Credit unions reaching south

Two central Springfield-based credit unions are expanding to the south side.

Community Financial Credit Union and Metro Credit Union each have announced plans to build second stand-alone locations to better serve a member community that is growing south.

Survey says

For Community Financial, the new location was a decision three years in the making and confirmed by a member survey conducted last year.

"There was a strong indication that we needed to have that presence in the south part of town," President Cathy Stroud said.

Construction at 1220 E. Walnut Lawn, near National Avenue, began in late January and should be finished by fall. DuWayne Eoff is general contractor and Bill Derington is the architect.

Stroud said the new building will cost between $750,000 and $1 million and will have all of the features of the existing location at 815 W. Tampa, plus safe deposit boxes. Stroud said she hopes to add safe deposit boxes to the main location later this year.

The south side location will increase Community Financial staff by eight to 10 employees and add Saturday and later evening hours. Community Financial now employs 24, Stroud said.

The new location will have four drive-up windows and a full-service ATM the credit union's fourth ATM. Its third was installed three months ago near Sam's Warehouse on East Sunshine.

"We're going to follow that up with at least two additional full-service ATMs around the north and west corridor of Springfield," Stroud said.

The credit union serves 12,000 members of select employer groups in nine southwest Missouri counties. Stroud said its larger members include Dairy Farm-ers of America, Associated Wholesale Grocers, O'Reilly Automotive and most recently, employees of McKesson Cor-poration on East Republic Road.

"All of the companies ... have been very instrumental in giving us guidance to consider that area," she said. "That is an excellent part of town to be south-centrally located."

Majority rules

Metro cites steady growth in members on Springfield's south side as the basis for its decision to add a southern location.

Metro, 447 S. Campbell Ave., has 8,695 members among city, state, county and railroad employees and anyone living or working in the 65806 and 65807 ZIP codes. Metro's director of marketing, Susan Kuhl, said 16.5 percent of its members come from 65807 and that ZIP code is growing by about 1 percent each year.

"The largest percentage of our member base actually live in 65807, and we've seen such a steady growth in that area of Springfield," Kuhl said.

Kuhl said that general contractor Stoddard Development Company will break ground in a couple of weeks at 3868 South Ave., adjacent to Campbell 16 Cin. Plans are for a $605,000, two-story facility with three drive-up lanes and a drive-up ATM. Kent Smith is architect of the 6,850-square-foot structure.

The credit union expects to be open by late fall and will begin with three or four new employees.

Both credit unions already share a south-side branch at 248 E. Primrose, but Metro President Kathie Peterie said the credit union will better serve its members with the separate facility. The shared branch is owned and operated by General Council Credit Union and in-cludes Postal Federal Community Credit Union, City Utilities Employee Credit Union and Southwest Teachers Credit Union, as well.

"We are wanting something to service our members better by being our own credit union down there," Kuhl added.