BETHLEHEM, Penn.–Two credit unions have announced headquarters building projects.
First Commonwealth FCU has begun construction on a new $20-million headquarters in Lower Macungie Township that is part of the credit union’s growth strategy in the Lehigh Valley, according to Lehigh Valley Business.
First Commonwealth, currently based in Hanover Township, Northampton County, has broken ground on an 81,000-square-foot, thee-story, mixed-use building and an adjacent 5,000-square-foot financial center along Route 222 near the new Trexlertown Movie Tavern theater.
“We looked at our projected growth and we knew we needed to substantially grow our back office operations,” John Miller, COO of First Commonwealth, the executive overseeing the project, told Lehigh Valley Business.
The development will consolidate employees from offices in Hanover Township, Northampton County and on Union Boulevard in Allentown. About 120 employees will work on the top two stories of the building, the publication said.
Miller told LVB the first floor will be leased out to retail and office users. The credit union already has one office leased and that will bring another 50 or 60 employees to the building.
There also is room for First Commonwealth to grow, Miller said, as the site was designed to accommodate up to 275 employees.
About eight employees will be hired for the accompanying branch.
The $767-mmillion FCFCU has more than 62,000 members.
Advia Breaks Ground
Separately, in Parchment, Mich., Advia Credit Union has broken ground on a new 150,000-square-foot headquarters building as part of a 38-acre parcel in Oshtemo Township, Mich.
As part of the project, a new street is being constructed called Advia Way that will house the headquarters. The exact address has not been named. The project is expected to take up to two years to complete.
Cheryl DeBoer, president and CEO of Advia, told local media the credit union’s growth necessitated the move.
“We now welcome nearly 1,500 new members each month, and our team has doubled in size in the last 10 years,” DeBoer said in a statement. “This new headquarters will allow our southwestern Michigan team to work in a united workspace and will also provide more collaborative spaces to engage with team members in our other regions.”
The $1.8-billion Advia will maintain a branch in Parchment.
Outdoor Terraces, Landscaped Water Feature
The new headquarters will be able to house up to 460 employees from 32 departments and include a branch, ATM and night deposit box.
It will also feature rooms for seminars, events and community outreach, as well as leasable retail spaces for local businesses on the first floor.
The design also calls for outdoor terraces that will overlook a landscaped water feature.