News

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Third Time's A Charm For BankFIRST Clermont

June 2, 2004 - Clermont, Florida

When BankFIRST relocates across the street from its current location later this year, it places itself into "one of the premier locations for a financial institution in Lake County," says Robert E. Berens, Jr., Area President of the Clermont branch office.

This change of address, from 1380 Grand Highway, to 1000 West Highway 50, provides better access to BankFIRST, from West Colonial Drive, and U.S. Highway 27, and fills a space once occupied by a restaurant franchise.

During the celebratory Groundbreaking ceremony, Chairman of the Board, James T. Barnes, Jr., confirmed that BankFIRST was in a position to acquire the vacant retail space on two prior occasions, but was unable to put a deal together. "When the property came back on the market in late 2001, we were able to put a deal together and close before December 31 of that year, which was a condition the seller needed to meet. The other potential buyers couldn't meet that condition, so we ended up the winner," he said. Barnes also shared anecdotes from the early ‘90's, when the Clermont operation was headquartered out of a much smaller space, commenting, "We have made terrific progress."

The new Clermont facility is one of a number of launches introduced by the Winter Park-based; community owned commercial bank in 2004. May marked the opening of the innovative SBA (Small Business Administration) Express Loan Center, an economic development resource for the Central Florida community, offering small businesses access to one of the widest arrays of government-guaranteed loans available at any bank in the region. This month, the added convenience of extended drive-up and lobby hours, 7 a.m. ¬ 7 p.m., Monday- Friday, and 9 a.m. ¬ 1 p.m. on Saturday's, was also implemented in the bank's three hub locations- Apopka, Goldenrod, and Winter Garden.