BB&T donates three office buildings to Boyertown worth $750,000

The buildings are in Boyertown, one at 16 W. Philadelphia Ave. and two at 23 S. Reading Ave. The buildings will be used for borough offices and by the Boyertown Police Department.

Scott Fainor, BB&T community banking group executive, said the offices had been used as a data center and for back office operations by National Penn Bank, which was acquired by BB&T this year.

Fainor had served as president and CEO of National Penn before the acquisition

Because of operational efficiencies from the merger, Fainor said, the bank consolidated its Boyertown operations into the building that was the bank’s former headquarters in Boyertown. That was before the bank relocated its headquarters to downtown Allentown in 2014.

Thirty to 50 employees still work at the former Boyertown headquarters building.

Some of the employees who formerly worked in the donated buildings also work out of offices in Wyomissing.

Fainor said while the bank could have sold the structures, donating them to the borough reflected BB&T’s ongoing commitment to the borough, which it developed through its predecessor bank, National Penn.

“Our relationship with Boyertown is very long and very deep,” he said.

Fainor said the buildings are “ready to move in” and come with some office furniture and an adjacent parking lot.

“This is a very significant contribution for us,” he said.

FOUNDATION WORK

The buildings weren’t the only contribution BB&T made to the borough.

As part of the acquisition, BB&T committed $5 million to community foundations for Berks County and the Lehigh Valley, with each foundation receiving $2.5 million.

Through The Berks County Community Foundation, BB&T awarded a $120,000 grant to Building a Better Boyertown. The grant will support the Downtown Boyertown Community Vision and Implementation Plan.

The goal of the project is to create a strategic road map for Boyertown’s development and continued growth.

“We’re very excited about the program and look forward to seeing the impact it will have on future economic growth and progress in the borough,” Fainor said.