The Shadow
The earth is moving at Highlands Community Bank.
Work began earlier this week that will increase the size of the bank on Thacker Avenue in the Riverbend Shopping Center by just over 25 percent.
Construction started Wednesday, and work is expected to be complete in March 2013.
Sams and Company of Covington, the contractor who built the original bank structure, is overseeing the work.
The new addition of approximately 1,300 square feet will include space for four additional offices, additional storage space and a coupon booth for safe deposit box customers.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our facility,” said H.C. Rhodes, chairman of the board, president and CEO of Highlands Community Bank. “This will give us the additional space to meet the needs of our customers into the future.
“This has been made possible by the support of our wonderful customers,” Rhodes added. “We thank them for their continued patronage.”
Highlands Community Bank celebrated its 10th anniversary on Sept. 16. Over the course of its first decade in business, the bank has experienced outstanding growth, Rhodes said.
The bank’s total assets have now reached approximately $120 million, and management felt the time was right to ensure that the infrastructure was in place to meet Highlands Community Bank’s future needs.
“The bank’s continued good growth and earnings allowed us to consider this expansion,” Rhodes explained.
For the third straight year, Highlands Community Bank attained record earnings in 2011. Net income for 2011 was $935,589, a 19.7 percent increase over 2010 earnings of $781,433.
Total deposits increased to $101.2 million in 2011, an 8.5 percent increase, while net loans increased to $56.7 million.
A 9-cent per share dividend was paid to stockholders in April.
Highlands Community Bank is partnering with the Independent Community Bankers Association and the Virginia Association of Community Banks in their “Go Local” campaign.
“This campaign reflects our bank’s commitment to the Alleghany Highlands community and to the local businesses as both a business partner and local consumer,” Rhodes said. “Make no question about it, Highlands Community Bank is committed to providing the best, personal financial services and playing a vital economic role in building a better community.”
Highlands Community Bank finished refurburishments at its Clifton Forge branch on Main Street in 2009.
The bank employs a total of 20 workers in its Covington and Clifton Forge locations.
Highlands Community Bank can trace its roots to a humble beginning in a temporary trailer that housed its operations when the bank first opened in 2002.
Now 10 years later, the bank is undergoing its latest transformation, and Rhodes is asking customers to pardon any hardships caused by the new construction project.
“It’s going to be an inconvenience for a while, but long-term this will put the bank in a better position to serve the Alleghany Highlands,” he said.
