Facility solutions: Budgeting for growth

The holiday season brings warm times with family and friends, good food and some vacation for most. The holidays also add many tasks to our already busy schedules. One task critical to each credit union is budgeting for next year. The budgeting process must consider how business opportunities and climate drive costs for staff, technologies, products and services, growth and its associated operating costs. Your second biggest cost (after staffing) and the least flexible cost is facilities occupancy.

During the holiday season, our phones at EHS are busy with questions about how to budget for next year’s growth. Let’s look at a few of the most typical questions. Please note that the costs reflect national averages, and that site variables can be considerable.

What is the average cost of renovating a branch facility?

Renovation costs depend on the condition of the facility, size and scope. Many credit unions have developed a prototype branch that defines a kit of parts for each location. The parts are applied to different levels of renovation based on the value of the branch and the expected return on investment. But in general, a credit union can expect a 2,500-square-foot branch interior with no facility operating issues to range in cost from $50 to $250 per square foot.

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