United Bank to break ground Friday for new facility

Published 2:33 pm Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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With a location already secured, officials with United Bank will be breaking ground to allow construction to begin on their newest facility. The groundbreaking ceremony is set for Friday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. at 1515 Douglas Avenue.
Russell Barnes, branch manager for the Brewton offices of United Bank, said the ground breaking will be a big move for the bank and its presence in Brewton.
“Initially, this was just a loan production office,” Barnes said. “We have grown into a full-service location, but we have two issues: we have limited parking and we don’t have a drive through area.”
Barnes said the new facility to be constructed on Douglas Avenue, will solve those problems.
“When the facility is complete, we will have adequate parking and provide several drive through lanes,” Barnes said. “That is what the community has been telling us and we are glad to be able to meet that need. It has been a challenge for people to get out and come in to make transactions — especially with the weather we’ve been having lately.”
Barnes said the construction will begin following Friday’s groundbreaking and is expected to be complete by October 8.
Hammer Inc., of Monroeville, is in charge of building the new facility, Barnes said.
“We’ve outgrown our little office,” Barnes said. “We have limited space and to be able to have an office with room for our customers and our employees will be nice.”
Currently, the Brewton location is manned by four employees. Barnes serves as branch manger with Al Holley in place as a commercial lender. The office is also staffed with Misty Stone and Faye Eddings handling customer services.
“When we get to the new facility, will be be hiring new employees,” Barnes said. “We will need them as we continue to grow.”
The groundbreaking ceremony is open to the public. The location on Douglas Avenue is at the Peavy Street intersection.
In the beginning, back in 1904, United Bank was known as the Bank of Atmore, where their main office remains. After expanding the main office a few times and adding several branches, in 1982 a holding company, United Bancorporation of Alabama Inc., was created. That fueled an expansion with more than 20 locations in Alabama and Northwest Florida. United Bank has been named one of America’s strongest banks during their time of service. To contact the Brewton branch of United Bank, you can reach them at 251-314-1510.