AUBURN Local consumers may have more banking options, and those in finance, more employment opportunities.
Representatives from the National Bank of Geneva and the Tompkins Trust Company of Ithaca will appear Jan. 7 before the city's planning board for site approval for new branches of the financial institutions.
City officials are particularly pleased with news that the Tompkins Trust Company hopes to build its branch on the site of the former Friendly's restaurant on North Street, across the street from Holy Family Church. The restaurant closed in September 2000, five months after its Fingerlakes Mall location shut its doors.
The National Bank of Geneva wants to open a branch across from Wal-Mart on Grant Avenue, on the site of a former used car lot, the Gallinger Real Estate office, and a two-story apartment building. The bank would be adjacent to the KFC/A&W restaurant set to open soon on Brookside Drive.
City Manager John Salomone said city officials have been working with the two banks closely over the past several months, and that it's an indication that the economic climate of Auburn continues to improve.
"It means they have a lot of confidence in Auburn," Salomone said.
Tompkins Trust
Tompkins Trust Co. President Jim Burns said his firm looked at other sites in Auburn and Cayuga County, but that he liked the North Street site for its location so close to downtown. Burns said if the approval process goes smoothly, the branch should be open in April.
"I think it's a great site for us," Burns said. "We've been looking to grow, and it's a good, central place to start here in Cayuga County."
Established in 1836, Tompkins Trust Co. is one of the oldest banks in the country, and the largest in Tompkins County. It has 14 branches, all in Tompkins County except for one in Cortland County.
"We've always been a successful bank over the years," Burns said, citing deposits in excess of $900 million.
Tony Franceshelli of Auburn will be the senior officer at the bank. Franceshelli was formerly a vice president at Cayuga Bank in charge of the trust department.
The company expects to hire 10 full-time employees initially, with more workers possibly brought on in the future, Franceshelli said.
The former 2,600-square-foot Friendly's building will made into a 4,600 square foot bank by building three additions on the back, and the north and south sides. The bank will have three drive-through lanes.
Geneva National
On Grant Avenue, the National Bank of Geneva branch will be built on 1.23 acres over the three parcels. It will have a 444 feet of highway frontage, and will also have three drive-through lanes.
The long-closed used car lot, also the site of the first McDonald's restaurant in Auburn, has been vacant far longer than the North Street Friendly's. In 2000, the planning board gave its approval for KFC to build a new restaurant there. But after a lawsuit was filed by Carl Yoensky, the owner of the Prospect Pointe apartment complex behind the site, the project was scrapped.
Yoensky has no objections, however, to the National Bank of Geneva building there.
"I think they'll make an excellent neighbor," said Yoensky, who is pleased with the aesthetic qualities shown on the site plan. "It's a good commercial use of the space, and will be an excellent addition to the neighborhood."
And the Auburn Police Department doesn't expect any traffic problems at that location, either. APD Traffic Coordinator Tom Weed has voiced concerns about a proposed Sunoco Optima gas station and car wash that has been discussed for across the street, in between the entrance to Wal-Mart and Lowe's, but he's comfortable with what he's seen from bank officials.
"You're not talking anywhere near as much traffic problems," Weed said.
Tom Kime, president of the National Bank of Geneva, was unavailable for comment on when the bank might open.
Traffic issues
Both of the deals are purchase offers, where the sale only goes through once all of the approvals -- such as a favorable site plan review by the planning board -- have been given.
While Weed is positive about the traffic flow around the proposed National Bank of Geneva property, he was firmly opposed to the first traffic plan drawn up for the Sunoco Optima gas station.
But Weed now says that traffic plan is better after several revisions, using a smarter internal traffic flow scheme that should limit the number of problems with cars darting between the busy entrances to Wal-Mart and Lowe's.
Assistant city manager Steve Lynch, formerly with the city's planning and economic development office, met recently with officials from Wal-Mart and Lowe's to iron out problems with the internal traffic problems within the complex.
To discuss the various sites plans, and to review the proposed programs and budget for the 2003 Community Development Block Grants -- which pay for a variety of public works projects dealing mainly with housing -- the City of Auburn Planning Board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Council Chambers at City Hall.
*To reach Staff Writer Erik Sorensen, call 253-5311, ext. 240.
City officials are particularly pleased with news that the Tompkins Trust Company hopes to build its branch on the site of the former Friendly's restaurant on North Street, across the street from Holy Family Church. The restaurant closed in September 2000, five months after its Fingerlakes Mall location shut its doors.
The National Bank of Geneva wants to open a branch across from Wal-Mart on Grant Avenue, on the site of a former used car lot, the Gallinger Real Estate office, and a two-story apartment building. The bank would be adjacent to the KFC/A&W restaurant set to open soon on Brookside Drive.
City Manager John Salomone said city officials have been working with the two banks closely over the past several months, and that it's an indication that the economic climate of Auburn continues to improve.
"It means they have a lot of confidence in Auburn," Salomone said.
Tompkins Trust
Tompkins Trust Co. President Jim Burns said his firm looked at other sites in Auburn and Cayuga County, but that he liked the North Street site for its location so close to downtown. Burns said if the approval process goes smoothly, the branch should be open in April.
"I think it's a great site for us," Burns said. "We've been looking to grow, and it's a good, central place to start here in Cayuga County."
Established in 1836, Tompkins Trust Co. is one of the oldest banks in the country, and the largest in Tompkins County. It has 14 branches, all in Tompkins County except for one in Cortland County.
"We've always been a successful bank over the years," Burns said, citing deposits in excess of $900 million.
Tony Franceshelli of Auburn will be the senior officer at the bank. Franceshelli was formerly a vice president at Cayuga Bank in charge of the trust department.
The company expects to hire 10 full-time employees initially, with more workers possibly brought on in the future, Franceshelli said.
The former 2,600-square-foot Friendly's building will made into a 4,600 square foot bank by building three additions on the back, and the north and south sides. The bank will have three drive-through lanes.
Geneva National
On Grant Avenue, the National Bank of Geneva branch will be built on 1.23 acres over the three parcels. It will have a 444 feet of highway frontage, and will also have three drive-through lanes.
The long-closed used car lot, also the site of the first McDonald's restaurant in Auburn, has been vacant far longer than the North Street Friendly's. In 2000, the planning board gave its approval for KFC to build a new restaurant there. But after a lawsuit was filed by Carl Yoensky, the owner of the Prospect Pointe apartment complex behind the site, the project was scrapped.
Yoensky has no objections, however, to the National Bank of Geneva building there.
"I think they'll make an excellent neighbor," said Yoensky, who is pleased with the aesthetic qualities shown on the site plan. "It's a good commercial use of the space, and will be an excellent addition to the neighborhood."
And the Auburn Police Department doesn't expect any traffic problems at that location, either. APD Traffic Coordinator Tom Weed has voiced concerns about a proposed Sunoco Optima gas station and car wash that has been discussed for across the street, in between the entrance to Wal-Mart and Lowe's, but he's comfortable with what he's seen from bank officials.
"You're not talking anywhere near as much traffic problems," Weed said.
Tom Kime, president of the National Bank of Geneva, was unavailable for comment on when the bank might open.
Traffic issues
Both of the deals are purchase offers, where the sale only goes through once all of the approvals -- such as a favorable site plan review by the planning board -- have been given.
While Weed is positive about the traffic flow around the proposed National Bank of Geneva property, he was firmly opposed to the first traffic plan drawn up for the Sunoco Optima gas station.
But Weed now says that traffic plan is better after several revisions, using a smarter internal traffic flow scheme that should limit the number of problems with cars darting between the busy entrances to Wal-Mart and Lowe's.
Assistant city manager Steve Lynch, formerly with the city's planning and economic development office, met recently with officials from Wal-Mart and Lowe's to iron out problems with the internal traffic problems within the complex.
To discuss the various sites plans, and to review the proposed programs and budget for the 2003 Community Development Block Grants -- which pay for a variety of public works projects dealing mainly with housing -- the City of Auburn Planning Board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Council Chambers at City Hall.
*To reach Staff Writer Erik Sorensen, call 253-5311, ext. 240.
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