Pathfinder supports Onondaga County growth with Clay branch

CLAY — Oswego–based Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBHC), parent of Pathfinder Bank, has been generating much of its recent growth in Onondaga County and is continuing full steam ahead with its expansion there.

Pathfinder Bank recently announced it will be opening a new branch in Clay this fall, making it its third Onondaga County office.

The bank has purchased the building at 3775 State Route 31 in Clay, which used to be home to a KeyBank branch. 

Pathfinder Bank bought the property for $625,000 from KeyBank and plans to spend at least another $625,000 to upgrade the appearance of the branch, including enhancing the drive-thru lanes and improving access to the site, Tom Schneider, president and CEO of Pathfinder Bank and Pathfinder Bancorp, tells CNYBJ.

The nearly 2,500-square-foot building, situated on 2.4 acres, was valued at more than $431,000 in 2017, according to the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Services’ online records. JF Real Estate listed the property for sale. 

Pathfinder Bank is planning to open the branch in October, after interior renovations wrap up. Pathfinder hasn’t hired a general contractor for the project yet, but Rowlee Construction Inc. of Fulton is handling the initial demolition work, Schneider says.

The new 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.

Schneider says Pathfinder needs the 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.

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 about halfway through the planning-board approval process, according to Pathfinder. The proposal calls for a 100,000-square-foot-plus retail complex with restaurants and stores. 

That made the site attractive to Pathfinder as well as the fact it was a former bank branch that could be converted quickly, says Schneider. Also, the location allows the bank to serve customers from Clay, Radisson, and Baldwinsville.

The CEO says Pathfinder found out about the property from a customer and also from John Funiciello, president of JF Real Estate, who serves on the Pathfinder Bancorp board of directors.

Pathfinder’s other two Onondaga County branches 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. 

Schneider says that 90 percent of Pathfinder’s growth is coming from the Onondaga County market. As a result, still more expansion is on the way. He says the bank plans to open two more branches in the city of Syracuse within the next 24 months.

Pathfinder Bancorp reported net income of $3.5 million, or 86 cents a share, in 2017, 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 current three in Onondaga County. It has a 42 percent share of total market deposits in Oswego County, per FDIC data. 

CLAY — Oswego–based Pathfinder Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBHC), parent of Pathfinder Bank, has been generating much of its recent growth in Onondaga County and is continuing full steam ahead with its expansion there.

Pathfinder Bank recently announced it will be opening a new branch in Clay this fall, making it its third Onondaga County office.

The bank has purchased the building at 3775 State Route 31 in Clay, which used to be home to a KeyBank branch. 

Pathfinder Bank bought the property for $625,000 from KeyBank and plans to spend at least another $625,000 to upgrade the appearance of the branch, including enhancing the drive-thru lanes and improving access to the site, Tom Schneider, president and CEO of Pathfinder Bank and Pathfinder Bancorp, tells CNYBJ.

The nearly 2,500-square-foot building, situated on 2.4 acres, was valued at more than $431,000 in 2017, according to the Onondaga County Office of Real Property Services’ online records. JF Real Estate listed the property for sale. 

Pathfinder Bank is planning to open the branch in October, after interior renovations wrap up. Pathfinder hasn’t hired a general contractor for the project yet, but Rowlee Construction Inc. of Fulton is handling the initial demolition work, Schneider says.

The new 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.

Schneider says Pathfinder needs the 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.

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 about halfway through the planning-board approval process, according to Pathfinder. The proposal calls for a 100,000-square-foot-plus retail complex with restaurants and stores. 

That made the site attractive to Pathfinder as well as the fact it was a former bank branch that could be converted quickly, says Schneider. Also, the location allows the bank to serve customers from Clay, Radisson, and Baldwinsville.

The CEO says Pathfinder found out about the property from a customer and also from John Funiciello, president of JF Real Estate, who serves on the Pathfinder Bancorp board of directors.

Pathfinder’s other two Onondaga County branches 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. 

Schneider says that 90 percent of Pathfinder’s growth is coming from the Onondaga County market. As a result, still more expansion is on the way. He says the bank plans to open two more branches in the city of Syracuse within the next 24 months.

Pathfinder Bancorp reported net income of $3.5 million, or 86 cents a share, in 2017, 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 current three in Onondaga County. It has a 42 percent share of total market deposits in Oswego County, per FDIC data.