Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411280028
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The N&W Federal Credit Union said Friday it plans a $2 million expansion that will more than double the size of its main office near downtown Roanoke.
Thor Inc. of Roanoke will be general contractor for the construction, which is expected to take 13 months to complete. Glenn Reynolds of Reynolds Architects Inc. designed the addition. Construction will start with a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 7.
The main office at 202 Fourth St. houses a branch operation, lending staff, phone operations, marketing, personnel and executives in 11,000 square feet. The 12,000-square-foot addition will bring the size of the downtown location to 23,000 square feet.
The credit union, the largest such institution in the region, said the addition will allow it to move its accounting and member services operations from the Brookside Shopping Center on Williamson Road to the main office. The credit union will use the vacated space at Brookside for storage, allowing it to give up rental space.
No additional employment is planned as part of the expansion.
But, the credit union's president, Dick Williams, said he hopes members will notice a difference when operations are centrally located.
"Sometimes our members have to wait for answers or dated account information because those records may be housed in two different locations," Williams said. "The expansion will help to centralize our operations and allow us to provide better service to our members."
The expansion also will provide two more drive-up lanes to the branch operation, which will benefit members who desire that service, Williams said.
Started in 1940 to serve clerical employees of the Norfolk and Western Railway (now Norfolk Southern Corp.), the N&W credit union now has 43,000 members and $86 million in assets.
It also provides financial services to the employees and families of more than 230 small businesses, as well as to anyone who lives or works in Franklin County. Under federal law, credit unions may serve workplace and other groups in organizations too small or otherwise unable to support their own credit union. Many of N&W Federal Credit Union's members are from such groups that are unrelated to its original roots with the railroad. N&W Federal Credit Union is now the largest such institution in the Roanoke Valley.
"We're proud of the fact that we've been successful enough to grow like this," Williams said. "We've been the valley's largest member-owned financial institution for years, and this project is an indication of our desire to be our members' first choice for all their financial needs."
by CNB