03 Jun What are former bank branches used for after they sell?

Through mergers, acquisitions, and streamlining operations in the banking sector, there are a lot of former bank branches on the market today. More times than not, when a bank sells an old location, it’s purchased by another bank or credit union for the same use. But what happens when there is not another financial institution buyer for the property?

The specialized nature of a branch facility with its vault, teller counters, and drive thru lanes make it a difficult property for another type of use to slide right in without significant buildout or wasted space.

Elifin Realty‘s research team reviewed hundreds of transactions to identify bank branch sales in which 1) the purchaser is using the property for any use besides a bank or credit union and 2) the purchaser utilized the existing structure as opposed to tearing it down.

We then categorized the uses and put together the attached graphic showing the most common categories of adaptive reuse for these facilities.