Harold Walk, Sun Community Federal Credit Union chief executive officer/president, welcomes guests to a groundbreaking ceremony of the new SCFCU site in Brawley on Thursday. (JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO) |
BRAWLEY — Commercial growth and larger parking accommodations were touted Thursday during a groundbreaking ceremony marking the development of an expanded branch of Sun Community Federal Credit Union along Highway 86.
With credit union officials and employees present — along with a large gathering of city representatives and other officials — President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Walk told his audience that the $3 million project would better serve credit union members with an 8,500-square-foot facility.
Completion of the larger Sun Community Federal Credit Union branch is expected to take eight months with an opening slated for the fall.
Thursday’s civic event comes on the heels of last week’s groundbreaking of a $6 million project to bring an ARCO am/pm gas station and Del Taco eatery to the same commercial zone where the expanded Sun Community branch will be located.
Walk alluded to how the credit union’s membership has grown, but after the ceremony said that the size has reached 50,000 in the past 10 years and that the available parking space at its existing branch on Main Street could no longer accommodate members.
The construction site is in close proximity to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, a fact that was not lost on Sun Community governing board member Dale Howard, who jokingly referred to how patrons would be able to grab some quick cash and go shopping at the nearby retail giant once the new branch opens its doors.
But Walk explained that the site’s closeness to Highway 86 was a key to the project’s development because accessibility “was a big issue.”
Walk also referred to crossroads on the east and west as being a factor on the selection of the site.
“This is really a big day for us at Sun Community,” Walk said. “We’ve been working on this for quite a while.”
Saying how everyone in Brawley benefits with the new development, Mayor George Nava said the project would create an unspecified number of jobs.
Nava and other Brawley City Council members have expressed in the past the need for more commercial development in Brawley that has had to pass a utility users tax in November to help sustain, and provide, city services.
“It’s an investment,” Nava said “We’re all stakeholders in it.”
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
With credit union officials and employees present — along with a large gathering of city representatives and other officials — President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Walk told his audience that the $3 million project would better serve credit union members with an 8,500-square-foot facility.
Completion of the larger Sun Community Federal Credit Union branch is expected to take eight months with an opening slated for the fall.
Thursday’s civic event comes on the heels of last week’s groundbreaking of a $6 million project to bring an ARCO am/pm gas station and Del Taco eatery to the same commercial zone where the expanded Sun Community branch will be located.
Walk alluded to how the credit union’s membership has grown, but after the ceremony said that the size has reached 50,000 in the past 10 years and that the available parking space at its existing branch on Main Street could no longer accommodate members.
The construction site is in close proximity to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, a fact that was not lost on Sun Community governing board member Dale Howard, who jokingly referred to how patrons would be able to grab some quick cash and go shopping at the nearby retail giant once the new branch opens its doors.
But Walk explained that the site’s closeness to Highway 86 was a key to the project’s development because accessibility “was a big issue.”
Walk also referred to crossroads on the east and west as being a factor on the selection of the site.
“This is really a big day for us at Sun Community,” Walk said. “We’ve been working on this for quite a while.”
Saying how everyone in Brawley benefits with the new development, Mayor George Nava said the project would create an unspecified number of jobs.
Nava and other Brawley City Council members have expressed in the past the need for more commercial development in Brawley that has had to pass a utility users tax in November to help sustain, and provide, city services.
“It’s an investment,” Nava said “We’re all stakeholders in it.”
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at spanta@ivpressonline.com
