In Short : A new bank has announced plans to expand its services to Baxter, a move aimed at providing the residents and businesses in the area with enhanced banking solutions. The expansion signifies the bank’s commitment to supporting the local community’s financial needs, fostering economic growth, and promoting financial inclusivity. With a focus on customer satisfaction and convenience, the bank aims to establish itself as a reliable financial partner for the people of Baxter and the surrounding areas.
In Detail : National Bank of Commerce, with a Superior, Wisconsin, address, is a new tenant slated to move into the EkoMarkt, the green commercial building constructed at 15616 Edgewood Drive, which was completed in 2021. The eco-friendly building was built to feature a living roof with solar panels to focus on green energy. One experiment that wasn’t as potentially successful was a test area with a pervious surface that let water through rather than impervious pavement with water runoff. That test area will be removed as an amendment was approved by the Baxter City Council Tuesday, Oct. 17, to add a drive-thru to the south side of the building.
With the addition of the bank, the EkoMarkt, which has multiple tenant spaces, will be full.
The city noted the bank is proposing to go in the southeast end of the building. To accommodate a drive-thru, parking spaces would be removed and a drive lane on the building’s south side would change from two-way traffic to one-way traffic. The changes would make room for three-lanes of access to the bank via the drive-thru.
The three electric vehicle charging stations at the front of the building facing Highway 371 would remain, but the parking spaces next to those charging spots would become angled at 45-degrees and fall more in line with the new movement as vehicles continue around the front of the bank with the one-way traffic.
The city noted, even with the reduction in parking spaces, the building has 63 stalls on site and would be required to have 58 stalls based on the tenant floor plans. Businesses listed in the EkoMarkt’s website include Edgewood Dental, Weizenegger-Engel Insurance, Dental Edge Lab and Advanced Massage and Skincare Specialists.
The National Bank of Commerce was established in 1934, opening in Superior. Its first location outside of Wisconsin was in Duluth in 2000. Since then, the bank opened a location in Hermantown. In 2019, National Bank of Commerce purchased Community Bank.