Legacy National Bank Set to Expand Footprint to Fayetteville
by January 7, 2013 12:00 am 76 views
When Legacy National Bank launched operations in 2005, its goal was to become one of Northwest Arkansas’ top community banks.
Like practically all such institutions, though, LNB was forced to weather the national recession that significantly slowed growth in the banking and finance industries. As a result, LNB put some of its expansion plans on hold.
With the economic climate warming, however, LNB is set to expand with the construction of a Fayetteville branch along Joyce Boulevard. LNB president and CEO Don Gibson said the final go-ahead was given after approval by both its board of directors and its regulators.
“We decided to focus on cooking what was in our own pot,” Gibson said of LNB’s recession-era tack. “Now we’re ready to do what makes strategic sense for us over the next five to seven years. We couldn’t be more excited about taking the first step by expanding into Fayetteville.”
Milestone Construction Co. will handle construction of the new building, for which Ken Shireman & Associates served as the architect. The new building will be consistent, from a design standpoint, with Legacy’s three Springdale locations. It also has a branch in Rogers on Pinnacle Point Drive.
At 6,000-plus SF, though, the full-service location in Fayetteville will be LNB’s largest branch. It will house 12 employees initially, a combination of some existing employees and new hires. Wells Fargo also will maintain a presence in the bank, for its investment services.
A groundbreaking tentatively has been scheduled for Jan. 15.
Fayetteville-chartered Arvest Bank, meanwhile, held a ceremonial groundbreaking Dec. 20 for a new branch at 2389 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville. It will replace Arvest’s location at 1947 N. College Ave.
The new branch, expected to be completed in October, will be about 6,250 SF, roughly twice the size of the old location. Designed by Wittenberg Delony and Davidson Architects, it is being constructed to U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.
CDI Contractors LLC is handling construction. Gray Rock Consulting Inc., HSA Engineering and Engineering Consultants Inc. are the engineering firms.