Southern Pines plans to pay $6.4 million to purchase the corporate headquarters of First Bank and establish a town hall. The purchase of the approximately 21,000-square-foot building is being called a long-sought solution to the town’s spacing needs.
“For too long, our town operations have been spread across multiple older buildings, many of which require extensive — and costly — renovations to remain functional,” Mayor Taylor Clement said in a statement. “By bringing a significant number of our staff together under one roof, in our first official town hall, we will improve efficiency, make it easy for residents to access services, and reduce the long-term maintenance expenses that come with operating multiple aging properties.”
The four-story building is almost move-in ready, with only minor renovations needed, according to the Moore County town of 17,000 residents. The deal is scheduled to close by the end of this year. A move-in date has not been announced.
For First Bank, the sale is a strategic move, but it does not mean it is leaving Southern Pines. Richard Moore, chairman and CEO of First Bancorp, said in a statement that the agreement benefits both parties.
“This acquisition allows the town to fill a building we aren’t currently occupying fully. The town of Southern Pines has been a wonderful partner to us since we moved our headquarters in 2013, and we jointly decided it makes sense both civically and economically to enter into an agreement for them to purchase the building so it can be used to its full capacity,” Moore said.
“With all of that said, we have no intention of moving our corporate headquarters from Southern Pines. We are currently scoping out a new location for us to serve as our corporate headquarters, and will consider all needs of our local associates as we pick out a new location for our headquarters.”
First Bancorp is the holding company of First Bank and its 113 branches across North and South Carolina. The holding company’s assets total approximately $12.2 billion. It moved its headquarters from Troy to Southern Pines in 2013. Before First Bank moved in, the building had been offices for an engineering firm.
Long-Discussed Ideas
Southern Pines Town Council has mulled the idea of creating a town hall for several years, with it last brought up in 2024 to address staff spacing needs and establish a central council meeting place.
The discussion became serious due to a 2019 assessment of town buildings and office needs. The assessments revealed that several buildings would require extensive renovations to at least repair the structures and meet current needs. But those would not address growth. Clement previously called the work a $5 million Band-Aid.
“This purchase is a practical, forward-looking solution to our long-term facility needs,” said Town Manager Reagan Parsons in a statement. “It allows us to modernize operations, improve accessibility and house multiple departments in one location — all while avoiding the much higher cost of new construction. By adaptively reusing this building, this approach is faster, more cost-effective and more sustainable than building new on undeveloped land.”
The town estimated this year that constructing a new building as a town hall, roughly 25,000 square feet, would cost about $15 million.
“It is at least a weekly occurrence that I have people in the community say, ‘So, where is your office? Where is our town hall?’ Or, ‘Where do I go?’ And for a town the size of Southern Pines, we should have a town hall,” Clement said.
An Ask and An Answer
The deal with First Bank started with a car ride around town, where Councilman Brandon Goodman and Clement were looking at buildings and talking about what a desirable town hall would look like. The bank headquarters stood out — complete with four stories of brick, manicured landscaping and an inviting entrance.
Clement decided to walk in and pursued a short conversation with a manager. At the end, she said, “If for some reason you all ever decide you’re not going to need this building, I would really appreciate a phone call.”
That call came this year from Moore. He said it made sense for First Bank to find a new — and smaller — place now that they had moved employees around and don’t fully staff the building.
Michael Mayer, the president of First Bancorp since 2016 and former First Bank CEO from 2017 until earlier this year, reiterated Moore’s statement. He added that this change will not impact people who bank with them.
“I don’t think that anybody who banks with First Bank is going to notice any change whatsoever,” Mayer said. “In fact, I know they won’t because there’s no change to be noticed. We’ll still be the same bank.”
Clement said that the town expects to sell or repurpose some of its existing buildings, which could offset the cost of the purchase and allow preservation of the many historic properties. The town currently maintains 19 buildings and associated grounds, with some structures more than 100 years old.
She anticipates the town moving most of its administrative staff to the building, including the Finance, Planning, Engineering and Inspections departments. Parks and Recreation could also move there.
On the bottom level of the building, a large boardroom exists that could be turned into council chambers, Clement said. Various community organizations now use the room and it could also be available for the town’s various volunteer board meetings.
“I think this is going to be a really positive thing for the people of Southern Pines,” Clement said. “The most important person in this is our taxpayer. I think that we’re making the right step to be an efficient town and provide services to those people.”
The town will be releasing a request for proposals to secure financing for the purchase.
Frank Daniels IV contributed to this report.
The State Employees’ Credit Union rebounded with a 35% gain in net income and the addition of nearly 175,000 members during its fiscal year ending on June 30, CEO Leigh Brady said in an email to members.
The Raleigh-based institution, the second-largest U.S. credit union with $56 billion in assets, earned $283 million in 2025, versus $209 million a year earlier. The net income remained well below the previous three years, in which SECU averaged $530 million annually.
Higher earnings stemmed from “steady loan growth across the portfolio” and SECU’s efforts to hold expenses below budgeted levels, Brady said. Excluding repayment of a $5 billion loan through a Federal Reserve program to boost liquidity, the credit union reported asset growth of 9% as it added members at more than double the usual pace of about 75,000 members annually.
It now has 2.94 million members and 7,700 full-time employees, compared with 2 million members and 5,526 employees in June 2015, according to the credit union’s government filings. SECU remains well-capitalized with $5.5 billion of reserves as of June 30.
SECU operates largely as a residential lender, with about 78% of its $36 billion loan portfolio made up of mortgage loans on properties for one to four households. It does not make business loans. It reported charge-offs of $135 million in the first half of the year, mostly related to unsecured credit cards, vehicle loans and leases. Residential loans made up only $2.6 million of the charge-offs.
In her second annual report to members since becoming CEO in 2023, Brady said key initiatives included a new mortgage servicing system that will bring back a construction loan program, and the launch of credit cards that offer rewards for travel and other benefits. A new digital platform, including an improved mobile app, is expected to launch early next year, she said.
Brady also said SECU doesn’t plan to “merge with or acquire other financial institutions, but instead we focus on relationships and organic growth. It’s what our institution has done best for the past 88 years.”
Eschewing M&A activity is a contrast to continued consolidation in the credit union industry, with about 4,400 federally insured institutions remaining, compared with more than 8,800 in 2005. Some larger U.S. credit unions have acquired smaller banks as a way to add product lines, but SECU hasn’t expressed similar interest.