Staff report

Consumers National Bank, a community bank based in Minerva, will place its newest branch alongside a well-known Boardman banquet center.

Consumers Bank announced last week in a news release that it had bought an outlot in Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center’s parking lot, 7440 South Ave., for its Boardman facility.

There will be no change to Mr. Anthony’s operations during or after construction, which is expected to begin later this year, Consumers Bank officials said.

Consumers Bank purchased the approximately 1-acre parcel on Feb. 27 for $675,000 from Mr. Anthony’s. The new building will be north of Mr. Anthony’s and south of Regal Cinema South, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s website.

“It is exciting to see a portion of the Mr. Anthony’s property take on a new life as Consumers National Bank’s newest location,” said Anthony Saadey Jr., owner and operator of the 49-year-old banquet company. “I think the development will contribute to the business growth along South Avenue and I look forward to growing Mr. Anthony’s alongside Consumers.”

The new bank’s address will be 7430 South Ave., according to the auditor’s website.

Consumers Bank said it received approval last July from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its application to operate the new full-service branch office on South Avenue. The approval marks the bank’s first full-service branch in Mahoning County and its 24th in the bank’s six-county network.

Consumers Bank, with $1.2 billion in assets, anticipates that banking operations at the new Boardman office will begin approximately six months after construction commences.

“We look forward to building new personal and business banking relationships from our new Boardman branch and to making a difference in the community,” said Ralph J. Lober, president and CEO of Consumers National Bank.

“We think Boardman and the surrounding community will embrace our unique brand of community banking. K-4 (Architecture and Design) has designed a stunning and functional building that we believe will help us attract retail and commercial customers as well as bank talent that live in and around the Mahoning Valley.”

The new South Avenue location, which will replace the existing Boardman Loan Production Office on West Boulevard, will add up to 15 full- and part-time jobs to the area. The site plan includes a traditional branch lobby with night depository, drive-thru teller and drive-up ATM. The building will also serve as the bank’s northern operations center.

In addition to offices for branch relationship officers, the building will house mortgage loan originators, business bankers, treasury management specialists and a separate leased space for DWT Wealth, the bank’s wealth management partner. It also will provide workspaces for the bank’s Mahoning and Trumbull County back office and support employees.

K-4 Architecture and Design is a Cincinnati-based firm that specializes in financial institutions.

Founded in 1965, Consumers Bank also has locations in Adena, Alliance, Bergholz, Brewster, Calcutta, Canton, Carrollton, Dillonvale, East Canton, Fairlawn, Green, Hanoverton, Hartville, Lisbon, Louisville, Malvern, Massillon, Minerva, Mount Pleasant, Salem, Waynesburg and Wellsville.