Community First Credit Union broke ground today on its new Bartram branch, located on Village Lake Circle near the intersection of Bartram Park Boulevard and Old St. Augustine Road. The groundbreaking also signified the start of a new, multi-year expansion and development plan for Community First, which serves more than 106,000 members on the First Coast.

“Community First has had exceptionally strong financial results over the past few years and is now poised for aggressive growth that will enable us to provide additional value and service to our members,” said Community First President and CEO John Hirabayashi. “Our focus is not only to expand our branch access in Northeast Florida, but also expand our services to offer innovative banking solutions and provide cutting-edge banking technology options for our members.”

The groundbreaking is the first in a series of new improvements planned to launch this year, including a newly designed website, a new mobile banking platform and a re-invented business banking program. The multi-year plan also includes additional online and mobile technology advancements and new services as well as several more new and relocated branches throughout Northeast Florida.

The Bartram branch, which is expected to be completed in October of this year, will help service more than 1,500 members who live within a five-mile radius of the new branch. The branch will feature a newly designed interior that replaces the traditional teller line with “dialogue towers” that are manned by member service representatives. Each dialogue tower will also have a capsule pipeline connected to a bank of tellers, similar to the drive-thru system, to complete transactions.

“We’ve found that our members are making fewer cash transactions when they come into a branch, but are in need of assistance for a number of things like setting up online banking and online bill paying, along with opening new accounts and establishing new loans,” said Mike Tomko, senior vice president of operations at Community First. “The new design helps to facilitate the needs of our members more efficiently and directly.”

Community First Credit Union offers mortgages, investment services, small business services and a full suite of online services. For more information about Community First, visit www.CommunityFirstFL.org, call (904) 354-8537 or (800) 342-8416.