Royal Bank of Canada Leases 40,000 SF

ATLANTA-RBC Centura Banks Inc., the local division of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, is forsaking its five-year-old quarters at the Prominence Building in the affluent Buckhead district for 40,000 sf in the new 12-story, 700,000-sf Centergy One office building in Midtown.

Cushman & Wakefield brokers Samuel B. Hollis Jr. and Kenneth R. Ashley represented the bank in its 15-year lease. The lease has an estimated aggregate rent value of $12 million based on an average effective base rent of $20 per sf, according to Downtown area brokers. James Phillpott, C&W’s media relations officer, couldn’t be reached to confirm the lease value.

About 100 bank employees are expected to relocate to the firm’s new space on the entire ninth floor and half of the eighth floor, according to James Rager, vice chairman of RBC Financial Group, the parent of Royal Bank of Canada. The bank is also constructing a ground-floor retail branch in the building.