Rockville Bank Makes Quick Work of Temporary Branch

Pass the doughnuts, er, deposit slips.

Rockville Bank has set up a temporary branch at the old Tim Horton's coffee and doughnut shop earlier than expected.

Bank officials said two weeks ago that the temporary branch on Route 30 near the Tolland line should open by the end of the month. The "soft'' opening was on Wednesday and it was fully operational today.

The branch will be a substitute for the Lafayette branch while plans move forward to construct a new one.

“We are very excited to open this temporary office as we make plans to rebuild a brand new building at our original address at 20 Hyde Avenue in Vernon,” said. Rick Trachimowicz, executive vice president of Rockville Bank. “We want to thank our loyal customers who have been patient and understanding as we worked very quickly to bring them a convenient temporary location.”
 
The Bank has had a branch at 20 Hyde Ave., off Route 30 near the Lafayette shopping plaza and the Tolland line, for years, but this winter, it became one of the first commercial casualties of heavy snowfall.

''It was the first really big storm in early January, we remember it well,'' Trachimowicz said.

He said the bank barely had plans in place to begin removing snow and ice from the building's roof when staff members reported hearing ''noises'' coming from the roof area. An inspection uncovered ''compromised'' trusses, Trachimowicz said.

The building was then closed and an inspection ordered.

''We tried to mitigate the snow and ice as best we could, but the focus has to be on our staff and customers, so we shut the branch down,''  Trachimowicz said.

As the inspection grew more detailed, more damaged trusses were discovered, which dashed any hopes of reopening the branch permanently. Instead, it was closed for good and plans were drawn up to replace it.

The bank owns the property and will be leasing the old Horton's building during construction. The Canadian chain had its Vernon location on a closure list for some time and locked the doors in November.  It is just down the road from the bank branch.

By new industry standards, the Lafayette branch was outdated and was even considered tight as far as work and customer space is concerned, Trachimowicz said. The new branch will not only allow the staff to spread out, but offer things like Internet kiosks and a coffee station for customers, Trachimowicz said.

Plans are currently being reviewed by local regularity agencies and the bank hopes to have the new branch finished in September.  

No one lost a job as a result of the closure, Trachimowicz said. The eight staff members were reassigned to other branches or special projects when the Lafayette branch was closed and are now at the temporary branch.