Metropolitan to break ground on Marshfield branch tomorrow

Metropolitan National Bank has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow morning for a branch to replace one of its two banking centers in Marshfield.

Officials are slated to turn dirt at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the 1091 Spur Drive site in Marshfield.

Michal Moss Early, senior vice president and business development and marketing officer for the bank, said customer demand and an expanding lending environment in Webster County led company officials to plan for the new, larger branch on vacant land owned by the bank adjacent to its current center.

"We needed to rise and meet those needs," Early said.

Morelock-Ross Builders Inc. is serving as general contractor for the project, with design work by Slone Architects Inc., Early said, noting construction is expected to be complete in November or December this year.

Early said purchase of additional land around the branch was a deliberate move.

"Nobody wants to be landlocked, so the forward thinking to buy the land around the branch I'm sure was a consideration," she said. "This forward thinking did provide options for the future growth we're now experiencing."

Early deferred other questions to Metropolitan President and CEO Mark McFatridge, who was unavailable for comment this morning.

A subsidiary of Marshfield Investment Co., Metropolitan operates 12 branches in southwest Missouri.