Elmira Savings to buy Empower branch office

ELMIRA — Elmira Savings Bank will open a new branch in Big Flats.

Elmira Savings entered into an agreement with Empower Federal Credit Union to purchase its building at 971 County Route 64, according to a news release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are excited about securing a branch location in one of the busiest segments of our markets,” Elmira Savings vice president and COO Thomas M. Carr said in the release. “This spacious facility has been recently constructed and offers the convenience of multiple lanes of drive-thrus, along with an abundance of parking.”

The facility also contains about 7,000 square feet of undeveloped space that Elmira Savings will lease out to a complementary business, Carr said.

In a follow-up email, Carr said Elmira Savings was interested in a location in that general area. “We called Empower to see if they were interested in selling,” he wrote.

While the new branch will not expand Elmira Savings Bank’s geographical footprint, it increases the company’s services in that region, Carr said. 

The new branch office will open Feb. 1 and will employ the equivalent of five-and-a-half employees, Carr said.

Elmira Savings Bank, with $523.2 million in total assets, has five branches in Chemung County; three branches and a loan center in Tompkins County; one branch each in Steuben, Cayuga, and Schuyler counties; and a loan center in Cortland County. The company employs 120 people.