JRS Architect, P. C. Designs 'Friendly' Branches for Bethpage Federal Credit Union
JRS Architect, P. C., which has designed offices and branches for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, has undertaken a branch roll out program Long Island's Bethpage Federal Credit Union. The branch designs aim to create a standardized identity for Bethpage Federal that reflects the financial coop's branding slogan, :"Banking among friends."
Mineola, NY (PRWEB) August 6, 2008
JRS Architect, P. C. is helping Bethpage Federal Credit Union make new friends with its branch designs.
Mineola-based JRS Architect, P. C., an award-winning architectural and interior design firm best known for its work for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, is designing new branches for rapidly growing Bethpage Federal Credit Union (Bethpage) that reflect the credit union's branding slogan, "Banking among friends."
"JRS' designs aim to create a standardized brand identity for Bethpage Federal Credit Union's branches," said JRS Vice President Robert Morrisey, who heads the JRS design team working with Bethpage.
Bethpage's recently opened 3,200-square-foot, freestanding branch in Massapequa, which stands out among the gas stations and restaurants that front Westfield's Massapequa Mall on Sunrise Highway, exemplifies JRS' effort to translate Bethpage's slogan.
The branch's exterior -- brown, split face concrete blocks along with copper and blue aluminum composite panels -- provides a background for Bethpage's familiar blue signage.
"In order to take full advantage of the high visibility corner and the angles of the site, we skewed from the traditional branch layout," Morrisey said of the Massapequa location.
The earth-tone theme is carried over to the branch's interior, where the look welcomes Bethpage members with the feel of a living room complete with flat-panel television, club chairs, twill carpet, slate-look porcelain floor tiles and cherry-wood laminate furnishings, all of which mingle with the company's colors to establish its identity.
JRS has been working for four years with Bethpage, Long Island's largest credit union, on its branch design program. To date, JRS has designed and completed 13 branches, including recently opened ones in Freeport, Farmingdale and Mineola, as well as the credit union's main office in Bethpage. The look will carry over to two new branches, one under construction in Elmont and another waiting for construction permits in Central Islip. The branches range from 2,900 square feet to 4,000 square feet.
Bethpage, formed originally to serve employees of the former Grumman Corp., is now open to all Long Islanders and has undertaken an aggressive branch roll out program. Since then, Bethpage has grown from nine offices to 17 and now has assets of more than $3 billion and more than 139,000 members.
"As part of an aggressive growth strategy and to better serve our membership, we desired to open new branches within communities where our members live and work,'' said Anthony Edelman, Assistant Vice President-Support Services at Bethpage. "We wanted to implement a standardized design plan that was functional, inviting, and aesthetically pleasing and JRS understood this."
"Our base design has remained constant since 2004, and whether it was a build out of a storefront shell, renovation of an existing branch, or new construction, the JRS team has been professional, dependable and creative," Edelman said, noting that two noteworthy projects undertaken by JRS were the Massapequa ground-up build and Bethpage's main office renovation.
At Bethpage's 20,000-square-foot main office, JRS and the credit union's contractor accomplished a renovation in three phases over a six-month "live" construction period. Work was completed without closing the location or adversely having an impact on members or employees.
JRS' designs also have proved popular among Bethpage's members, said Edelman. "Members have commented positively on the selection of colors and materials, and the manner in which they were used," he said, noting that the credit union has provided more than a dozen members with information about the manufacturers of the materials that were used in the branches.
About Bethpage Federal Credit Union
Bethpage Federal Credit Union is the largest Long Island community credit union, with more than $3 billion in assets. Bethpage is a full-service, cooperative financial institution offering the lowest or no fees on products and services, the highest interest on deposits, and the lowest rates on loans to more than 139,000 members nationwide. In addition to its main office, Bethpage currently maintains branches in Bay Shore, Commack, Farmingdale, Freeport, Glen Cove, Hempstead, Huntington, Levittown, Lynbrook, Massapequa, Melville, Mineola, North Babylon, Port Jefferson, Riverhead and Smithtown with no-surcharge ATM access at 29 Shared Service Centers, King Kullen Grocery Stores, 7-Eleven Convenience Stores, Walgreen's Pharmacies and Costco. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or regularly conducts business in Nassau or Suffolk counties (except for Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island). For more information, call (800) 628-7070 or visit http:/www. bethpagefcu. com.
About JRS Architect, P. C.
Established in 1986, JRS Architect, P. C. has offices in Mineola, N. Y., New York City and Princeton, N. J. The firm has grown from six people since its establishment to more than 50 today serving Long Island, the greater New York City area, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It has developed design expertise in the corporate, educational, financial, healthcare, hospitality and public spaces and retail markets. For more information about JRS, call (516) 294-1666 or visit www. jrsarchitect. com.
###
