Vacant Bank of America building in Victorville continues to draw curiosity
Rene Ray De La Cruz- The former Bank of America building in Victorville, California has been vacant for 18 months.
- The building has been remodeled and is listed for sale for $2.9 million.
- A broker associate reports receiving many calls from interested parties and a possible offer is expected soon.
Over the last year, many residents have contacted the Daily Press about the vacant Bank of America building at the busy corner of Bear Valley and Hesperia roads in Victorville.
Since the bank closed nearly 18 months ago, the almost 6,000-square-foot building in the Hi-Desert Plaza has been cleaned, remodeled and listed for sale.
High Desert resident Carolyn Reno, who drives by the building nearly daily, said she’s often wondered about the empty building.
“About a year ago, I saw people remodeling the building and thinking the bank would reopen,” Reno said. “After reading the paper, I found out that bank locations were being closed across the country, that’s when I figured it was the end of that Bank of America.”
With a current price tag of $2.9 million, the vacant building was part of the construction of the plaza in 1987, which included Vons grocery as the anchor store.
The plaza now includes numerous businesses, including Jack in the Box, Goodwill, Los Pollos Bros, Grocery Outlet and Community Bingo Hall.
Paul Casilla, broker associate at Lee & Associates, told the Daily Press that he’s fielded many calls about the property and conducted a few tours, with a possible offer coming this week.
Casilla added that the building may be used for a bank, credit union, financial services office, mortgage brokerage, legal firm, dental office, medical facility, real estate office, jewelry store, bicycle retail shop, motorcycle sales showroom, or any other retail/office use.
Bank closures
Since 2020, the closure of Bank America sites was part of the permanent and temporary closing of branches around the U.S., largely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and staff shortages, economic experts said.
In 2022, Bank of America officials confirmed the soon shuttering of its financial center on Highway 18 in the Village of Apple Valley.
At that time, Bank of America spokeswoman Colleen Haggerty told the Daily Press the bank would permanently close on Aug. 16, 2022.
"Given BofA already has a remote ATM nearby the Apple Valley location, the ATMs there will not remain after the closing date,” she said.
Haggerty added that the Village location had been temporarily closed for the past five months to consolidate resources and staff.
During that time, customers migrated to several other High Desert Bank of America financial centers in Apple Valley, Victorville, Hesperia and Adelanto, she said.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz