Press

STCU replacing Bonner County branch

SPOKANE, WA (January 3, 2019) — The region’s leading credit union is building a new home for the branch it opened 10 years ago in Ponderay, Idaho.

STCU has started construction on a“mountain contemporary”style building,at 477123 Hwy 95, on the route to Schweitzer Mountain Resort.The new site, three miles north of Sandpoint at U.S. Highway 95 and Kootenai Cutoff Road,previously was home to Payless ShoeSource, which closed in 2017.

The existing branch will remain open during construction of the new location, set to open in mid-2019. It will be a move of less than 300 feet to the new building.

At 4,112 square feet, the building designed by ALCS Architect is nearly double the size of the existing branch location to better serve STCU’s North Idaho members, and those from other credit unions that participate in shared branching. The new building will have two drive-through lanes; the existing branch location has none.

Since the Bonner County Branch opened in 2009, STCU membership has more than doubled from 73,000 to 186,000 members. At the same time, the share of Idaho members grew from 4 percent to 15 percent. In addition to building a new home for the Bonner County Branch, STCU has purchased property for a new location in Rathdrum, Idaho.

STCU also is expanding in the Tri-Cities region of Washington, where the Southridge Financial and Home Loan Center recently opened in Kennewick. Also in Tri-Cities, STCU on Monday will host a ribbon-cutting at the new Queensgate Financial and Home Loan Center in Richland, andwill open a Pasco location later this year.

Meridian Construction is the contractor for the Bonner County project. The company most recently built STCU’s Airway Heights Branch, and oversaw an extensive project to turn an existing building into STCU’s Argonne Home Loan Center in Spokane Valley.

About STCU

Founded by educators in 1934, STCU has more than 270,000 members and $5.6 billion in assets. Members have 24/7 access to accounts through digital tools, and at branch locations throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Its 39th branch location opens in Moses Lake in 2024.