Oklahoma Community Credit Union is making plans to open its newest location in west Stillwater in January, but that’s not the only building project the credit union has planned for the Stillwater community.
Also starting in January will be the remodel of the credit union’s main office located at 311 E. McElroy in Stillwater. Originally built in 1995, the facility will be updated to meet the banking needs of today’s membership, while also planning for future growth.
“If you think about how much banking and employee work has changed over the last 20 to 30 years, the need for this investment in our membership and employee group is clear,” said Oklahoma Community President & Chief Executive Officer Daniel Thrasher. “The remodel will address several service inefficiencies with our current building as well as improve our employee’s experience and update the look to match our new Oklahoma Community brand.”
Originally named O.S. University Employees Federal Credit Union when the credit union first started serving Oklahoma State University faculty and staff in 1968, today Oklahoma Community serves a five-county region in north central Oklahoma with over 13,000 members and $200 million in total assets.
“When we opened the main office in 1995 to start serving the Stillwater community, we only had $20 million in assets and employed 12 full time employees,” said Oklahoma Community Board Chair Lyle Eastman. “So, it’s past time for us to make this change and to be able to serve the membership into the future.”
The updates to the outside of the building will mirror the look of the new west Stillwater location; the most noticeable change being the relocation of the drive-thru to the east side of the building. The drive thru was located there in 1995, but moved in 2002 to the south side due to the noise from the train that used to run east of the building.
“Moving our drive-thru back to the east side of the building will be a big benefit to the membership,” Thrasher added. “This will allow us to provide back-to-back lobby and drive-thru service, potentially doubling the number of staff that can work the drive-thru during busy times.”
Nearly 4,000 square feet of additional office space will be added to the building where the existing drive-thru is located. This will include an employee training center/board room named in honor of former board of director and founding member Dr. Earl D. Mitchell, Jr. who served on the board for 50 years until his passing in 2021. The remodel also includes a dedicated call center providing room for growth as well as the ability to convert to future banking services the credit union is reviewing.
The credit union partnered with Eclipse Brand Builders of Suwanne, GA to review the current and future office needs of the credit union as well as determining if it was more cost effective to remodel the current office or build a new main office somewhere else in Stillwater. In the end, remodeling was determined to be the most cost-effective solution.
“We also took into consideration our nearly 30-year history of serving members on McElroy Road, as well as some of the other development occurring in the area and now the potential Kameoka Trail Extension to our east and felt staying in our current location would be best for the membership and the Stillwater community,” Thrasher added.
Eclipse and Oklahoma Community expect the remodel to begin in January with completion planned for early 2024.
“Eclipse has been a great partner through our rebranding, designing and construction of the new west Stillwater location and now incorporating that into the look of our main office,” Thrasher said. “They also helped our team think 10-20 years into the future and so we could be prepared for our members future banking needs and the way employees work when re-imagining our main office space.”
Founded in 1968, Oklahoma Community Credit Union is a federally chartered financial institution headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. As a financial cooperative, Oklahoma Community serves members in Payne, Pawnee, Lincoln, Logan and Noble counties in north central Oklahoma. Learn more about Oklahoma Community at okcommunitycu.com.
