Cooperative Federal buys Erie Boulevard building for branch, headquarters

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union (Cooperative Federal) has purchased the building at 1816 Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse, which will become the credit union’s headquarters and largest branch. 

Once the Erie Boulevard office opens, it will replace the credit union’s branch at 723 Westcott St., which is about one mile from the new location, per its website.

Cooperative Federal also has offices at 800 N. Salina St., 401 South Ave., and 516 Burt St. Those branches will remain open, but the credit union does plan to close the second-floor portion of its North Salina Street location. That’s where its community development and administration offices currently operate, but will relocate to the new Erie Boulevard headquarters, according to its website.

Ed Kiesa of CBRE/Syracuse and Karen La Cannata-Larocca of Sutton Real Estate sold the 4,370-square-foot medical-office space for $600,000, per a news release forwarded to CNYBJ. Anil Verma was the previous owner of the property, according to Onondaga County’s online property records. A sign outside the office lists Dr. Anil Verma as having once operated a practice inside the building.

The building sale was finalized in the final days of 2021, says Meagan Weatherby, development and communications manager for Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union, tells CNYBJ in a Feb. 1 phone interview. 

The projected opening date for the member-service areas of the facility is this fall, but back-office areas will be open by the summer, per the “Frequently Asked Questions” page on the purchase and move posted on the credit’s union’s website.

Cooperative Federal does plan to have some buildout work conducted inside the office, including a new counter for tellers and new office spaces. 

“Checks all the boxes” 

The credit union’s location on Westcott Street looks like a small house, which doesn’t have any off-street parking, says Weatherby. 

“We need … more inside space to have enough office space for our loan officers and financial counselors,” she adds.

During the pandemic, Cooperative Federal has also had to restrict the number of people it permitted in its lobby area to ensure enough social distancing inside.

The majority of credit-union members who use the Westcott Street location are coming by automobile, she notes. Some members have also suggested Cooperative Federal offer a drive-thru option for transactions as well. 

The Erie Boulevard location “checks all the boxes” because it is only about a mile away from the Westcott location. 

“It is accessible to the members who are in the Westcott and east-side neighborhoods, and it is more convenient for members who are traveling from other parts of the city to this office,” says Weatherby. 

Despite the upcoming move, Cooperative Federal still wants to maintain a presence in the Westcott neighborhood.

“Our intention is to retain the building and to make sure that our ATM there is available to members who commonly use that branch until we’re able to secure a different location for [the ATM],” says Weatherby.

Cooperative Federal is considering some different options for the ATM’s new location in the Westcott business district. The credit union may also lease space inside the Westcott Street building when it vacates the space later this year, she added. 

Besides the member-service amenities and “much-needed space,” the Erie Boulevard building offers “community-wide visibility and a modern, energy-efficient building,” the credit union said.

“It was just a perfect opportunity that we had to pursue and evaluate, and when we finished the evaluation, it worked,” says Weatherby. “And we decided not to pass it up.”