Five Points South Regions to be demolished in late 2025, while Lakeview branch expands

The Birmingham Design Review Committee has approved plans to demolish the Regions Bank branch in Five Points South on 20th Street to provide parking for the former Scholars apartment complex across the street.

The Committee approved the demolition permit at its October 23rd meeting. The conceptual plans for the new parking area were approved at its November 13th meeting.

Built in 1947, the building, located at 941 20th St. S, was originally the Exchange-Security Bank. It was the first banking office in the city to have a drive-up window and its own parking lot. 

Details about the sale

Regions Bank has entered into a contract to sell its Five Points South branch to Audubon, the new Scholar Birmingham student housing high-rise owner at 1001 20th St. S.

The buyer is expected to close on the property in early 2025.

“This was a difficult decision to make; we have a lot of fondness for the building, and we love the Five Points South community.”

Jeremy King, Regions Bank

Regions’ upcoming plans

For local Regions customers there is some good news. 

First, the Five Points South branch will continue to operate until late 2025. 

Even though they are closing the location, the Birmingham-based financial institution has plans to make significant investments in its branch network within the community. These include:

• Major renovation and new investments in the Regions Branch at the corner of 3rd Ave. S. and 32nd St. S., near Pepper Place will begin during the first quarter of 2025. The space will add capacity to serve more customers and offer a modernized safe deposit box space to accommodate Five Points South customers
• Adding a walk-up ATM along 20th St. S., near the current branch facility, to continue providing convenient ATM access at Five Points South

Regions’ UAB branch, which is only three blocks from the Five Points South branch, will remain open at the corner of University Blvd. and 19th St. S. 

Likewise, the remote drive-through location at the corner of 6th Ave. S. and Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. (21st St. S.) will continue to serve customers. Both sites will be updated.

Regions expects some bankers from the Five Points South location to transition to the renovated facility near Pepper Place. 

“Birmingham is our home. It has been for generations. We’re in tune with the needs of individual consumers, businesses and fellow community members. 

We’re going to keep building on our history of service, and the investments we’re making at 32nd Street, plus our continued services on University Boulevard, Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard and across the city reflect our long-term commitment.”  

Brandon Greve, Consumer Banking Executive, Regions Bank

Plans for the parking lot

At both Design Review meetings representatives for Audubon told the committee that the original developers of the apartment building were only able to lease it up to about 60% because the lack of parking was an impediment. 

The conceptual plan they presented to the committee hopes to remedy that problem.

Below are the final conceptual renderings of the parking lot presented at the November Design Review meeting.

Some in the community, including local officials, have reservations about the plan and question why they were not informed in advance to turn the property into parking.

“It is both disappointing to learn that this building has been approved for demolition to create surface parking and that neither the neighborhood nor Councilors Smitherman or Abbott were informed. This is very much inconsistent with City Planners and BDOT’s goals for urban planning. We hope this plan will be rethought.”

Wil Jones, President, Five Points South Neighborhood

Tell us what you think of these plans by tagging Bham Now’s Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn pages at @bhamnow