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.