Empty downtown Richmond bank building about to be put back to use

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated after Merchants Bank of Indiana announced the opening date for the Richmond branch.

RICHMOND, Ind. — From the outside, it looks like everything is ready to go for a downtown building to start accepting customers again, but there's still work to do inside before Merchants Bank of Indiana can open its first branch in the city.

Contractors have been busy recently getting the property at 701 E. Main St. ready for a new life as Merchants' sixth location. The company, headquarted in Carmel, Ind., has two branches in that city as well as spots in Indianapolis and two Randolph County communities — Lynn and Spartanburg.

"We’re really excited to get to Richmond," CEO and President Mike Dunlap said. "We just want to reach out and serve our customers better and get new customers. We’re really proud of our company and what we can do."

Merchants is leasing the property from owner Enok Holdings LLC. The site has been vacant for more than six years after Old National Bank closed its operations there in August 2013.

The building opened in August 1992 as the home of Peoples Loan & Trust Bank. That company merged with Old National in the early 2000s.

Monday, Feb. 3 has been set as the opening date for the 11,286-square-foot Merchants branch. A date for a grand-opening celebration is expected to come later in the month.

Dunlap said the search for his company's first Richmond location wasn't limited to the downtown area.

"We looked around a lot. We just fell like we’re in the heart of downtown and that’s where people can get to us. It’s a nice compliment to our current locations," he said.

"We’re excited because it has a drive-thru and all those traditional things."

When the branch opens, its expected to have more than 20 employees with room for expansion down the line. It will offer a variety of consumer and commercial products and services, as well as residential mortgage and agricultural lending.

"We really feel like we have a nice offering for (the) community," Dunlap said.

Dunlap is excited about the opportunities a Richmond location offers his company when it comes to serving its pre-existing customers in east-central Indiana and west-central Ohio.

"We’re selective about where we go but when we go into those communities, we invest in those communities," he said.

"We’re committed to that market. We just think this takes us to the next level."

Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at 765-973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.