegwood Road to past Lamar Boulevard.
“They’ve already done a little patchwork on Lamar, but obviously we want to wait until we get a little closer to finishing the construction so they won’t have the heavy trucks driving on it,” Garraway said. “There will be some resurfacing on Lamar, and after we move in there will be the widening of Lincoln Road extension.
“Folks are already working on obtaining the rights-of-way for that, and that just takes a little time.”
Garraway said the project proves Regions Bank’s commitment to the Hattiesburg area.
“To me, it’s just a win-win for Hattiesburg,” he said. “Regions Bank employees more people in Hattiesburg than any other bank in Hattiesburg.
“A lot of folks don’t realize that … but when you talk about home-town banking, you think about the number of folks that we employ, and it’s critical.”
