Truist Financial Corp., a merger between BB&T and SunTrust Banks Inc., exercised an option to buy Hearst Tower in uptown Charlotte, N.C., from real estate investment trust Cousins Properties Inc. for $455.5 million.

The property at 214 N. Tryon St. will be renamed Truist Center and serve as Truist's headquarters.

The property deal is set to close in March 2020.

Truist's executive management team has already moved to the new premises, while approximately 2,000 employees are transitioning. They will occupy over 550,000 square feet of the nearly 965,000 square-foot building.

The headquarters will include several leadership teams for corporate functions, such as communications, finance, human resources, insurance, legal, risk management and technology.

Truist said it also agreed to purchase a location in Charlotte for its innovation and technology center. The company did not disclose details of the agreement.