BB&T signage change tall order at Park Tower

Branch Banking & Trust Corp. is already changing the signs at former Colonial Bank offices throughout the Gulf Coast region, leading up to what will likely be its biggest, if not highest, installation — the lettering atop Tampa's 36-story Park Tower.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based regional bank, which acquired Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial from receivership last summer, has hired Burton Signworks Inc. of Mount Airy, N.C., to handle the rebranding of branches and office buildings. Most of the permanent street-level signs are being changed this month to reflect the bank's new identity; plastic covers with the new logo have been in place for most of this year.

At Park Tower, Burton Signworks will use cranes to install the new white BB&T letters on a burgundy background, supplanting Colonial's name on its north and south sides. Colonial secured naming rights to the tower at 400 N. Tampa St. four years ago and BB&T last month renewed its lease on 51,000 square feet over the next 10 years.

Rich Banten, vice president of sales and marketing for Burton Signworks, says the Park Tower conversion will likely be the most arduous task in its Florida contract with BB&T, worth at least $3 million.

“It's been a quick but long-roaded process,” Banten tells Coffee Talk, noting that the sign change in downtown Tampa could take up to a week in early May and involve temporary street closings. He says his company has consulted with city leaders and local businesses on the change.

Interestingly, the name change atop Park Tower could be the first of three to happen in downtown Tampa this year. Coffee Talk hears that Verizon Communications Inc. may seek to vacate its space in Tampa City Center, while Sykes Enterprises Inc. has been scouting other buildings pending an upcoming renewal at Rivergate Tower.