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American Marine to remodel its headquarters
By Lary Coppola |
Bainbridge Island’s American Marine Bank has begin remodeling its home office on Winslow Way, according to Rex Townsend, president and chief executive officer. The bank has been a fixture on Bainbridge Island’s main drag since 1948, and one of the goals of the project is to raise the bar for other architectural offerings in downtown Winslow.
The project team includes Dennis Kirkpatrick of Kirkpatrick Architects, Bruce Woolever of Toilsome Construction and project manager Jackie Scherer. All are from Bainbridge Island. Woolever was the contractor for the facelift on Poulsbo’s Central Market where American Marine has a branch, and for the Poulsbo Market Foods.
According to Townsend, the decision to undertake the project was actually made in 1999. The bank decided to undertake the project because the current building’s functionality was an evolution of the bank’s growth and it needs to utilize its space much more efficiently. “We will keep the structural elements of the building in place, and re-establish the functions inside,” said Townsend.
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| L-R The management team for the American Marine Bank remodel of its headquarters: architect Dennis Kirkpatrick, project manager Jackie Scherer, builder Bruce Woolever and American Marine Bank President and CEO, Rex Townsend. |
One way to do that is through design — by locating departments that have close relationships with each other in adjoining spaces for example. There has also been a lot of customer input into the design as well.
“Customers have told us they want to do their banking on the main street,” Townsend noted. “We’re going to do that. It’s the things that serve the customers needs we’re addressing as well as our own internal efficiency.”
Townsend indicated that for as long as its been there, people have asked for directions to the bank even though it’s always been located on the main street of Winslow because it wasn’t dominant enough. One goal of the remodel is to enhance the bank’s retail presence and make it a “signature” building on Winslow Way.
The project will be done in two phases. Phase One will see the teller line and customer service move to the street level. The second phase will add a second story to house the trust and mortgage departments and will include adding an elevator, sprinklers, acquiring a new vault and bringing the entire structure up to current seismic codes.
“This is our anchor bank,” said Townsend with obvious pride. “We want our customers to know we are making a significant commitment to them and to our community.”
The project is expected to take approximately nine months to complete. The bank will remain open during the remodel.
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