Richmond Boyce heads Comerica Bank’s small business banking office on B Street.

San Diego native Richmond Boyce opened Comerica Bank’s new small business banking office at 701 B St. last month, but the location is only temporary. Next year, Comerica will become an anchor tenant in DiamondView Tower, the 15-story Class A office building under construction just beyond the right field fence at Petco Park. Boyce and business development officer Gary Ladrido and their staff will move into DiamondView along with many other Comerica business units in the first quarter of 2007, including its Wealth & Institutional Management office at 600 B St. Downtown.

Comerica’s move into Downtown and other parts of the county represents a major shift by the Detroit-based bank, one of the top 20 banks in the country for small business loans. “Small businesses are a leading source for jobs and economic growth in California, and especially in San Diego,” says Michael Conboy, executive vice president for the bank’s western market.

In the past 18 months, Comerica has opened banking centers in new locations in La Jolla and Del Mar Heights and new centers are to open in Encinitas and Carlsbad. Comerica already has an SBA lending office in Carlsbad.

Boyce says the San Diego moves are part of Comerica’s Western market expansion. The market, with assets of $16 billion, produces about a third of the bank’s net income for the entire country, he says.

“The bank is identified with small business,” says Boyce. “The plan is to add staff to our unit over the next year or two. Comerica was looking for someone who was familiar with San Diego. I became interested because I believe in the philosophy that small business drives the economy.”

The small business banking office serves businesses with revenue of $15 million and below with credit needs of $2 million and below.

Boyce, who lives in Del Cerro with his wife, Tammy, and a 2-year-old son, is two years removed from obtaining his master’s degree in business administration from SDSU. He holds a bachelor’s degree from San Jose State, issued eight years ago.

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Western Alliance Bancorporation’s California subsidiary, Torrey Pines Bank, opened its fifth office in San Diego in the Symphony Towers. It’s the bank’s second Downtown location. Torrey Pines Bank also has offices in Carmel Valley, La Jolla/Golden Triangle and La Mesa. “Downtown San Diego is the financial hub of the San Diego region and continues to grow in its appeal as one of the country’s most desirable commercial and residential communities,” says Gary Cady, Torrey Pines Bank president.

The new office at 750 B St is located on the ground floor of Symphony Towers. Francesca Castagnola is v.p. and manager of the new office. Castagnola, a San Diego banker for 17 years, joined Torrey Pines Bank when it began in 2003 in the bank’s first location on the west side of Downtown.

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Construction has started on Bondi, an Australian bar and kitchen at 333 Fifth Ave., between J and K streets. Three Australian hospitality industry veterans are partners in the venture — CEO Julian Heppekausen, CCO (chief concept officer) David Zampatti and COO Michael Cameron. The restaurant will have Australian design elements and a casual, contemporary menu and drink selection from around the southern continent.

Bondi hired Brooking Design Practice Australia from Fremantle, Western Australia, along with Portland, Ore.-based architectural firm VisWerks, to design the 9,000-square-foot venue. This is the first venture in the U.S. for director Tom Brooking and interior architect Janelle Mirabile. The firm’s Australian commissions include urban clothing chains Live Clothing and Soul Outlet. It has also designed bars, clubs and restaurants such as Benny’s Bar & Café, Madonna’s in Fremantle’s Americas Cup precinct and Metropolis City, a 3,000-capacity entertainment complex that is the largest licensed, live entertainment venue in Australia.

San Diego-based ICS Restaurant Builders is general contractor for the project. CEO and President Glenn Miller and CFO and Vice President Charlie Dusenberry have more than 40 years’ combined experience in the restaurant construction business. Most recently, their company completed projects for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse as well as the Paradise Grille in the Flower Hill mall in San Diego.

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The Law Offices of Leo Sullivan, which specializes in business and real estate law, is moving out of Downtown to a new 1,373-square-foot office at 2468 Historic Decatur Road in Liberty Station, the former Naval Training Center. His practice will join Gnostech, Inc., Telisimo International Corp. and TriWest Healthcare Alliance in the same building.

Sullivan is the second law firm to announce plans to move to Liberty Station from Downtown. Last year, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz signed a lease for 15,500 square feet at 2488 Historic Decatur Road.

The Downtown Relocations column features news on firms that are abandoning, embracing or expanding in the 92101 ZIP code. Send submissions to Manny Cruz, manny@sandiegometro.com.