AmericanWest will move into new facility

The new AmericanWest Bank Building in downtown Spokane soon will be the corporate and regional headquarters of the building’s namesake.

AmericanWest Bancorp. will move its corporate headquarters from the North Side and its regional headquarters from Spokane Valley into the top two floors of the five-story, 56,000-square-foot building, CEO Wes Colley said Wednesday. The bank also will move its downtown branch from Wall Street to the first floor of the new building at the corner of Riverside and Browne within the next month, Colley said.

“We’re probably going to end up with at least half the building,” Colley said. “It puts us downtown with the other banks that have headquarters there.”

Colley estimated that up to 42 bank employees would work in the building by the time the moves are complete, which could take up to four months.

The fourth floor will house the regional headquarters, led by company President Duane Brandenburg. Administrative officials, as well as some senior lenders, will move from the financial center at 9019 E. Appleway in Spokane Valley. Several senior lenders, in addition to other bank services, will remain at the Valley location.

The fifth floor will house the corporate headquarters, moving senior management and some assistants from the North Side location, which is shared with a bank branch, at 9506 N. Newport Highway.

AmericanWest was formed by the merger of six former community banks: United Security Bank, Bank of Pullman, Bank of the West, Bank of Latah, Home Security Bank, and Grant National Bank. Following the consolidation, the name was changed in 2000. The bank has 40 full-service locations throughout Washington and Idaho.

With commercial transactions accounting for about 85 percent of its business, the bank hit a company record in 2003, with more than $1 billion in assets. The remaining business comes from consumer and residential transactions.

The architect who designed the AmericanWest Bank Building, Steven Meek, also confirmed that he is moving his business into the building by July or August. His firm, Steven A. Meek Architects, will occupy 3,000 square feet on the second floor, moving from 1,800 square feet in the Hutton Building.