St. Pete's Climate First Bank moves its headquarters
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 30, 2023

Climate First Bank has moved its St. Petersburg headquarters to a property near the Northeast Park shopping center.

The new headquarters at 182 37th Ave. N is 5,781 square feet and was previously home to a BB&T office. Climate First Bank purchased the property in 2021 for around $3 million. Renovations to make the site LEED-certified net-zero energy are underway, and the sustainable retrofits to the building include 49.8 kW of solar panels and four electric vehicle fast-charging stations.

Climate First Bank is a community bank founded by Ken LaRoe, who previously founded and sold First Green and Florida Choice Bank. The bank had initially operated out of a historic home at 5301 Central Ave. that was 2,800 square feet.

The renovations are expected to be complete by mid-2024. Climate First will be leasing part of the building to a “still-to-be-named tenant,” according to a release. The bank is currently operating out of the “leased space” until the final renovations to the bank portion of the building are complete.

“Our initial location was always meant to be temporary as the historic home was not ideally suited for a bank,” LaRoe said in a release. “I’m excited to move Climate First Bank into our permanent home where we can continue to lay down roots, grow our team and boost our already significant presence in St. Petersburg.”

Climate First launched in June 2021 and earlier this year received B-corp certification, which is earned by surpassing certain standards for environmental sustainability. The bank raised $35 million from new and existing shareholders around its second anniversary.