Village Bank plans expansion to southeast Springfield

|tab|

Village Bank hopes to begin the construction of its third physical address at 1776 E. Independence no later than September or October, pending regulatory approval from the Missouri Division of Finance and the FDIC, according to Gary Cooper, executive vice president. The project is slated for completion by spring 2003. |ret||ret||tab|

Although Village Bank owns the block, Cooper said the bank opted for the address of 1776 on Independence to demonstrate patriotism and "because it should be easy for customers to remember." The building will face north, toward Independence. The location is between Fremont and Glenstone, parallel with the James River Expressway.|ret||ret||tab|

Cooper describes the location as "outstanding," with "high visibility in a rapidly developing area." |ret||ret||tab|

The architectural style of the new building will be similar to Village Bank's other two locations at 2360 E. Sunshine and 2760 S. Kansas Expwy. |ret||ret||tab|

"We design the buildings so that when people drive by, they know it's Village Bank," Cooper said. He expects that the building "will incorporate most of the same design features of the two existing locations," but an architectural firm hasn't yet been locked in, pending approval by regulators.|ret||ret||tab|

Cooper said Village Bank has about 25 employees and expects to add staff for the new location, but the number of additional employees is yet to be determined. |ret||ret||tab|

Besides the two existing locations and the planned new facility, Village Bank has a presence on the Web at www.villagebank. net. |ret||ret||tab|

"Our Internet banking product allows us to compete with any of the big banks in town," Cooper said. "We can offer those products to the smaller customers which the big banks would price out of the marketplace."|ret||ret||tab|

Established in Springfield in the spring of 1997, Village Bank is now 5 years old. "We're enjoying our fifth anniversary," said Cooper.|ret||ret||tab|

Village Bank, according to a recent news release, "was the first bank in Missouri to be approved by the Division of Finance and FDIC for a mobile courier service branch." |ret||ret||tab|

What this means, said Cooper, is that "we have gone through the process of applying to the state of Missouri and FDIC so a bank employee can pick up deposits."|ret||ret||tab|

[[In-content Ad]]