Urbanista Photo by Lisa Bauso
Banks aren’t exactly at the leading edge of urban design. Consider, for example, the new Key Bank in Hollywood– a big box franchise, with plenty of faux trimmings. The suburban style remodel of the Advantis Credit Union on SE 30th and Belmont isn’t much better.
The strip mall parking lots are especially irritating—especially in Belmont/Sunnyside, one of the city’s most pedestrian friendly neighborhoods. One strolls down Belmont, enjoying the coffee shops, the stores, the restaurants lining the sidewalk, only to practically fall into the Advantis curb cut.
Banks—of all buildings– should be seamlessly integrated into neighborhood design. After all, financial institutions exist to help grow local communities–but in and of themselves contain nothing of tangible value. And given the damage (many) banks have inflicted in recent years, one would expect new branches to melt right into the urban fabric.
But instead, stand-alone structures such as Hollywood’s Key branch announce themselves portentously as THE BANK, as if to remind us of the god-like roles cash, debt, and equity assume in American life.
So here’s a call for a bank or credit union branch that is less of an architectural disappointment—a sleek, intimately scaled project that is physically connected to the community enterprises it supports. Umpqua bank branches move in that direction, although the “neighborhood store” tag is just a bit too self-conscious for my taste.
On another note: What does a 21st century consumer actually do at a bank? I conduct most of my banking online, and get actual cash from a machine. And one shouldn’t have to DRIVE to a local branch. Lack of money may be a heavy load to bear, but cash itself is weightless. Stuff a wad of bills—or debit card–into your wallet, then just walk away, into the sea of capital that is the city.
Portland is a magnificent city and the Belmont District is evolving into a wonderful urban neighborhood. Linda is right that we all have a responsibility to enhance the quality of neighborhoods and as business owners provide the service and convenience community members need and want.
Finding parking is difficult in the Belmont area. Would it have been better for Advantis to have reduced its parking lot so more people would be parking on the street? Should they have replaced the parking lot with a multi-use residential and commercial building to front on the street reducing open space and light?
Much consideration went into how Advantis could continue to serve its members while impacting the neighborhood in the most positive way. If cost and payback were the only consideration they could have maximized the sites potential. But they did not. Rather, they reduced the size of their building letting more light into the neighborhood, retained the open area, added planting and trees and created a building design that fit within the neighborhood scale and eclectic style. Advantis balanced its decision heavily toward what was right for the neighborhood.
The question of whether bank branches are a redundant transaction point is asked every day by many in the financial industry. The answer is evolving as we see fewer traditional transactions being conducted at branches, but recent consumer surveys tell us that branches remain the top selection factor for most.
Portland is fortunate to have in its market one of the nation’s leaders in branch business modeling and design, Umpqua Bank. Buy example, they are showing the way for many other banks and credit unions to creating neighborhood branches or stores. These stores are integrated into neighborhood landscapes by locating on pedestrian heavy streets, developing an intimate understanding of the local interests and values and taking action to improve the quality of life for their customers and communities.
While we hear stories about Bank of America closing its community branches, we also here that banks and credit unions will be spending three billion over the next three years to enhance the customer and community experience in and around their branches, to become more integrated into the communities and support their cultures and help them prosper. This is just good business.
Based on my 30 year observation of the financial industry, I see great change ahead in terms of branching based on four considerations: 1 – Local first: People adopting “think globally/act locally, 2 – Slow down: Customers are hungry for balance in their lives and value a business that provides them a break from their hectic routine, 3 – People as a new luxury: As more customers are forced online, they appreciate real people providing real service, and 4 – Less transactions/more consultative: Customers realize that managing complex aspects of their lives requires expertise they don’t have. Branches will evolve from transaction points to relationship development centers. But, they will not go away.
I agree that not all financial institution’s branch architecture is the best for each neighborhood. But I do know that institutions that clearly understand their brand and are sensitive to how they express their brand to each market will be most successful. Umpqua Bank branches for example hold two to three times the deposits per household of competitor branches in many markets.
Banks are easy targets, particularly after the economic melt down. But I think savvy and sensitive institutions like Umpqua and Advantis should be congratulated for their consideration of each community’s culture, values and interests and how they introduce and operating their branches in each neighborhood.