MUSKEGON, Mich. – The “huge” vault inside a historic downtown building that was formerly home to a bank will remain in place when it becomes home to a credit union this year, although it will not be used as a vault.
Family Financial Credit Union plans to open a branch in the former Hackley Union National Bank, building, now being renovated as Highpoint Flats, according to a news release that said the first-floor bank vault will be a “focal point” of the renovation.
“It won’t be used to store money,” said Deb Dietz, FFCU CEO, in a statement.
Family Financial said visitors will be able to go inside the vault, and it may even include seating.
According to the release, Family Financial will have 3,500 square feet on the first floor of the eight-story, mixed-use building, joining a convenience grocery store that will have about 2,000 square feet. The businesses will be connected by a hallway and will share restrooms, Dietz said.
An insurance agency is also expected to open on the first floor, said the building’s owner. The building also has nearly 50 apartments on the upper six floors.
Plans Call for Expansion
Built in 1918, the building was Muskegon’s first “skyscraper.” The face of the brick building was changed in the 1960s with the addition of white marble and black serpentine that remain today, according to MLive.com
Family Financial Credit Union was founded in 1942 as the Sealed Power Employees Federal Credit Union. It became Family Financial in 2004.
The building has been undergoing a $7 million renovation project that finished in May of 2018, with new tenants now moving in.
“Our strategic plan is to branch out into the community,” FFCU Board Chairman Dave Stamy told MLive.com. “There is a new excitement in downtown Muskegon where they need our credit union services.”
The branch, which is Family Financial’s third, will employ eight people.