STARKVILLE — Before it builds a new branch, Cadence Bank needs to tear down the old one.
Cadence Bank is demolishing the former BancorpSouth building at 400 University Drive to build a three-story, 16,421 square-foot branch.
BancorpSouth acquired Cadence and all of its associated branch locations in 2021 and retained the Cadence name.
F&F Construction Project Manager Clay Forman told The Dispatch he and his crew began demolishing the former branch July 26 to make room for the new building. The company will also tear up the parking lot to rebuild it to include a drive-thru banking area.
Forman said he expects demolition to be complete by September and start putting in the foundations on the property by October. After that, the company will erect the new building, build the parking lot and the drive-thru. The project is slated for completion by mid-summer 2024, he said.
“Demolition will probably take about another three to four weeks,” Forman said. “We’re really just waiting and hoping to get a building permit with everything approved within the next two and a half to three weeks.”
In a variance request made to the Board of Alderman Tuesday, Cadence stated it needed a new main location in Starkville, and that its merger created a need to consolidate its workforce to one location.
“No existing location met the size and needs of the bank,” the request reads. “A decision was made to stay on the prominent downtown lot where the BancorpSouth branch was located along University Drive and South Montgomery Street. The need for additional space required the existing branch to be demolished and a new three-story branch to be constructed in its place.”
City Planner Daniel Havelin said the project will cost roughly $7.5 million.
Havelin said the city’s Development Review Committee is already looking at parts of the bank’s site plan and building permit request, which will need to be approved before foundational work on the site can begin. Toward that end, the bank also received the variance approval Tuesday from the board of alderman to combine two adjourning lots and approve spacing requirements for the project.
“The project as a whole is basically a complete redevelopment of the entire site,” Havelin said. “They’re pretty close on their site plan approval. They’ve just submitted their drawings (for the project), and I think they’re getting really close on a (final version). The other thing is architectural approval and we’re still working through some stuff on that right now.”
Cadence spokespeople did not respond to questions asked by The Dispatch on project specifics or whether the new bank will act as a regional headquarters, but did say its other Starkville branch at 802 Hwy. 12 E. will remain open. A company spokesperson replied via an email that the bank is looking forward to providing its full range of financial services at the new location.
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