THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 TAG: 9701150477
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 33 lines
After a five-year trial period at the Chesley Mall in Manteo, the State Employees Credit Union is planning to establish a permanent home less than a mile to the north.
``We know we're going to stay,'' said Jim Blaine, president of the statewide nonprofit cooperative. ``It's going real well.''
Blaine said the private financial institution, owned by state employees and teachers, has recently passed the $12 million mark in deposits and loans at the Manteo branch - considered the landmark of success at a location. Dare County has a potential membership of 3,000, he added.
In May 1995, the credit union took a leap of faith and purchased 1 1/2 acres on N.C. Route 264/64 as a future building site. The lot, two blocks west of downtown Manteo next to the Red Apple, was purchased for $267,000 from Robert V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr., chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
Representatives of the credit union had scouted the area for some time before deciding on Owens' lot, Blaine said.
``We wanted to be on the main drag and be downtown,'' he said. ``We felt this was the best deal.''
Blaine said that construction of a 4,000-square-foot branch office will likely begin next year. Building and equipment costs are estimated at $700,000, he said, including drive-up windows and ATMs.
Primarily a consumer-oriented institution, Blaine said there are about 112 State Employee Credit Union branches throughout the state. The Manteo office is the only site operating in Dare County.