New branch bank slated to open next summer

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Associated Bank held a groundbreaking ceremony midday Friday for a new branch bank in Rhinelander being built at the former Pizza Hut site at 304 Lincoln St.

After having torn down the previous structure on the site, Associated Bank’s plans include constructing a new 2,700-square-foot branch bank with a three-lane drive-thru.

Associated Bank president Dennis DeLoye said he hopes the bank will be able to move into the new facility now under construction around June or July of next year. Once the new branch bank opens, DeLoye noted Associated Bank plans to move out the existing facilities it currently rents along Stevens Street in Rhinelander.

“We’re excited to have all of our colleagues together under one roof,” he said.

DeLoye said Associated Bank will continue to have the same number of staff in Rhinelander “and possibly be expanding that in the future as our market grows up here.”

The new branch bank in Rhinelander, DeLoye said, will look similar to the Associated Bank facilities that have been built in Minocqua and Eagle River.

“We’ve been rebranding our branches for the last several years…as you can see with the bright, new colorful facilities,” he said. “So this one will look like those. It’s a little bigger than our normal footprint, because we’re going to house a president, a commercial banker and a private banker, along with our other colleagues.”