BALDWINSVILLE — Solvay Bank’s planned new office in the village of Baldwinsville is expected to open in early 2018. The new 3,2000-square-foot branch will be located at 197 Downer St., the site of a former branch of First Niagara Bank. The new office will be Solvay Bank’s 10th branch. Solvay Bank plans to hire five […]
BALDWINSVILLE — Solvay Bank’s planned new office in the village of Baldwinsville is expected to open in early 2018.
The new 3,2000-square-foot branch will be located at 197 Downer St., the site of a former branch of First Niagara Bank.
The new office will be Solvay Bank’s 10th branch.
Solvay Bank plans to hire five people to work at the branch, according to Karen Tracy, senior VP and the bank’s chief business strategy and marketing officer.
The Baldwinsville office will be a “smart” branch, designed to integrate banking-technology tools with personalized customer service.
“Extensive” renovations to the existing structure and property started in early fall, according to Tracy.
Zeck Builders Inc. of Camillus is the construction firm, she says. A sign at the construction site indicates that a firm called Norcott Contracting is also working on the project.
It appears that construction crews have knocked down much of the interior walls and features of the former First Niagara building but kept the same foundation and much of the building’s structural shell.
Solvay Bank declined to disclose the cost of the construction work.
The bank paid $565,000 to buy the property — a 2,900-square-foot-building on nearly 1.2 acres of land — from prior owner John Szczech, according to Onondaga County’s online property records. The sale closed on June 23 of this year. The property is currently assessed at $200,000. It had previously sold for $700,000 in January 2016.
The office will have an open floor plan that will include a tech bar, an area where employees will offer hands-on demonstrations of digital products for both consumer and business clients, according to Solvay Bank.
“Branch staff roles have evolved from being strictly transactional to being a source of knowledge on financial-technology products,” Paul Mello, president and CEO of Solvay Bank, said in a statement. “We are going to create an atmosphere of engagement, where folks can experience all that we have to offer or simply to ask a question about a particular loan or deposit product.”
The upcoming Solvay Bank Baldwinsville branch is located across the street from an M&T Bank office.
Founded in 1917, Solvay Bank (OTC: SOBS) says it is the “largest” independent commercial bank headquartered and operating in Onondaga County. Its corporate offices are located at 1537 Milton Avenue in Solvay.
Solvay Bank also has a branch at the Milton Avenue location as well as eight additional branches located in Camillus, Cicero, DeWitt, Fairmount, Liverpool, North Syracuse, downtown Syracuse, and Westvale. It also owns Solvay Bank Insurance Agency, Inc.
To promote the upcoming branch, Solvay Bank has in recent weeks run billboards on I-690, with the tagline: “B’ville See You Soon.” That slogan also appears on a sign at the construction site.
