CU credit union adds south-side branch

CU Community Credit Union President and CEO Judy Hadsall said site work is under way at 1011 E. Republic Road, and the next step will be putting the project out for bid to subcontractors to work under construction manager Carter Burris.

An estimated construction cost is not yet available.

The new 4,000-square-foot credit union branch will be located across from Twin Oaks Country Club.

Springfield architect Kent Smith designed the facility, which will have a brick exterior and a metal roof.

“It’s just like a small branch bank. It has offices, a conference room, a teller line and drive-through teller stations,” Smith said.

Construction is slated for completion by the end of the year, Hadsall said.

Hadsall said that members of the credit union, which serves City Utilities employees and select employee groups and individuals who live or work in Greene or Christian counties, have indicated the need for a full-service south-side branch.

CU Community Credit Union is a member of the statewide shared-branch network operated by the Missouri Credit Union Association, and, as such, its members can go to a shared branch at 248 E. Primrose, to conduct transactional business such as deposits or withdrawals, Hadsall said.

“They couldn’t do loans,” Hadsall said. “It’s pretty limited.”

Like the existing branch of CU Community Credit Union, 818 N. Benton, the new branch will offer a full line of banking services, including checking and savings accounts, mortgages and all types of consumer loans.

“We are excited about the opportunity to offer a full-service location with extended hours on the south side of Springfield,” said Kem Reed, chairman of he CU Community Credit Union Board of Directors, in a news release. “We believe it will be a good fit.”

Hadsall expects to add six or seven employees to staff the new branch, and Lou Crawford will join the credit union to serve as branch manager for the south-side location.

Hadsall said that Crawford lives in Nixa but commutes to work at a credit union in Rolla.

“This gives her a chance to come back home,” Hadsall said.

In the 2005 SBJ Book of Lists, CU Community Credit Union reported $42.5 million in total assets, $37.2 million in total deposits and $27.4 million in total loans. City Utilities Community Credit Union ranked No. 5 on the list, with rankings determined by 2003 total assets.

Founded in 1934, City Utilities Employee Credit Union initially served City Utilities employees and their families. The credit union has grown to more than 5,000 members, Hadsall said.

That growth was largely due to changes in the law in 1998, Hadsall said, that forced credit unions to choose between sticking with a main sponsor group and select employee groups or opening membership to communities.

“They almost forced us to go community,” Hadsall said, because it can take several months to get required approval from the state to add a new employee group.

She added that in 1995, the credit union added select employee groups and still has about 40 that it serves.

“Still, our focus is City Utilities employees, family members, retirees, that’s where most of our membership is,” she added.