Northwoods Bank Breaks Ground

Heather Leinen,
06/12/2004

The earth moved Thursday at the Northwoods Bank groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion at the bank’s current location, 1202 East 1st St.

The 10,000-square-foot expansion will more than double the size of the current building, which serves as headquarters for Northwoods.

Roger Stewart, president and chief operating officer of the bank, says the expansion is badly needed.

“We have grown from an organization with 15 employees and $15 million in assets to a company with 42 employees and $92 million in assets,” he said in a speech during the ceremony. “Our boardroom is now our loan processing center. Our training room is now our mail and bookkeeping center. Last year we went to the extreme of kicking the owner out of his office to use his space.”

He later added, “We have people stuffed into every corner we can.”

According to Stewart, the building’s expansion will be two stories high. The first level will include a large lobby, a play area for children, personal bankers, tellers and an employee break room. The second floor will house bookkeeping, computer services and a large boardroom, “so hopefully we can all fit in the same room,” he laughed.

The lower level will be home to a “state of the art” meeting and training room, which will also be available for public use.

The bank will also add a drive-up ATM, a teller walk-up area and more parking.

Currently, 31 employees work in the building. It has been remodeled three times in the last nine years.

Construction is expected to begin sometime next week, according to Mark Billstrom, senior project manager for Nelson Building and Development Inc. The project is expected to be completed in early spring.

Talaine Olafson, an ambassador for the Park Rapids Chamber of Commerce, said the bank’s growth is good for the entire community and may help boost the town’s economy.

“It’s a domino effect,” she said. “It’s another sign of progress. People looking in will see that our community is growing.”

Brian Grave, Northwoods’ retail sales manager, says the expansion will make the building more comfortable for employees and customers.

“The major reason for the expansion is that it’s essential for customer service,” Grave said. “This construction is the first phase of our strategic vision for re-vamping service.”

Stewart agreed that the expansion will not only give bank employees more space, but will also be more convenient for customers.

“The new location will help us better serve our people,” he said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

Mark Hewitt, chairman and CEO of Northwoods Bank, said the building’s addition is a sign of strong customer loyalty.

“I’m proud the community has supported our growth,” he said. “We see great opportunity in the community, and we want to be there to support their growth.”

Stewart said the bank isn’t planning to immediately add more employees, but said that he anticipates new jobs as a result of the business’ continued development.

“We have seen good growth here,” he said. “And the community has been good to us. It has been a nice two-way street.”