The site is about 60 miles southeast of Downtown Orlando. The county confirms Washington Mutual has signed a 12-year-lease. Area brokers familiar with the deal tell GlobeSt.com the aggregate value of the lease is estimated at $12 million, or about $10 per sf. The building is at Babcock Street and Eber Road, not far from the nearby community of Palm Bay.
A Washington Mutual spokesperson says the bank chose Melbourne, on Florida's Space Coast, over eight over cities that were being considered. The names of the finalists were not disclosed.
County officials project the presence of the bank's regional center could translate annually to $30 million in new revenue for the community. That figure includes an anticipated $10.5 million in new annual taxes and the creation of about 500 new jobs at small local businesses that would be servicing the center.
In Florida, Washington Mutual has 220 branches and $6.5 billion in deposits. The bank acquired Great Western's savings and loan operations in 1997.
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