The office will be the bank’s fourth in Hampden County and is slated to open in the spring of 2026

FLORENCE—Florence Bank will take the next step in its expansion into Hampden County in August, when it breaks ground on a 2,500-square-foot office at 1504 Northampton St. in Holyoke.

The full-service Holyoke branch is expected to open in the spring of 2026 and will be the bank’s fourth in Hampden County. In August 2017, Florence Bank opened its first branch in the county in West Springfield, followed by a branch opening in Springfield early in 2019 and in Chicopee in the spring of 2021.

“We’re thrilled to be able to provide our current and future customers in Holyoke with a convenient way to bank with us and look forward to serving the people, businesses and organizations in the Paper City,” said President and CEO Matt Garrity. “Our focus is on providing great customer service and helping to reinvigorate the community, and we are proud and committed to be meeting the banking needs of more residents of Hampden County.”

An invitation-only ceremonial groundbreaking event is planned for Friday, August 22 at 10 a.m. at the site of the new branch. Garrity will address an audience that is expected to include bank employees, board members, Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, and other community leaders and elected officials.

The new branch, designed by HAI Architecture in Northampton, will provide a spacious lobby, traditional teller stations, five offices, a drive-up teller window and a drive-up ATM. 

Six employees will staff the branch, where customers can be assisted by tellers, meet with a customer service representative or apply for a mortgage or commercial loan. The bank’s Spanish-speaking mortgage originator will also be based in the new branch. 

Florence Bank has over 1,200 retail and business customers in Holyoke, and Garrity said the bank looks forward to deepening its impact in the region.

Florence Bank, chartered in 1873, is unique in that it is a mutually-owned savings bank, meaning it does not need to pay dividends to stockholders. Garrity said that mutuality allows the bank to make decisions about what’s best for customers and the community.

About Florence Bank

Florence Bank is a mutual savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 12 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, Chicopee, West Springfield, and Springfield. Additionally, it offers 23 ATMs and a wide range of financial services, including investment management through Florence Financial Group to consumers and businesses.

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President and CEO John Heaps Jr. announced community projects, illustrating the bank’s commitment to the city of Springfield and Hampden County

SPRINGFIELD—Moments before he cut the celebratory ribbon, making the opening of Florence Bank’s second Hampden County branch official, President and CEO John Heaps Jr. announced the bank’s support for several community projects.

This spring, in collaboration with the city of Springfield and the Basketball Hall of Fame, the bank will provide $15,000 to refurbish a basketball court at Greenleaf Community Center, and it is also contributing $25,000 to a $2 million campaign to build a Library and Community Learning Center in East Forest Park.

“We’re here,” Heaps said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 16 at the newest branch at 1444 Allen St. “We’re going to be a major player in the community. We love being here in Springfield.”

About 50 people attended the event at the branch, which was closed for the celebration for an hour. Those gathered included bank employees, board members and corporators as well as community leaders such as Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno; Kevin Kennedy, Springfield chief development officer; state Rep. Angelo Puppulo; and city councilors Kateri Walsh and Jesse Lederman.

Also in attendance were businesspeople with a role in the opening—from the former land owners to the architects, engineers, site planners and the furniture supplier.

Branch manager Nikki Gleason, a Springfield native and active volunteer, said she is excited to have the branch up and running. She introduced her staff team: Candice Somar, assistant branch manager; Bianca Hyde, customer service representative (CSR) / teller operations manager; Mario Nascimento, CSR / senior teller; Magdalis (Maggie) Sierra, CSR / senior teller; and Carolyn Ware, community relations director.

“The staff we have here is incredible,” Heaps said. “They all came from other banks, so they know the value of working for a local bank.”

The Allen Street branch has a contemporary and welcoming open floor plan with two teller pods and innovative technology for quick cash handling. The location also features a drive-up ATM with SMART technology for easy depositing and a comfortable waiting area inside with a coffee bar and free Wi-Fi.

“It’s a real strategic maneuver for us to be here in Hampden County and in Springfield. This is where it all happens,” Heaps said, giving a nod to Sarno for leading the city with fairness and grace. “He does what makes sense for this community.”

Sarno thanked Florence Bank and its staff for its commitment to Springfield and for the philanthropic measures—with the basketball court and library—that it is already putting in place.

“Your heart has always been in the city of Springfield,” Sarno told Heaps, who lives in Longmeadow and grew up in the Allen Street neighborhood of Springfield. “Your board, your whole staff team—I thank you all for your continued belief in the city of Springfield. You give back to customers and to the community.”

Sarno added, “Your expansion here sends a resounding message that it’s good to do business in the city of Springfield.”

In August 2017, Florence Bank opened its first branch in Hampden County at 1010 Union St. in West Springfield. “We will be opening several other branches in this area in the coming years,” Heaps said. “We’re excited to be expanding here.”

Florence Bank has nearly 3,900 customers living in Hampden County, including 762 business customers, 373 of whom are located in Springfield.

“We’re off to a great start,” Heaps said.

Florence Bank, chartered in 1873, is unique in that it’s a mutually-owned savings bank, meaning it does not need to pay dividends to stockholders. That mutuality, Heaps said, allows us to make decisions about what’s best for customers and the community.

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 11 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, West Springfield and a new branch located on Allen Street in Springfield. Additionally, they offer 28 ATMs and a wide range of financial services including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses.  Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.  

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Allen Street location opened Dec. 19, 2018; ribbon cutting slated for Jan. 16

SPRINGFIELD—Florence Bank opened its second Hampden County branch at 1444 Allen St. in Springfield on Dec. 19, 2018, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for Jan. 16 at 9 a.m.

“We’re very pleased to be expanding our presence in Springfield,” said John Heaps Jr., Florence Bank’s president and CEO. “Our focus is on providing great customer service and helping to reinvigorate the community.”

Bank employees, customers, board members and corporators will be present for the ribbon cutting, along with invited guests—among them Springfield business and civic leaders, including Mayor Domenic Sarno.

The Allen Street branch has an open floor plan with two teller pods and innovative technology for quick cash handling. The location will also feature a drive-up ATM with SMART technology for easy depositing and a comfortable waiting area inside with a coffee bar and free Wi-Fi.

Nikki Gleason serves as branch manager for the new location. “Springfield is my home, where I work, volunteer and spend much of my time,” she said. “I’m thrilled to be able to provide local banking services to people in my community.”

Other employees are: Candice Somar, assistant branch manager; Bianca Hyde, customer service representative (CSR) / teller operations manager; Mario Nascimento, CSR / senior teller; Magdalis “Maggie” Sierra, CSR / senior teller; and Carolyn Ware, community relations director.

In August 2017, Florence Bank opened its first branch in Hampden County at 1010 Union St. in West Springfield. The Springfield branch marks the second of several anticipated branches in the region.

“This is not just dipping our toe in the water. We’re here, and we’re going to be part of this community for a long time,” Heaps said.

Florence Bank has nearly 3,900 customers living in Hampden County, including 750 business customers, and Heaps said the bank looks forward to deepening its impact in the region and working with neighboring businesses.

Florence Bank, chartered in 1873, is unique in that it’s a mutually-owned savings bank, meaning it does not need to pay dividends to stockholders. That mutuality, Heaps said, allows us to make decisions about what’s best for customers and the community.

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 11 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, West Springfield and a new branch located on Allen Street in Springfield. Additionally, they offer 28 ATMs and a wide range of financial services including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses.  Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.  

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Civic, bank and business leaders gathered June 12 for celebratory event

SPRINGFIELD—Florence Bank broke ground Tuesday on its second Hampden County branch, at 1444 Allen St. in Springfield, and leaders said the full-service location will open later this year.

“We’re coming to Springfield,” John Heaps Jr., Florence Bank’s president and CEO, told a crowd of roughly 50 people who gathered for the celebratory event. “Our focus is on our customers and on helping to reinvigorate the community.”

Heaps grew up in the Springfield area, and he said the expansion into Springfield “is like coming back home. I used to hang around here. This feels great.”

Likewise, Nikki Gleason, branch manager for the Allen Street location, said, “Springfield is my home, where I work, volunteer and spend much of my time. I am thrilled to be serving as the branch manager and happy to be working for Florence Bank. I look forward to seeing many familiar faces and meeting new customers and friends.”

Last September, Florence Bank opened its first branch in Hampden County at 1010 Union St. in West Springfield. The Springfield branch marks the second of an anticipated four branches in the region.

“We’re looking at opening two more,” Heaps said. “This is not just dipping our toe in the water. We’re here, and we’re going to be part of this community for a long time.”

Heaps said the time was right for expansion into the Springfield area because bank mergers and acquisitions in past years have left Springfield without a local bank headquartered there.

As he spoke to the crowd at the groundbreaking, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno picked up on this point. “Sometimes, the community touch is lost,” Sarno said.

“Florence Bank is accessible. A person will answer the telephone,” he added. “The city of Springfield is growing, and Florence Bank will continue to move it forward.”

Also in attendance at the event were: Joe and Wendy Bonavita, the former landowners; Kevin Kennedy, chief development officer of economic development for the city of Springfield; Mary Dionne, vice president of the Outer Belt Civic Association; Myles Callender of Revitalize Springfield; and representatives for the developers, Marois Construction Company of South Hadley, the architectural firm HAI Architecture, and for Bohler Engineering.

Florence Bank employees, board members and corporators were also present, along with State Rep. Angelo Puppolo and Springfield City Councilors Tim Allen and Mike Fenton.

Heaps said that like the West Springfield Banking Center, the Allen Street branch will have an open floor plan with a full-service teller pod and innovative technology for quick cash handling. The location will also feature a drive-up ATM with SMART technology for easy depositing and a comfortable waiting area inside with a coffee bar and free internet.

Florence Bank has nearly 3,800 customers living in Hampden County, including 700 business customers, and Heaps said the bank looks forward to deepening its impact in the region and working with neighboring businesses.

Florence Bank, chartered in 1873, is unique in that it’s a mutually-owned savings bank, meaning it does not need to pay dividends to stockholders. That mutuality, Heaps said, allows it to make decisions about what’s best for customers and the community.

Florence Bank is a mutually-owned savings bank chartered in 1873. Currently, the Bank serves the Pioneer Valley through 9 full-service branch locations in Florence, Northampton, Easthampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Hadley, Belchertown and Granby as well as through 27 ATMs and a new full-service Banking Center in West Springfield. Florence Bank offers a wide range of financial services including investment management through FSB Financial Group (FSBFG) to consumers and businesses. Florence Bank is consistently voted best local bank by the readers of the Valley Advocate and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The post Florence Bank Breaks Ground on New Springfield Branch appeared first on Beetle Press.

Children got to parade through the streets of West Springfield on Oct. 14, dribbling basketballs and laughing with friends and family. They followed behind a five-time basketball Olympian named Teresa Edwards, who is also a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, and later had the chance to get her autograph.

The West Springfield Boys & Girls Club received a donation of $10,000, and hundreds of residents enjoyed a free lunch and entertainment by basketball entertainers who call themselves the Court Jesters.

This, all thanks to Florence Bank.

Headquartered in Florence, the bank opened its 10^th branch—the first in Hampden County—in West Springfield this summer, and planned the day’s amazing Florence Bank Dribble Parade to call attention to the milestone. What a great way to honor relationships and let the community know what a solid partner you will be.

The parade was the brainchild of the bank’s advertising agency, which partnered with Florence Bank staff in several months of intricate planning. I helped with the preparation and also promoted the event through press releases to get the bank some wider attention.

Even though it at first was threatening to rain on the Saturday of the parade, it stayed dry, the sun came out, and my intern, Abby Taylor, and I had a great time supporting the bank and taking part. While I was meeting with various photographers—several from the media—and working with the police detail that would keep marchers safe on the .6-mile route from the Boys & Girls Club to the new branch at 1010 Union St., Abby was helping with registration. She later marched in the parade with me, my grandson Eli, his friend Miggz and their babysitter, Emma, and Abby took some great photos as well.

Abby grew up in West Springfield and had the privilege to play basketball at the Boys & Girls Club when she was younger. She thought the parade was wonderful—“a great way to unite the community.” She got a kick out of the West Springfield High School band playing the bank’s “Always” song as the mayor, bank president, and CEO John Heaps marched behind a police escort.

“I cannot remember anything of this sort happening when I was younger, so I am happy for the children who got to feel famous for a day, walking around town for all to see,” Abby says. “I enjoyed recognizing people I see in the grocery store or at church. It warms my heart to know that the children of West Springfield are being nurtured by not only their parents, but by the community too.”

Abby is a junior at Westfield State University, and she is wise to see the ways in which Florence Bank created an opportunity for hundreds of children and their families in West Springfield. It was like being at a fair, not a bank! How clever and unique—and generous!

I’m proud to have had the chance to work with the Florence Bank staff. They are also clever, unique, and generous, as well as dedicated, organized, and genuine. If you run a business or organization, you’d do well to follow their example in offering a community event to give back and get noticed. It’s a smart idea. You can start small. Bring in a speaker on a topic of interest to your audience.

Or go big with a slam dunk like the Florence Bank Dribble Parade!

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WEST SPRINGFIELD—John Heaps Jr., President and CEO of Florence Bank, has a long and deep history in Hampden County.

He grew up in Springfield, lives and raised three children with his late wife, Jane, in Longmeadow and began his banking career at Valley Bank & Trust Co. in Springfield. And it was in Springfield, in 1987, that Heaps was first named a bank president; at 37, he was reported to be the youngest bank CEO in Western Mass by the Springfield Union News.

In August, Heaps will come full circle in banking in Hampden County when Florence Bank opens its new, full-service Hampden County Banking Center on Memorial Avenue.

“The timing is right for us,” Heaps said, noting that with the mergers and buyouts that have defined the banking landscape in past years, there is no longer a community bank headquartered in Springfield. That is a major reason why the expansion is appropriate now.

“There’s a real need for a community bank there,” he said.

Expanding in West Springfield

In 2007, Florence Bank opened a loan production office in West Springfield, the success of which is responsible for transforming the bank’s total commercial loan portfolio to more than 36 percent from Hampden County-based businesses.

“As a result of this accomplishment, and the fact that West Springfield is centrally located in the county, it became clear to us that we needed to open a full-service branch,” Heaps said.

In the next three to five years, Florence Bank plans to open additional branches in the Greater Springfield area. “We are making a commitment to Hampden County. It’s a major strategic direction for Florence Bank to build a presence there,” he said.

Between the loan center, a visible ATM in Springfield, a relationship with the Basketball Hall of Fame and employees—like Heaps—who live in Hampden County, the bank can already boast of nearly 3,000 personal banking customers and over 400 commercial clients in the Greater Springfield region. The bank also has a relationship with 97 nonprofits in Hampden County that have received over $300,000 in grants and gifts in the past five years.

Heaps, Hampden County connection

Heaps’ banking career began in marketing in 1971 at Valley Bank & Trust Co. in Springfield, located in what is now known as MassMutual.

He later worked for Old Colony Bank, which became Bank of Boston-Western Massachusetts, in 1982; in 1987, at 37, Heaps was named that bank’s president and CEO.

Heaps took over the helm of Florence Bank in 1995, and since that time, the bank’s assets have grown from $250 million to $1.2 billion and its capital from $25 to $130 million.

He continues to live in Longmeadow and is an active resident of Hampden County, where he has sat on boards for dozens of organizations; he currently serves on the executive committee for the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts and on the Board of Trustees for Bay Path University.

The Hampden County Banking Center

All of Florence Bank’s services will be offered through its new Hampden County Banking Center in West Springfield, scheduled to open in August in one third of a 9,000-square-foot plaza that will also hold other commercial tenants.

Located on Memorial Avenue and Bridge Street at the former site of St. Ann Roman Catholic Church, which closed in December 2008, the Hampden County Banking Center will have eight employees including: Maureen Buxton, Branch Manager; Stephanie Moore, Assistant Branch Manager; commercial lenders James Montemayor, Henry Downey and mortgage loan originator Susan Seaver, and John Ernst of Florence Bank’s Financial Group will also be available by appointment.

Florence has branches in Amherst, Belchertown, Easthampton, Granby, Hadley, Northampton and Williamsburg and is headquartered in Florence.

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