Solvay Bank to open a branch in Baldwinsville

BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. — Solvay Bank has announced plans to open an office in the village of Baldwinsville. The new branch will be located at 197 Downer Street, the site of a former branch of First Niagara Bank.

The new office represents Solvay Bank’s 10th branch, the bank said in a news release.

“We are very excited to have a presence in Baldwinsville and we expect our new office to be operational by the end of this year,” Paul Mello, president and CEO of Solvay Bank, said.

Solvay Bank plans to hire five people to work at the branch, Karen Tracy, senior VP and the bank’s chief business strategy & marketing officer, said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.

The Baldwinsville office will be a “smart” office, designed to integrate banking-technology tools with personalized customer service.

“Extensive” renovations to the existing structure and property are set to begin “in the coming weeks,” the bank says.

The office will have an open floor plan that will include a tech bar, an area where employees will offer hands-on demonstrations of digital products for both consumer and business clients.

“Branch staff roles have evolved from being strictly transactional to being a source of knowledge on financial-technology products,” said Mello. “We are going to create an atmosphere of engagement, where folks can experience all that we have to offer or simply to ask a question about a particular loan or deposit product.”

Founded in 1917, Solvay Bank says it is the “largest” independent commercial bank headquartered and operating in Onondaga County.

Its corporate offices are located at 1537 Milton Avenue in Solvay.

Solvay Bank also has a branch at the Milton Avenue location as well as eight additional branches located in Camillus, Cicero, DeWitt, Fairmount, Liverpool, North Syracuse, downtown Syracuse, and Westvale.

It also owns Solvay Bank Insurance Agency, Inc.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com