Contractors zero in on banking projects in down time
Facing a slowdown in overall commercial construction activity, two southeastern Wisconsin companies are keeping the cash flowing by catering to the financial sector, which is gearing up for a marketing war of sorts in the streets.
The attraction of La Macchia Group of Milwaukee and McCloud Construction of New Berlin to the financial sector is understandable, given current market conditions.
According to Associated General Contractors (AGC) chief economist Ken Simonson, the construction sector in the state is not generally on an upswing. Wisconsin experienced a 6% drop in construction employment in April 2003, compared with April 2002.
However, building activity among banks and other lending institutions remains steady, partly due to an active consumer lending and refinancing market, and partly because banks are scrambling to position themselves in the best locations for traffic volume and for high-net-worth individuals.
Ralph La Macchia, a design-builder who started his business in May 2002, said he has found a niche in pre-construction services, including site selection. According to La Macchia, there is a science to creating a truly successful branch bank. In describing his work, La Macchia sounds like a retail or grocery store marketer.
"In design, we look to lighter colors and architectural features that make it pleasant," La Macchia said. "We want lots of light and need to make people meander through before they reach the teller line. The majority of clients will be women, because in most families, it is the woman who makes the majority of banking decisions. We seek to understand how to make people feel comfortable looking at, walking into a building, and make visual sight lines toward what they want. … We have been studying people from a net-worth standpoint and how design affects whether facilities are inviting to what sector of people. We really drill down into it."
Ozaukee Bank’s experiment with a customer-friendly retail approach to the design of its Grafton branch was so successful that the design will be incorporated into the company’s other branches.
According to La Macchia, the notion that on-line banking would displace branches has proved to be mistaken.
Meanwhile, telephone, Internet and direct-mail marketers have swooped in on some lending sectors, "picking someone right out of the neighborhood branch banks," LaMacchia said.
"There was a huge surge of companies marketing directly to individuals, including Capital One. They and a few others are identifying who has the money through studies of returns on deposits. They will pluck people out of the neighborhood of where your branch bank is," La Macchia said.
In response to direct mail and virtual marketers, banks and credit unions are doing some of their own cherry picking by positioning their branches as desirable, attractive places for those with financial resources.
"There are an awful lot of people after your wallet, and the people who have owned it for many years now have to figure out how to re-romance you," La Macchia said.
However, Dave Ugrich, manager of business development for McCloud Financial Facilities, tends to leave the romantic part of the building to others. The McCloud division, founded in March of 2002, allies itself with a handful of architects and concentrates on acting as the general contractor for bank projects.
"We have completed about four projects already and are breaking ground next week on a project in Rice Lake and are completing one in Walworth for the Walworth State Bank," Ugrich said. "What we have done is basically aligned ourselves with our competition. We have teamed up with several very high-power architectural firms that specialize in financial institutions."
Both Ugrich and La Macchia have noticed that the financial sector has been sound during the recession.
"I think we are seeing at this time an increase in building and I really believe it is due to the trends the financial industry is going through. It is becoming more competitive and everyone wants a place in the market," Ugrich said.
"In my experience, they have not really run into a lull," Ugrich said. "The financial institution market has been strong, even while other industries have not. Interest rates are being dropped. People are utilizing financial services a lot more. Financial institutions are very competitive within the market, in terms of expanding their share. Some credit unions expanding their charters to include more areas."
Bank construction projects
The following bank and credit union construction projects are among those announced over the last several months
Fox River State Bank,
256 N. Dodge St., Burlington,
$1 million, 10,400-square-foot project that includes partial demolition and remodeling of an existing car dealership building, construction by Redmond Co., Waukesha
Trane Federal Credit Union Operations Center, Onalaska, 22,000-square-foot, two-story facility, $3.3 million, construction by Redmond Co., Waukesha
Northwoods Community Credit Union, Park Falls, 10,800-square-foot branch facility, including 500 square feet of tenant space, $2.2 million, construction by Redmond
Co., Waukesha
Merchants & Manufacturers BanCorp., 4,350-square-foot private banking center and retail office for Lincoln State Bank, 1000 N. Water St., Milwaukee, construction by Briohn Building Corp., Pewaukee
Waukesha State Bank branch, 1227 Corporate Center Dr., Oconomowoc, 32,000-square-foot structure, construction by Oliver Construction Co., Germantown,
July 8 groundbreaking
Community Bank & Trust, Sheboygan, new office at 5380 N. Port Washington Rd., Glendale
Port Washington State Bank, new office in 10,000-square-foot building at 2080 Washington Ave., Grafton
Wauwatosa Savings Bank,
build-out for new corporate headquarters, 11200 W. Plank Ct., Wauwatosa, 40,000-square-foot facility, construction by Thomas & Egenhoefer Inc., Menomonee Falls
Wauwatosa Savings Bank,
plans to replace its Waukesha office at highways 164 and 18 with a new 35,000-square-foot facility in the city of Waukesha
Wauwatosa Savings Bank,
build-out of 15,400-square-foot building at 1233 Corporate Center Dr., Oconomowoc, and addition of drive-through facility for a new branch
Ozaukee Bank, new centralized 30,000-square-foot Operations Center in the Cedarburg Business Park
Ozaukee Bank, build-out for Mason Street Business Service Center, 225 E. Mason St., downtown Milwaukee
St. Francis Bank, new Oak Creek office, new 5,000-square-foot facility at the intersection of Howell Avenue and Puetz Road
St. Francis Bank, build-out in The Shops of Grand Avenue in downtown Milwaukee for branch to replace Wisconsin Avenue location
Layton State Bank, renovation of facility in Greendale’s historic village center at 5850 Broad St.
Walworth State Bank, Walworth, addition and remodel totaling 9,000 square feet, work by McCloud Financial Facilities, New Berlin
Peoples Credit Union,
4801 S. Packard Ave., Cudahy, addition multi-lane drive up and interior remodel, work by McCloud Financial Facilities, New Berlin
First National Bank of Barron, new 11,000-square-foot facility in Rice Lake, work by McCloud Financial Facilities, New Berlin
First Security Credit Union,
136th Street and Greenfield
Avenue, Brookfield, new 6,500-square-foot office, work by La Macchia Group, Milwaukee
Alliance Credit Union, Silvernail Road at Grandview Boulevard, Waukesha, a new office, nearly 3,500 square feet, to replace the one at 2311 Grandview Blvd., Pewaukee, work by La Macchia Group
Community State Bank, 308 Bridge St., Burlington, new 3,600-square-foot office in 6,000-square-foot facility, work by La Macchia Group, Milwaukee and MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc
July 11, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
