Top of Troy renamed National City Center; bank will occupy 82,000 square feet

The Top of Troy Building, the tallest building in Troy at 25 stories, officially became the National City Center Wednesday and will serve as headquarters for National City Bank in Michigan.

The bank occupies 82,000 square feet, including part of the first floor and all of the 14th, 15th, 24th and 25th floors. It has consolidated 235 employees from locations in Royal Oak, Warren, Birmingham and Rochester Hills. All the bank’s space was redone in a project that began in June.

The name National City, in large green letters at the top of all three sides of the building at the southwest corner of West Big Beaver and I-75, can be seen for miles.

“This is a landmark day for National City, for the city of Troy and for Oakland County,” said Ed Reilly, the bank’s executive vice president. “This gives us a dramatic presence from which to grow our market share in Southeast Michigan.”

Ted Parker, named as president and CEO of National City in Michigan two weeks ago, will join the Troy headquarters after the first of the year.

By next spring, the bank plans to complete a 3,500-square-foot bank branch in the parking lot in front of the building.

The Kojaian Cos. of Bloomfield Hills owns the building. The general contractor was the Synergy Group Inc. of Troy. The architect was Yamasaki Associates Inc. of Troy.

National City in Michigan is a division of Cleveland-based National City Corp. It employs 4,500 and operates 235 branches in the state. It has 2,000 employees and 114 branches in Southeast Michigan.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.