After 55 years of acquiring nearby buildings and then reworking, revamping and retrofitting them, Relyance Bank has outgrown its home on Poplar Street in Pine Bluff and is moving to White Hall.
There, just west of Interstate 530 on U.S. 270, across from Smart Chevrolet, the financial institution is preparing to build its three-story, approximately $15 million headquarters.
"Our board has been talking about looking for a new site for about 10 years, but we spent most of our resources on growth, particularly in the Little Rock area," said Chuck Morgan, Relyance Bank chairman and CEO.
Already, the designers at Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock are putting the finishing touches on the initial concept design of the 40,000-square-foot building.
"We all like it," Morgan said.
The design infuses traditional with modern, mixing stone and brick elements with glass, and it will incorporate an open area in the lobby.
The first floor will have a pod-type design that's universal to the banking world, along with ITMs or interactive mechanical tellers, similar to the familiar ATMs. It will also house loan and credit offices and the call center operation.
The second floor will provide ample space for the bank's trust and wealth management offices and human resources.
The boardroom and executive offices will be on the third floor.
Covid-19 affected the design plans, so instead of one large break area, there will be a smaller one on each floor, and employees will have larger work areas. With more meetings conducted online, the bank is focusing on better audio and visual technology, Morgan said.
The bank operation needed enough space at the White Hall location for about 100 employees, as well as extra room for future growth. At first only "about 70 percent of the building will be occupied," Morgan said.
Clark Contractors LLC of Little Rock will oversee the project.
"Construction has not yet begun," Morgan said. "The project should be complete in 22 months."
As for leaving the Pine Bluff location, Morgan said the bank simply needed more space.
"From this original location, we have increased the size of our facility with multiple building projects over the past 30 years," he said. "We have outgrown our present facility."
But Morgan said the bank's long association with Pine Bluff will not end.
"Although we will be moving from our present downtown location, we remain fully committed to this community in which we have deep roots," he said. "We will continue to strongly serve our community."
The bank will continue to support growth initiatives, such as Go Forward Pine Bluff, as well as continue its support of charitable organizations and economic development.
"We encourage our employees to get involved, and we have a great staff," he said.