New retail center houses bank

Tiffany Tuell

(Updated: Thursday, June 04, 2009, 5:24 PM)

Last Wednesday a ground-breaking ceremony was held at the construction site for the new Central Valley Community Bank office building.

The bank is currently located off Junction Drive and Highway 49, but will relocate to a new facility off Highway 41 below the Vons shopping center.

"We are pleased to relocate our current office to a new, expanded location that will provide a variety of banking conveniences for customers and be more easily accessible from Highway 41. The addition of this new office will not only help us further meet the needs of our existing Oakhurst customers, but will also allow the bank to expand our unique brand of banking services to others in the area," said Daniel J. Doyle, President and CEO of Central Valley Community Bank, in a statement.

Three spaces are being built at the location but only one is being filled by the Central Valley Community Bank. The bank will be 3,300 square feet. Services it will offer include ATMs, cash management, remote deposit for business customers, deposit and loan products, investment services and 24-hour telebanking.

The branch in Oakhurst was originally a Bank of Madera until it was taken over by CVCB on Dec. 31, 2004.

Cohen Communications, the public relations agency for the bank, said, "While it (the previous location) has served the bank well, its visibility for our customers and the general public is limited. Often local residents noted that they were surprised to know that we had an office in the area because signage could not be seen from the major streets.

"The new office location will provide a more efficient space layout for our team and the visibility from Highway 41 will be excellent, offering a broader opportunity to grow the bank and serve the financial needs of local businesses and residents."

Central Valley Community Bank was founded in 1979 but at the time it was called Clovis Community Bank. It opened January 10, 1980. The bank now has 15 offices across California plus a loan production office.