ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 2, 1996 TAG: 9604020037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
First Union National Bank of Virginia has enlarged its plans for the branch it is building on Virginia Avenue in Vinton.
Chuck Saldarini, president of the bank's Roanoke region, said the company will construct a new building behind the present structure. The existing building will be razed, and its site will be used for parking.
When First Union announced plans for the Vinton office last September, Saldarini said the existing building would be remodeled. Then, he said, the remodeling would begin about the first of this year with completion scheduled by spring.
But Saldarini said last week that plans have been upgraded because First Union believes Vinton and the surrounding area have growth potential.
The new building will give better access, more parking and room for four drive-up windows, he said.
To accommodate the plan, the bank has purchased a vacant lot behind the Vinton branch and is arranging for construction permits. Saldarini said town officials have approved the plans.
Current plans call for construction to begin in June and be completed in the last quarter of the year.
The new building will contain 4,000 square feet compared with 2,500 square feet in the existing office. Saldarini said the new building will be similar to the branch First Union developed last year at Tanglewood Mall.
When the new branch opens, First Union will close its Southeast Roanoke branch at 619 Ninth St., about 1.6 miles from the Vinton office.
First Union plans to transfer all Southeast office accounts to the Vinton branch, but customers could transfer to any bank of their choosing. Only the building, not the deposits, is for sale.
David Chopski, vice president of the Southeast Action Forum, said last fall that the organization would not oppose plans to close the Ninth Street branch although it had protesting other bank closings several years earlier. He said then that the group would look for another bank to buy the building.
However, Chopski said Friday the only decision the group had made was "not to discuss it in the press."
Valley Bank, which has operated less than a year, said last fall that it might be interested in buying the Ninth Street First Union building to establish a branch. But on Monday, Valley Bank President Guy Byrd said his company does not plan to add a third branch this soon.
"We're not in a position to entertain doing this right now," Byrd said. "We're not able to take a look at this right now."
Saldarini said no bank has inquired about buying the building, which was constructed in 1970.
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