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Boston-based Eastern Bank does not plan to keep Century Bank’s Medford headquarters after the merger and has agreed to sell the site shortly after the banks merge.
Eastern Bank said in an SEC filing yesterday that it has signed an agreement to sell the 400 Mystic Ave. site in Medford to an affiliate of the Herb Chambers auto dealership empire.
Herb Chambers will pay $20.5 million in cash for the 4.9-acre parcel, which includes Century’s 5-story headquarters and an attached three-story building. The buildings have about 88,000 square feet, according to public records.
The sale to Herb Chambers is expected to close by Dec. 31, though the car dealership could pull out of the deal during a 45-day due diligence period that began Sept. 30, when the two companies signed the purchase and sale agreement. Herb Chambers currently has corporate offices in Somerville. The company did not respond to a request for comment before Banker & Tradesman’s press time.
If the sale goes through, Eastern Bank will not have to vacate the site right away. The bank could remain in the building until April 30, 2022, for $500 per day, plus the costs for utilities, insurance and property maintenance, the filing said. Eastern could then extend its stay for another 30 days or terminate it early with 30 days’ notice.
Century Bank, which was founded in a trailer in 1969, moved its headquarters to 400 Mystic Ave. in the 1980s from its nearby Somerville headquarters. The executive offices were originally in the smaller office building on the site and moved to the new five-story glass building in 2005.
Eastern Bank had announced in April that it would acquire Century in an all cash deal valued at $642 million. The banks announced last week that they had received all regulatory approvals for the deal, and Eastern expects to close the acquisition in mid-November.
Because of the overlap in the banks’ footprints, Eastern Bank plans to close 17 branches after the merger, including two in Medford: Eastern’s Locust Street branch and Century’s Salem Street branch. Century’s branch in the ground floor of 400 Mystic Ave. was not scheduled to close as part of the consolidation, and Eastern Bank has confirmed that the branch will remain open.
Editor’s Note 5:25 p.m., Oct. 7, 2021: This story has been updated to include Eastern Bank’s response that the branch at 400 Mystic Ave will remain open.
