Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank is parting ways with the 101 North office tower nearly 20 years after it first moved its regional headquarters into the 31-story building in downtown Phoenix and opened its first branches in the Valley.

The office tower, known as the second tallest building in Arizona, is located at the northeast corner of 1st Avenue and Adams Street and was named U.S. Bank Center in 2004. The owner of the building, Portland-based ScanlanKemperBard Cos., said the U.S. Bank signs at the top of the building will be removed in the next two weeks.

U.S. Bank follows Wells Fargo and Chase in moving their major office footprints out of the downtown Phoenix business core following the Covid-19 pandemic to consolidate in offices in other parts of the Valley. It will create additional space for other types of companies looking to move downtown.

The bank's lease ends in October for approximately 30,000 square feet, including space on the first floor, which it no longer needs since it plans to consolidate its employees into its existing 9,000-square-foot office space at 16220 N. Scottsdale Road.

“As we approach the 20th anniversary of our first branches in the Phoenix area, our commitment to our customers and the community are as strong as ever. Over that same period, our non-branch office space has evolved as well," U.S. Bank said in a statement provided to the Business Journal. "As we evaluated our present and future office space needs, we made the decision to expand our space near Kierland in Scottsdale while also electing to not renew our lease in downtown Phoenix."

U.S. Bank said this will allow them to consolidate its team currently based in downtown Phoenix, which has about 36 corporate and commercial employees, as well as its employees based in in its existing locations across Phoenix and Scottsdale.

"We are proud to serve our clients and customers across nearly 50 branch locations in Maricopa County and hope to have a few additional locations to share in the near future," the company added.

U.S. Bank said it's looking to expand its Scottsdale office by 6,000 square feet. The Scottsdale office is located close to the Scottsdale Airport near Bell Road and Loop 101, as well as a large number of retail and commercial centers.

In 2020, the bank closed several of its branches across the Valley, including its downtown Phoenix branch on the first floor of 101 North building. The company closed its downtown branch location permanently after temporarily shutting it down due to the pandemic.