Block party: Bank Independent celebrates new downtown building

HUNTSVILLE – When Bank Independent throws a party, everyone within a three-block radius cashes in!

Bank Independent threw a block party Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the official opening of its office building at 225 Holmes Avenue, in the heart of downtown Huntsville.

It was an unseasonably comfortable afternoon as Bank Independent threw open its doors to their “neighbors”, also known as customers, employees, partners, elected officials, curious onlookers, and members of the entire North Alabama community who are known for never missing a good party.

While VIPs spoke from an outdoor stage, the party continued with live music into the evening.

Mayor Tommy Battle and the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce were front and center for the celebration.

“Today, is a point of inflection,” said Battle. “We’re not just moving an office or opening a new office here. We’re opening our latest new building in the downtown area which signifies the growth of our whole city.

“It’s something very special. As you look throughout the crowd gathered here today, you see local, independent people here who are working day to day to develop something very special in our city.

“And it doesn’t happen without the backing of a bank, and it doesn’t happen without the funds that come from Bank Independent, who has made a lot of great decisions in this town that has helped us continue to grow, continue to get better.

“The Bank Independent team has continued to invest in our city and have made our community stronger.”

The new Huntsville corporate headquarters is a work of art with its alluring asymmetrical design, majestic glass walls, dazzling marble floors, spacious glass encased offices, open verandas, and magnificent panorama of downtown Huntsville from every single inch of office space.

Bank Independent said “no” to long dark corridors, quilted shoebox cubicles, windowless corner offices, flickering overhead lights, and the flimsy uncomfortable furnishings of the past.

Instead, it said “yes” to bright airy spaces where every employee not only has a window, but they are surrounded by towering glass walls and floor-to-ceiling windows fitting for today’s collaborative and even friendly workplace environment.

The grand and welcoming first floor is easy, convenient and practical for customers. There is a digital wall showing all the growing bank’s more than 30 locations and more than 20 satellite or ATM locations. The bank’s footprint spreads from its hometown of Sheffield to Red Bay, Russellville, Courtland, Leighton, Florence, Muscle Shoals, Lexington, Madison and Huntsville.

Each floor has 14,000 square feet of space. Bank Independent has the first and fifth floors; the second through fourth floors are available for lease through Crunkleton Commercial Real Estate.

Bank Independent is known for being one of the last true family-owned community banks, and its commitment to family values and communitywide economic development is manifest in their investment in downtown Huntsville real estate and architecture.

Currently with 650 team members and growing, Bank Independent is $2.5 billion strong.

Macke Mauldin, whose family started Bank Independent in 1947, shared the history of the bank and their relationship with the communities where they are.

“I am involved in a lot of things across the state, but Huntsville, with its public and private leadership, is unmatched in the southeast if not the nation,” he said. “It’s an amazing city going to amazing places.

“Our purpose is to serve the community we are in, and we continue that commitment in every community we enter. And we continue that legacy we have created.

“We won’t ever be the biggest bank in town, but we will provide you the best service, the best commitment to helping you and your families and businesses grow.”

Tim Singleton, executive vice president and Eastern Region president, senior commercial lender joined Huntsville City President DeMarco McClain to talk about the bank’s future in Huntsville-Madison County.

“July will be our ninth year in Huntsville/Madison County,” Singleton said. “And for the next 76 years as this building grows and matures, our plan is to continue to customize your experience, every client experience, and to value the people we meet over the numerical scores they represent, and to speak the truth, every time, consistently.”

McClain said that since they have moved into the new building, he enjoys looking out over the city from the fifth-floor balcony and admiring what Bank Independent has accomplished – they will have opened six new locations in Madison County by the end of the year.

“I am proud of the people who have entrusted us to be their bank,” he said. “I am also proud of our community involvement.

“Bank Independent at its core, is about giving back to the communities we serve… Our sense of community is very important and since day one, Bank Independent has shared a desire to be a great community partner whether that be supporting small businesses or supporting our community organizations and nonprofit partners.

“We are equally committed to each of those because that what it takes for the bank to live out its values.”

At 75 years old, the bank plans to be around for 75 more, said CEO Rick Wardlaw.

“I say the people who drink the water, remember those who dug the well, and the whole Huntsville community is drinking a lot of water from the well you have dug,” he said. “Most banking institutions exist for the sole benefit of the shareholder. A large Alabama regional bank sold to a Spanish bank and recently sold again.

“An Alabama-based community bank sold to another bank, and in less than a year, that bank sold.

“If you were a banker at that bank, you would have had three different business cards without moving your office.

“If you were a customer of that bank, you went through two different disruptive conversions.

“Most recently, a local bank started 15 years ago with a strategy of ‘built to sell’, perfectly executed their strategy. Recently, they sold to a large out of state bank.

“Bank independent does not exist for the sole benefit of the shareholders, nor does it exist to sell.

“Bank Independent exists to make a positive difference in people’s lives and in the lives of our team members, in the lives of our customers, and in the lives of our communities.

“Bank Independent is built to serve, and it is here to stay.”