Towne Financial Services Group Celebrates Official Opening of Headquarters at TowneBank Tower

An excited crowd gathered in front of 3 Commercial Place in downtown Norfolk on a September evening to celebrate the ribbon cutting and official grand opening of TowneBank Tower, where the company has renovated ten floors to house members of the Towne family of companies. Will Morrison, president and chief executive officer of Towne Financial Services Group, welcomed the crowd of over 200 guests. Bob Aston thanked Mayor Kenneth Alexander and the city of Norfolk for paving the way for TowneBank and CHKD to purchase the building from Norfolk Southern in June 2020. Mayor Alexander spoke about how meaningful the building purchase was for the city of Norfolk – to have both companies bring new life to the iconic building and commit to bringing so many jobs downtown. Amy Sampson, president and chief executive officer of CHKD Health System, shared her excitement for the nearly 400 employees from CHKD who will call the building home.   

Nearly 350 Towne employees now have their professional home in the 22-story building. These include 175 from TowneBank Mortgage and its joint ventures, 150 from Towne Insurance and Towne Benefits, and representatives of TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Towne Wealth Management, Towne Vacations, Towne 1031 Exchange, as well as the company’s community financial engagement officer. 

“We have created a tangible energy by bringing our Hampton Roads-based family members under one roof in downtown Norfolk,” said Will. “Where we were previously spread out in office buildings across the region, we have seen an immediate positive impact from joining together.” 

The building is outfitted with several large meeting rooms that allow for video conferencing with the affiliate offices across Virginia and North Carolina, markets where the company is moving toward creating financial centers with traditional bank retail offices and space for commercial and private bankers, treasury and merchant officers, and representatives from mortgage, insurance, benefits, and wealth management.  

“We are committed to being the only name you need to know for one-stop financial services delivered with exquisite service and a personal touch,” said Bob. “You may finance a mortgage with us, and then discover that we have every other service that you need, and people with the best expertise to provide it. It was important for us to have a recognizable location in downtown Norfolk to bring all our capabilities together to better serve our members.”

(l. to r.) Billy Foster, TowneBank president and CEO; Amy Sampson, CHKD president and CEO; Bob Aston, TowneBank executive chairman; Kenneth Alexander, Mayor of Norfolk; Jeff Benson, chair of the Towne Financial Services Group board; and Will Morrison, president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group.