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Peoples Credit Union: Significant growth

Work is continuing on new location

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari
The new Peoples Credit Union, located at Fifth Avenue South and South 17th Street, is set to be completed by spring 2019.

Construction on a new building for Peoples Credit Union is well underway, with an anticipated completion date of during the spring or early summer.

Construction crews began moving dirt on May 21, 2018 on the new 3,600-square-foot building.

Jordan Hensley, chief executive officer and president of Peoples Credit Union, said one part of the project is going well, while another has had some challenges.

“The inside is going very well and should be done by February,” he said. “But the outside, the fall weather — it rained and it rained and rained and turned cold. We missed our fall weather window.”

The spring will be focused on the exterior work. Hensley said they need to wait for the ground to thaw before doing any more dirtwork.

-Messenger file photo by Peter Kaspari
Jordan Hensley, chief executive officer and president of Peoples Credit Union, talks during a groundbreaking ceremony on May 21, 2018, for the credit union’s new facility, located at Fifth Avenue South and South 17th Street.

Hensley said they hope to have the facility done by late spring or early summer.

The new facility, located at Fifth Avenue South and South 17th Street, will accommodate the staff who work at the credit union’s current location, 13 S. Third St.

Hensley said that facility no longer meets their needs.

“We have witnessed significant growth over the last five years and expanding in Fort Dodge to accommodate that growth just made sense,” he said. “This investment demonstrates our commitment to better serve our members and desire to continue to grow and thrive within the communities we serve.”

Hensley said the new facility will have more entry and exit points, which includes one entrance on South 17th Street and an exit on South 18th Street.

He added the institution will continue the services Peoples already offers. That includes savings and checking, auto and recreational loans, home mortgages, safe deposit boxes, a drive-through lane and a 24-hour drive-up ATM.

Single Source Architects and Master Builders, of Waterloo, is overseeing the project.

“They’ve designed a beautiful facility for us,” Hensley said. “I’m really excited to see it come into the real world.”

It’s all about customer service.

“Really, our goal was to better serve our members of the community,” he said. “We wanted to be more centrally-located with easier access. If you look around that area, there’s a lot of rooftops. That’s who we service — people. That’s our goal.”

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony last May, Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich said the credit union’s move to Fifth Avenue South, the city’s Corridor of Commerce, fits with the corridor’s mission of offering a variety of businesses on the road.

He said the land on which the credit union is being built was purchased by the city several years ago, prior to him becoming mayor.

“It was kind of the start of that re-envisioning,” Bemrich said. “What could we do with Fifth Avenue South and the retail opportunities and service industries that could invest in a top-level, highly-trafficked road and provide their services, their retail opportunities, to a community that was desperate for re-envisioning?”

The mayor added that the Fifth Avenue South location is a great place for the new building.

“I want to thank Peoples Credit Union for making an investment here in Fort Dodge,” he said. “You and your team will be a welcome addition to our Fifth Avenue South corridor.”

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