As one of the oldest credit unions in Kansas, Educational Credit Union (ECU) has seen steady growth since 1939. With more than $130 million in assets, ECU is about to open the doors at its newest location, 1129 S. Kansas Avenue, formerly home to Community America Credit Union.
When Community America decided to close its doors in Topeka, it approached ECU about not only servicing its existing accounts, but also purchasing its downtown building. Even though ECU already had a location downtown, it was too small to handle additional customers. After crunching the numbers, the board decided they could make it work.
“We picked up more than 500 new accounts,” Jennifer Kirmse, vice president of business development said. “It made sound economic sense to move operations over there.”
This new location gives ECU more than five times the square footage of its branch at 901 S. Topeka. This additional space gives them more room to spread out, allowing for greater privacy when working with customer accounts. It also gives them additional office space.
“We have already hired four new people and may hire more once the new location is up and running,” Kirmse said.
With four drive-up lanes instead of two, traffic flow in and out of the drive-up window will be much more convenient as well.
The other benefit to adding this new location is an increased stake in revitalizing downtown space.
“It feels like we are on fire right now,” Kirmse said. “We won the 2012 Business of Distinction award; we just picked up accounts from Community America; we are buying a new building; everything just seems to be moving in the right direction.”
