BB&T has entered into a lease on a 4,000-square-foot property in the Landfall shopping center near the intersection of Military Cutoff Road and Eastwood Road. The site previously housed a Cooperative Bank branch before the bank failed last year.

To move to the new location, BB&T will consolidate two branches. Those branches are located on 7031 Wrightsville Ave. and 5710 Oleander Drive. Employees from the consolidated branches are expected to transfer to the new branch.

“Military Cutoff is the new emerging commercial center of Wilmington,” said Bryce Morrison, vice president at Cape Fear Commercial who handled the negotiations for BB&T. “(BB&T) had to get somewhere there with more exposure.”

The bank and property owner, First State Investors out of Pennsylvania, have agreed to a 20-year lease. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

Morrison has worked with BB&T as the exclusive buyer/tenant representative for the bank in Southeastern North Carolina for more than three years. Morrison said the bank has been actively pursuing a location in the Mayfaire region for close to two years.

“We had to be patient. When Cooperative went under we immediately called the landlord to inquire about the location,” Morrison said. When First Bank purchased the Cooperative assets, Morrison thought First Bank would not open a branch at the site since it already has a branch in that area.

Morrison’s instinct proved correct, as the old Cooperative branch sat vacant for more than a year. With the new lease signed, BB&T has found its site in the Landfall area.

The only remaining impediments are regulatory measures. The FDIC imposes a 90-day due diligence waiting period for all new bank branches that is expected to expire sometime in September. Upon completion of the due diligence period, renovations will begin. The bank branches moving to the new location have been told to expect to open at Landfall on about Nov. 15.

Calls to local and state BB&T executives were not immediately returned.