ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–First Financial Credit Union has broken ground on a what will be a much larger new headquarters building here.
The credit union has for the past three decades operated from a headquarters building in downtown Albuquerque, but the new office is located at the northwest corner of Union Way and Renaissance Boulevard NE.
CEO Ron Moorehead told the Albuquerque Journal the new, 40,000-square-foot headquarters will help First Financial keep pace with its rapid growth while adding technology, including video-conference equipment to better connect with members all over the state.
“We want to make this building a collaborative environment,” Moorehead told the publication.
The Albuquerque Journal reported First Financial CU’s staff has grown between 3% and 7% each year over the last decade, and that it currently has approximately 250 employees across the state, around half of whom work at the current headquarters.
First Financial has now filled the 27,000-square-foot building in which it has operated since 1992.
“Rather than going to bunk desks, I think we needed a larger building,” Moorehead told the publication.
Community Room, Gym, Walking Path
The new facility will include a full-service branch with a drive-through, as well as a community room for members that will be used for everything from financial literacy classes to club gatherings. The new headquarters will also feature a gym and walking path, and will be oriented in a way that allows employees to easily view hot air balloon takeoffs and landings during Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Albuquerque Journal said.
All told, the project is expected to cost $15 million, and the CU is expecting to move in by December 2020.
The $560-million First Financial has 16 offices and approximately 80,000 members.