Aug. 1--SANFORD -- Capital Bank announced Friday it plans to break ground on a new regional headquarters in Sanford by the end of the year.

Though the exact location has yet to be disclosed, the new building will be constructed on the south side of the city on Horner Boulevard and will serve as both a functioning branch and offices for the bank's operations in Lee, Chatham and Cumberland counties.

Capital Bank CEO Grant Yarber said the new three-story building will allow the company to add several high-paying financial sector jobs to the local economy, though an exact figure has yet to be disclosed. The new headquarters will house regional executive offices and "treasury management" positions in addition to normal branch positions, Yarber said.

Once Capital breaks ground for the new building, construction will take roughly nine months, Yarber estimated, putting a completion date some time in the last half of 2010.

Currently, the bank has three branches in Sanford -- a branch on Steele Street in downtown that serves as the regional headquarters, as well as a branch in Tramway and one in the Jonesboro area. When the move is compete, the Jonesboro branch near Kendale Shopping Center will likely close, according to Yarber, since the new location will be less than a mile from that branch.

"As we expand in the area, we have begun to run into space needs," Yarber said. "This gives us a premier building in a good location and hopefully will beef up our presence in Sanford."

Capital Bank expanded its reach in the region in December when it acquired four branches of Omni National Bank.

But the company was founded in Sanford in 1997 and still has a number of its largest shareholders residing in Lee County. Yarber said the company chose to keep its regional headquarters in Sanford rather than moving it to a larger city like Fayetteville for several reasons -- not the least of which was a sense of commitment to the town.

The additional jobs are good news for Lee County, which had an unemployment rate of 14.8 percent in June -- the highest rate among the 13 counties in the greater Triangle area.

Additionally, Yarber said the company plans to hire mostly local companies and workers to complete construction.

"We have a lot of shareholders there and there is a lot of talent there already," Yarber said. "Sanford has always performed very well for us. I feel like we get the cream of the crop from Sanford."

Another reason for the selection of Sanford as the regional hub is location. Yarber said that with the expansion of Fort Bragg bringing new residents to the area, southern Lee County is a prime spot for a bank. With Sanford centrally located between Fayetteville and Raleigh, he expects new companies to come to the area as well.

Yarber insisted that Capital Bank has weathered the recent financial sector crisis and recession well. Although it does have some non-performing assets, he said, it also has the capital to move forward and take advantage of what he sees as a coming economic rebound.

"We are doing as well or better than most, if not all, of our competitors," Yarber said. "Times like these create opportunities. We will have a recovery, and when it comes we think we are well-positioned to perform well."

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