Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120095
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
First Union National Bank of Virginia again is considering closing its Southeast Roanoke office, a move that earlier proved unpopular with its customers, many of whom are elderly and without cars. But this time the bank also proposes conversion of its nearby Vinton office into a super branch.
The bank expects to begin notifying affected customers today.
Chuck Saldarini, area president of First Union's Roanoke Valley operations, said the proposal is part of a larger study aimed at greater operating efficiency. It is no secret, he said, that First Union would, for instance, consolidate its two Hollins area branches if it could find a suitable site for super branch replacement.
Earlier this year, First Union closed branches at Towers Mall and on Peters Creek Road.
The Southeast branch at 616 Ninth St., Saldarini said, is 1.6 miles from the Vinton office at 120 Virginia Ave., Vinton, and a mile from the bank's main office on Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke.
If the current plans are approved by the bank administration, First Union would invest more than $1 million to expand the Vinton branch from 2,500 square feet to 4,000 square feet and to renovate the interior. It would be similar to an office the bank opened recently at Tanglewood Mall.
The proposal calls for the Vinton branch to have four drive-through lanes staffed by three tellers, six teller stations instead of the current five, five private banking offices instead of one and an enlarged vault. The parking lot would be a third larger, he said.
All of the Southeast branch employees would transfer to the Vinton branch.
The bank must notify the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about the change, but the closing would not be subject to regulatory approval. Saldarini said the branch would be put up for sale if the closing goes through, but it would not sell its loans and deposits to another bank. Customers could, of course, choose any bank, but First Union is the last bank currently operating a branch in Southeast.
Saldarini said First Union has not made a final decision because it wants input from the community.
The company, however, is likely to face opposition as it did in September 1993 when it proposed closing the office and subsequently changed its mind.
Alan Argabright, president of the Southeast Action Forum, could not be reached Monday, but his wife, Carolyn Argabright, said that she expected the group to fight the closing. The branch, she said, is useful for elderly residents of the neighborhood.
David Chopski, vice president of the forum, said the organization would "not do the route we did last time" of meeting with bank officials. He said the forum would contact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
If the OCC refuses to step in, Chopski said, "there's not a whole lot we can do" if First Union wants to leave. What the organization would like, he added, is for another bank to move into Southeast.
Dale Allen, the immediate past president of the forum, said he would "withhold judgment to see what their side of the story is .... I'm not surprised or unsurprised."
Michelle Coppola, who doesn't drive, walks to the Southeast branch from her job at Shepherd's Care Day School on Highland Avenue. Coppola, who was at the branch Monday seeking information about investments from a court judgment, said the only other place to cash a check was at a nearby grocery store that demands that customers make a purchase to get the service.
"I don't want them to close it," said Myrtle Reynolds of Highland Avenue. A customer there since the branch bank opened, Reynolds goes to the Southeast branch at least once a week.
Although Reynolds drove to the bank, she said many people in the neighborhood are retired and don't drive. "They really need it here."
Reynolds said she would be reluctant to drive to Vinton or downtown.
Kenneth Hunley, 21, of Tayloe Avenue, gets to the branch on his bike. He said he would have to find a way to drive to downtown or Vinton. "I wouldn't like that too much," Hunley said.
Saldarini said he would be willing to meet with the neighborhood forum or any other organization about the proposed closing. But he said the bank had already given the matter a lot of study and based its opinion on the fact that the branches are 20 years old and close to each other.
First Union realizes that the closing would not please everyone and that some people would be inconvenienced, Saldarini said. "Somebody's route becomes a mile longer." The result, however, would be faster and better service, he said.
If the plan receives final approval, construction at the Vinton office would begin early next year and be completed in late spring or early summer. The Southeast branch would be open until three days prior to completion of the Vinton remodeling when the staff would transfer.
If all of the customers moved to the upgraded Vinton branch, Saldarini said, it would be slightly larger in number of transactions than Tanglewood. The Southeast branch handles from 20,000 to 30,000 transactions a month.
Saldarini also noted that First Union has a "telephone branch" for people who prefer to bank from home. It allows customers from all over the country to manage their banking and investment transactions by calling a toll-free number: 1-800-413-7898.
by CNB