In the spring of 2009, Fifth Third Bank announced it would be closing its full-service branch in the heart of downtown Watervliet, leaving only a small and inconveniently located drive-thru for Watervliet customers. This move upset City officials, business owners, and residential customers who want walk-in service to transact business.
Instead of simply accepting this loss as a blow to the town’s vitality, the Watervliet Downtown Development Authority (DDA) began work to identify another financial institution to bring those full banking services back to the downtown and started by placing a classified ad in the Grand Rapids Press, South Bend Tribune, and Kalamazoo Gazette.
“Since we are in the middle of these three towns, we targeted these communities to pique interest in Watervliet. We want financial institutions to know that we have resources to help with property acquisitions and development, infrastructure loans and grants, and tax abatements,”
Located on I-94 and the Paw Paw River, close to Paw Paw Lake and Lake Michigan, officials and business leaders believe Watervliet offers a convenient location for doing business and is a great spot to live and raise a family.
“An expanding financial institution can draw from a wide region for customer base and for employees and can step into an existing base of customers who had those full services and will gladly join a downtown institution that offers them,” says Marketing Manager Calli Berg. “We have several buildings of various sizes, for sale or for lease that would be suitable for a financial institution and we can provide demographic and community information, site tours, and help bring interested parties together.”
For information or to plan a visit, call (269) 369-8429, e-mail calliberg@comcast.net, or check out the DDA Website at http://www.watervliet.biz.
