RBC plans major expansion, upgrade at 18th Street site

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This article was published 19/09/2011 (5136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A big change is coming for RBC Royal Bank customers on 18th Street in Brandon.

The branch at 18th Street and Van Horne Avenue will spend the next year transforming itself from a traditional banking institution into a new, sleek retail-concept business.

In addition to its traditional wicket and machine banking services, the branch will offer interactive advice areas and surface screen technology stations where customers can simply walk up and select the type of banking/investment advice they want.

“People will be able to walk up and actually just touch the screen,” explains Terry Burgess, RBC’s regional vice-president for the western Manitoba region. “It’s really interactive with the clients and they can do all sorts of different things.”

“The whole retail concept is driven by client need,” adds branch manager Colin Romano. “Clients are getting more sophisticated and they’re telling us that they want their banks to provide advice and to bring advice to them in different ways. We’re just trying to appeal to ‘Generation Next’ and the new users out there, as well as to keep abreast of changes in technology.”

In addition to the self-serve technology concept, staff members will also be available on the floor to help clients with anything they might want to research.

“Most times, people come into a bank and it’s cold and intimidating, so we’re looking at trying to liven that up and make it a lot more friendly and have our own staff on the floor, rather than being behind the scenes,” Burgess said.

As well, a series of open “seminar areas,” complete with TV screens and chairs, will be available for curious clients to learn more about the banking services offered at the branch.

However, intimate services required by clients — things like credit card applications or the setting up of tax-free savings account — will still be provided in private offices at the rear of the building.

A drive-thru ATM will also be installed on the building’s north side.

One new staff member will be added, bringing the total staffing complement at the branch to 25.

The new “multi-million” retail branch will be built immediately north of the current building, on land where the Brandon Lube-Penzoil 10-Minute Lube centre is currently located. A vacant lot further to the north will also be used.

Demolition of the oil lube station — which is being reopened later this year in a new location on the 100-block of 18th Street — is set to begin within the next few days.

When the new, 6,500-square foot RBC facility is complete next fall, the existing building will then be demolished to make way for a 31-stall parking lot.

While the banking world has not been immune from the global economic crisis, Burgess said the 18th Street branch was picked by the corporate powers-that-be for expansion because it has seen “tremendous growth” over the past number of years.

“We’ve recognized for years that we need to grow with the amount of business that we’ve been doing in Brandon,” he said. “As much as we are affected by what’s going on in the economy and the financial services industry, we’re still investing and we see Brandon as a place to invest in.”

It will be the only branch in Manitoba to offer the retail-style services, he noted. Eight other branches across Canada will be outfitted with the new retail concept by the end of this year.

During the next year of construction, the branch’s current building will still be fully accessible to clients, Romano stressed, with customer parking available on the entire Kullberg’s Furniture lot across the street.

The 18th Street expansion will have no impact on the bank’s Rosser Avenue branch.

» adowd@brandonsun.com