One afternoon last week, a customer poked his head through the door of the soon-to-open KeyBank branch at the corner of East Main and Auburn Avenue, posing a question.
“Where’s the bank?” asked the perplexed man.
Confusion understood. For 42 years the bank, with its distinctive white river-rock façade, did business at the corner of First Street Northwest and Auburn Avenue.
No more. On Monday, the bank trotted a few paces to the south and after making sure everything was in working order, reopened as the east anchor of Jeff Oliphant’s new 1 Main Street Professional Center.
Branch manager Beau Johnson and KeyBank area retail leader Lysa Barbano happily showed off some of the bells and whistles that the aging predecessor didn’t have.
Room, that’s the first thing one notices, a lot more room.
“This is our old building, plus another half,” Johnson said of the single-story, 3,700-square-foot branch. “Obviously, there’s a lot more space for everybody in the office. One of the things we’re really excited about is the new offices. We are now set up so all of the sales staff get their own offices, including the business banker, the mortgage adviser and the investment adviser.”
The result is much more privacy when bank officials are interacting with clients about their financial needs. At the same time, full windows guarantee that the offices are not completely closed off.
The lounge is a noticeable improvement over the old, being much brighter and more spacious. Behind the tellers is a video wall. All day long the wall informs customers of KeyBank products, services, promotions and events.
The new branch features two drive-throughs and two ATMs, an improvement over the single ATM at the old building.
“With the ATMs here,” Barbano said, “we’re a very business-intensive branch, and it actually has a night depository connected to the ATM, which is accessed by a business deposit card or key. We had one archaic ATM at the old location, so we’re excited to have all new technology everywhere.”
Barbano explained KeyBank’s decision to move.
“The developer approached us, and we thought it was a great opportunity to renovate and actually move our location and expand it,” Barbano said. “And, in fact, we’ve been investing in the community all over the franchise footprint. This is just one more demonstration of that.”
“One of the nice things is looking at how Auburn’s changing, and kind of what their new plans are in the new downtown Auburn,” Johnson added. “We want to show Auburn that we are also part of that change. We want to be part of the new downtown Auburn, so that’s part of the reason.”
“The old branch was built in 1968, and it’s been a challenge. The way this new branch is set up is the way that banks should be set up,” Johnson said.
The hours are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is closed on weekends.
The grand opening is 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 15. The opening will feature numerous community events, with two radio stations present, lunch provided by Applebee’s, an inflatable jump, a face painter and a balloon tier for kids. A $500 Key Possibilities Card also will be given away.
