CLAY — Oswego–based Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBHC), parent of Pathfinder Bank, is targeting a Nov. 1 opening for its new branch office on Route 31 in Clay, Tom Schneider, president and CEO of Pathfinder Bank and Pathfinder Bancorp, tells CNYBJ.

Pathfinder bought the property — a nearly 2,500-square-foot building, situated on 2.4 acres at 3775 State Route 31 — for $625,000 from KeyBank. Construction crews are working on improving the appearance of the branch, including enhancing the drive-thru lanes and improving access to the site.

“Our total investment will be $1.6 million by the time we’re done,” Schneider says.

Rowlee Construction Inc. of Fulton is the general contractor on the project after also handling the initial demolition work.

Pathfinder Bank’s newest location will sit alongside the proposed Widewaters Commons project located at 3715 Route 31. Widewaters Commons — a project of DeWitt–based real-estate development and management company Widewaters Group — is a proposed 100,000-square-foot-plus retail complex with restaurants and stores.

Pathfinder is working in partnership with Widewaters to create “access and egress” to its development, Schneider says. Specifically, Pathfinder customers will be able to access a traffic light, secured by Widewaters, so they can more easily make a left-hand turn onto Route 31 when leaving the bank branch. He says without Widewater’s involvement, Pathfinder would not have made the decision to place its new branch in this location.

“Their partnership was critical to making that happen. I’m very grateful to be working in partnership with Widewaters and Joe Scuderi, [the company’s president],” Schneider says.

Rationale for new branch

Schneider says Pathfinder needs the Clay branch to support its rapid growth and increase its points of contact with customers for their convenience.

“What we found with the unprecedented growth we generated last year, [nearly 20 percent], our ability to service our customers is impeded by lack of convenience,” he says.

Schneider says that 90 percent of Pathfinder’s growth is coming from the Onondaga County market. 

The new branch in Clay will be its third Onondaga County office. Pathfinder’s other two Onondaga County offices are in Cicero and downtown Syracuse, respectively. The bank opened the Syracuse branch in September 2014 as a limited-service business banking office and then expanded it to a full-service retail branch in early 2017. 

The new Clay office will be a full-service branch, offering retail, residential mortgage, commercial lending, and wealth-management services, as well as bank teller and ATM drive-thru service. 

Pathfinder Bank plans to hire six new employees, which would increase its companywide total to 160 employees.

Pathfinder Bancorp reported net income of $1.9 million, or 46 cents a share, in the first half of 2018, up more than 13 percent from $1.7 million, or 41 cents, in the first six months of 2017. 

In 2017, Pathfinder Bancorp generated net income of $3.5 million, or 86 cents a share, up from $3 million, or 74 cents, in 2016. The banking company’s total assets surged nearly 18 percent in 2017 to finish the year at $881.3 million. The increase was primarily driven by loan growth, led the bank’s increased penetration of the Syracuse market and surrounding Onondaga County areas.

Pathfinder Bank has nine branches, with six in Oswego County in addition to the three in Onondaga County. It is ranked first in market share in Oswego County with a 44 percent share of total market deposits, according to the latest FDIC statistics.