Silicon Valley Bank collapse and fed takeover also puts $7M NC expansion in limbo

Gordon Rago
·3 min read

It’s not near the top of its problems, but a California bank’s plans to renovate an office suite at a South End office tower is in limbo after regulators closed down the bank Friday.

Silicon Valley Bank’s closure by regulators Friday is the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, The New York Times reported. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank in what is the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history, The Washington Post reported.

Late last year, Silicon Valley Bank received a Mecklenburg County building permit for a $7 million renovation of a suite at The Line, a 16-story office tower that opened last May.

The bank already had already moved into the building, a bank spokeswoman told The Charlotte Observer at the time. It was planning on opening additional office space in the building this year.

Another bank comes to Charlotte — this time from the Silicon Valley

Those plans likely are not front of mind for Silicon Valley Bank.

The bank on Wednesday announced it had sold off $21 billion of its most liquid investments; borrowed $15 billion; and organized an emergency sale of its stock to raise cash, The New York Times reported. The bank’s stock dropped 60% on Thursday, according to The Times.

Here’s what else to know about the closure, and the bank’s presence in Charlotte.

The 16-story office tower called The Line in South End. Silicon Valley Bank had already moved into the building as of late last year, but those office plans are in limbo.
The 16-story office tower called The Line in South End. Silicon Valley Bank had already moved into the building as of late last year, but those office plans are in limbo.

Silicon Valley Bank’s in Charlotte

Silicon Valley Bank was planning an upfit to Suite 1100 at The Line.

The office tower was developed by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings. It has 285,000 square feet of office and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail. It will be home to Sycamore Brewing, which is moving from next door.

The building sold last year to CBRE Investment Management for $206 million, according to county property records.

It was not clear how much square footage Silicon Valley Bank took up at The Line or how many employees it had here. SVB Securities, the bank’s investment banking division, had already moved in, the Observer reported in January.

The bank had been hiring for several open positions in Charlotte, including a business risk officer role.

Silicon Valley Bank did not return a request for comment on Friday.

Real estate firm Foundry Commercial is handling leasing of office space at the tower. The company did not return a request for comment.

More about Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank’s move this week to sell off billions in assets was unexpected to some tech investors and founders, The Washington Post reported.

The bank is federally insured, meaning if it can’t pay its depositors, they will get some money from the federal government, according to The Post.

Shares in other banks fell Thursday, including a 6.2% drop from Wells Fargo, The Post reported.

The bank, which dates back to 1983, is described as a tech start-up. It is a commercial bank with a focus on startups, technology and healthcare companies, according to its website. It has worked with clients like ZipRecruiter, Wayfair and Pinterest.