Missoula Federal Credit Union

Based on a couple of comments we have received both via this blog and from members in our lobbies, we have not done a very good job of explaining WHY we are even building the Russell Street branch.  A lapse of communication for certain!

Several years ago, we did a comprehensive review of our facilities, including a detailed needs evaluation for the next 15-20 years. In doing this, we realized the Fairway facility was not going to be able to meet our needs in the future. Not only is the space not appropriate for the long term, but the building is expensive to operate. While the Fairway location is great, since we don’t own the building, we determined it would be more economical in the long run to build an energy efficient, sustainable building in the same vicinity—thus the purchase of the Russell Street property.

The plan is to move our Fairway operations to the Russell Street branch upon its completion (slated for third quarter 2008). We will use the Fairway space to temporarily house our corporate operations (accounting, marketing, IT, HR, etc.) while we re-configure our Southside branch to provide sufficient space for future needs. We hope to be able to use many of the same sustainable, energy efficient practices in the new Southside offices so we can continue to reduce the impact our operations have on our environment while continuing to provide the service our members have come to expect. We believe we are paving the way for other businesses to address environmentally sound, sustainable building practices on a much larger scale in Western Montana. When all the dust settles, MFCU will still have 5 branches in Missoula and one in Stevensville.