WE ARE REMODELING
About
This last year, the board and management have spent most of our focus on the upcoming remodel of our building. We are happy to announce that EFCU will have a modern and fresh new look by the end of this year, that incorporates our union values in much of the design. We will utilize our space more efficiently and bring in new technology, such as a cash recycler for the tellers and a new walk-up ATM machine. Unfortunately, we must remove our drive-up to make room for a new, larger member parking area, but we are confident that moving forward, we will still be able to fully service our members with the same convenience and member service we strive for.
We know that this time will be challenging for both members and employees, since we are remaining in the building during construction, but we are confident that we will all get through it together and we will have a stunning new building that our members will be proud of once everything is complete. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this time. We are very excited about the changes and feel that an innovative, fresh new look and feel at EFCU will help us continue to increase our membership growth.
Why are we removing our drive-up?
We have leased the land on the south side of our building since 1994. This land consists of our current employee parking and some of our drive-up area. We were notified a couple years ago that the owner wants to build on that land and will no longer lease it to us after the current lease expires April 2024. Purchasing the land was also not an option provided to us. Losing our drive-up was not something we took lightly, and we intensely looked at ways we could keep it, but there was just not enough room to try and include a drive-up in the new design.
Our members still have access to hundreds of shared branch locations that do offer drive-up services. We also now offer remote check deposit on our EFCU mobile banking app, which has become very popular and is an alternative to having to visit the branch.
Why are we not moving to a new location with room for a drive-up?
We have been working with a design/build company who specializes in building and branding financial institution branches. They took a deep dive into researching what would work best for the members and employees of EFCU. A financial analysis was also performed to give us more of an understanding of what EFCU could afford. There were two scenarios: remain at the current location or relocate to a retail storefront. Buying a new building was the least likely scenario due to skyrocketing real estate prices in Colorado, banks refusing to sell their vacant buildings to a credit union, and the limited amount of time we had to find a new location that was suitable for a credit union.
Staying in our current location versus moving to a retail storefront, would let us keep our building and land as an asset. Since we would be removing the drive-up, we only thought it suitable that we also improve the inside of the building. Our aim is to create a traditional but modern space for our membership, which represents our union values and embraces the adaptation of technology for improved efficiency, member service and engagement.
Current Timeline
We are still in the process of obtaining our building permits, so the timeline may slightly vary, but this is where we are currently at:
Phase 1- Late August through October
Remodel of the basement. Due to the amount of space, we have for member parking, we cannot have any employee workspace or member areas in the basement (basement will be renovated to be strictly used for storage) – Members will still be able to use the drive-up and visit the lobby during this phase.
Phase 2 – Three weeks in October/November
The lobby will be closed while a space is created where the tellers will be able to service members in the vestibule after Phase 2. During this time, only the drive-up will be open. Any new accounts or loans must be applied for online, as the rest of the staff will operate in the basement. Phone lines will be open.
Phase 3 – November through January/February 2024
The demolition of the drive-up and the remodeling of the main floor will take place. Members can be serviced in a temporary area created in the vestibule for all teller transactions. Most employees will remain working in the basement, so it will still be encouraged that new accounts and loan applications be conducted online. Members will be able to park in the current employee parking area when visiting a teller inside the vestibule area.
Phase 4- Late February or early March 2024
All employees will be moved back upstairs to the main floor, and construction should be complete by early March 2024.