SALINA — Empower Federal Credit Union began work last month on a new headquarters that will bring together staff members now spread across three offices. The new headquarters, which will be located the former B.G. Sulzle plant in Salina, will house departments like information technology, the credit union’s call center, and loan operations, says Rich Nave, […]
SALINA — Empower Federal Credit Union began work last month on a new headquarters that will bring together staff members now spread across three offices.
The new headquarters, which will be located the former B.G. Sulzle plant in Salina, will house departments like information technology, the credit union’s call center, and loan operations, says Rich Nave, senior vice president for administration at Empower. The site will house about 200 people total once complete.
The 72,000-square-foot space will also leave room for future growth, Nave adds. The credit union could eventually have up to 300 people working at the headquarters.
“Right now, we’re out of space,” Nave says. “This is a long term solution for us.”
The project will also allow Empower employees to work together more effectively. Staff members from the same departments are sometimes now located in different offices, Nave says.
Empower houses some of the staff that will move to the headquarters in one of its branch buildings at 515 Erie Blvd. West in Syracuse and at an office just across the parking lot from there. The credit union also leases space at the Learbury Centre building on North Salina Street.
The lease on the Learbury space is up next year, Nave says, and the newly free space at the Erie Boulevard location will allow for needed expansion at that branch. He says Empower leaders expect to develop a long-term plan for the Erie Boulevard office next year.
“We need to start thinking about expanding that branch,” Nave says.
The former B.G. Sulzle building is being completely gutted. The new space will feature an open floor plan to encourage collaboration, Nave says. Construction crews are working on demolition now and the project should wrap up in March or April.
Empower staff members will then move in next spring and summer.
Syracuse–based Hayner Hoyt Corp. is the construction manager on the project and Syracuse–based QPK Design is the architect.
Empower formed in 2007 from the merger of Empire Federal Credit Union and Power Federal Credit Union. At the time, both credit unions had about $300 million in assets, according to Empower.
Assets at Empower totaled more than $1.1 billion as of the end of June 2012, up from just more than $1 billion a year earlier. The credit union has more than 110,000 members. Empower reached 100,000 members for the first time in 2011.
Empower had total loans of more than $777.5 million at the end of June, up from $713.3 million a year earlier, and total deposits of more than $1 billion, up from $916 million a year earlier.
Net income through the first half of 2012 totaled $5.8 million at the credit union, up from about $4 million through the first six months of 2011.
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