By Linda Delmonico-Prussen
Robert Lauro is an engineer and spokesman for Bohler Engineering, the site planner and project manager for Commerce Bank's expansion program into the New York metropolitan area. Bohler said Commerce Bank, with an estimated $16.5 billion in assets, has been around in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware since the mid-1970s.
There are now eight Commerce Banks open in the metropolitan area, which includes the five boroughs and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Bank officials anticipate opening 50 to 60 branches in the area over the next five years.
The Merrick Road site, Bohler said, "will be completely redeveloped," including $80,000 worth of landscaping. The new greenery, he said, would remain if the property changed hands.
The new Commerce Bank, which is scheduled to open in March, will be a single-story, 3,669-square-foot building, with a white-brick faade, four drive-through windows and a 24-hour ATM inside the bank lobby.
The bank, which will be at Fox Boulevard and Merrick Road, will exceed Town of Hempstead code requirements for parking, with 19 spaces in all, which pleases local civic leaders. The former medical arts building had too few spaces, which forced people to park on local streets, they said.
Derek Donnelly, president of the Merrick Gables Homeowners Association that fought construction of the medical arts building, said of the now-demolished structure, "It's a five-story building. You can't have that next to residential."
Of the Commerce Bank, Donnelly said, "We're very happy to see them in the community. It's a bank that really wants to serve the community."
Referring to its treatment of Merrick residents to date, Donnelly said of the bank, "They have been good commercial citizens to their residential neighbors."
Chris Giamo, a Commerce Bank spokesman, said the bank would serve both regular and business customers, including small businesses. "We have a full array of commercial products," he said.
Lauro said the bank would be open seven days a week and would include a "Penny Arcade." The "Penny Arcade" machine, which will be located in the bank lobby and be open to the general public, will exchange coins for cash, free of charge.
Giamo also said, "We offer free checking, free business checking and free online banking. People actually enjoy going to the bank
when they come to us."
To check out the Commerce Bank Web site, log onto www.Yesbank.com.
