SHICKSHINNY - Shickshinny soon will have a bank again.
Nearly two years after flooding destroyed the only bank in town, several officials broke ground Monday for a new branch.
Berwick-based First Keystone Community Bank will open a branch at the site of the former Hasay Chevrolet auto dealership. The bank expects to complete construction before the end of the year, said Matthew P. Prosseda, president and chief executive officer of First Keystone Community Bank.
"We have always wanted to be in Shickshinny," Mr. Prosseda said. "We have a lot of customers in Shickshinny and the towns up through here and we believe we can serve this community very well. A community needs a bank to be strong and thriving."
Officials, business owners and residents in the small borough welcomed construction of the new branch after the September 2011 flooding destroyed the century-old Wells Fargo Bank, demolished in March 2012. The only banking residents are now able to do in town is through an ATM.
"The citizens have been waiting a very long time for this," said Brian Phillips, president of the Business Association of the Greater Shickshinny Area and Shickshinny Forward, a recovery group formed after the flood.
The bank is part of the rebound in the town after the flood heavily damaged businesses and homes. Thirty-eight businesses are now open in Shickshinny, said Mr. Phillips. Some businesses have not reopened, including a laundromat and a dentist's office.
Some businesses are new to the borough such as Thomas' Family Market, which replaced the closed 5 Mountain Market, and Lil' Bugs Children's Consignment Shop, which opened in a historic building at 15 N. Main St. that was under water after the September 2011 flooding.
China Fun replaced the former restaurant China Jade in 5 Mountain Plaza on Route 11. Owner Cindy Lin showed a picture of what the plaza looked like in 2011 when it was under water. Today, she said she likes doing business in the small town.
Family Dollar re-opened in December last year after being inundated with more than 10 feet of water in September 2011. Manager Robyn Rospendowski is pleased that the town is finally starting to recover after the disaster.
"It's starting to look up," she said. "We're glad to be back."
Along with a full-service lobby, drive-thru and ATM, First Keystone Community Bank partnered with Berwick Hospital Center, an affiliate of Commonwealth Health, to locate a doctor's office at the location. Berwick Medical Professionals, an affiliate of Commonwealth Health, had operated a physician's office in downtown Shickshinny until it was displaced by the September 2011 flooding.
The site marks the 18th location for First Keystone Community Bank, which has seven other locations in Luzerne County and four in Monroe County.
Shickshinny Mayor Beverly Moore said as soon as she found out First Keystone Community Bank would open a branch in the borough, she transferred her accounts there.
"We have an elderly population, but we also have every day people who just need to run into a bank," Ms. Moore said. "People do not always like the automated version or speaking on the telephone about their banking. This truly is a community bank with the needs of the community at heart."
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com