VALDOSTA — First State Bank and Trust Co. officially dedicated its new 27,000-square-foot main office building at 3020 Inner Perimeter Road on Thursday.

First State is a subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corporation, and CEO James Blanchard joined President David Durland and founding member Loyce Turner to dedicate the new offices.

“This is an exciting time for us and for our team members,” said Durland. “It also brings us one step closer to the Arts Commission opening the new Art Center, which is exciting for Valdosta.”

Constructed by Todd Wilson of Wilson-Bray Construction, the new building houses more than 60 employees and will consolidate services from several branches the bank is closing.

“We will be able to offer the same services in better facilities with more room for our customers. We selected the Northwest section because it’s the next growth area. We’re right by the new post office and Super Wal-Mart, and Bemiss Road is being widened. The bank is positioned for growth,” said Kevin Conrad, vice president of sales and marketing.

First State is closing three branch offices and consolidating services at the new main office. The bank is also relocating its downtown location to a new building currently under construction behind the former main offices on the corner of North Patterson and Webster Street.

The previous Northside branch at 2815 N. Ashley St. is now closed, and the land has been sold to make way for a Walgreens drugstore. The Southside location at 1201 S. Patterson St. is being closed, as is the branch at Moody Air Force Base.

The former main branch building downtown at 527 N. Patterson St. has been sold to LVAC (Lowndes-Valdosta Arts Commission) and will be remodeled to house the new Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. First State’s new branch office and drive-through kiosks will be located directly behind the center to service the bank’s downtown customers.

First State Bank was founded in Lowndes County in 1905 in Lake Park. The bank was purchased in 1952 and moved to Valdosta. The bank maintains a branch in Lake Park and will now have three locations in Valdosta.



To contact Business Editor Kay Harris, please call 244-3400, ext. 280.