Rondout Savings Bank has purchased the Spectrum building at 142 Schwenk Drive for the purpose of expanding as an Uptown campus that will include the adjoining bank branch at 130 Schwenk Drive, according to bank officials.
The bank closed on the property, a privately-owned building belonging to the Whitman family for 40 years, on March 3. The price was $629,000 according to the deed filed with the Ulster County Clerk’s office.
“We’re growing in different departments as a bank, and we feel the growth in Kingston,” said Cheryl Bowers, Rondout’s president and chief executive officer. “When we saw the opportunity for a complete campus in uptown, we seized it and quickly went ahead with the transaction.”
Bowers said while the new space could be used as a future operations or lending center, the bank intends to brainstorm with a local architect to map out the best use of the space.
Some renovations are planned, particularly updating the Spectrum building facade, and bank leaders also expect to renovate the adjoining branch, so the two buildings complement each other. Bowers expects the work to be complete within a year.
“It’s imminent, but we’re going to do it right and make the best use of that space,” she said. “The Schwenk Drive branch is probably our busiest location. We’re blessed with so many businesses that bank with us in Uptown.”
Tom Collins of SVN Deegan-Collins Commercial Realty said Spectrum vacated the property on Feb. 1 but gave notice in November that it was moving to the town of Ulster, where it’s now located at 1161 Ulster Avenue in the plaza owned by Ulster Crossings LLC (the same plaza Barnes & Noble is currently vacating, and which also hosts Bed, Bath & Beyond, Panera Bread and Petco. The Schwenk Drive property went on the market in late December.
Collins said the 4,200-square-foot facility had been renovated a few times since Time Warner Cable, which later became Spectrum, began leasing the building 11 years ago. He said the interior is largely office space with a central lobby that is “almost set up like a bank.”
“It was probably built in the late ’60s and had many uses over the years,” Collins said. “Frankly, I’m not sure what it was originally built for, but at one time, it was an insurance company and later, a restaurant.”
Bowers said the acquisition of the building is a demonstration of Rondout’s “long-term commitment” to the local market.
“We have planted our flag here forever. I could not be prouder at how the area is growing, and we are growing with it. Kingston is vibrant, so this will strategically prepare us as we continue to grow along with our community,” she said.
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