Spokane Teachers Credit Union plans to enter North Idaho with its first branch there, to be located in Post Falls.


Steve Dahlstrom, STCUs president and CEO, says the organization has bought 1.25 acres of land in Post Falls, near the southwest corner of state Highway 41 and Mullan Avenue, and plans to start work on a branch building there within the next few months. As currently planned, that building will be completed by early fall.


The site is strategically located as far as traffic patterns, Dahlstrom says of the location, which is a couple of blocks north of and visible from Interstate 90. We want to be close to the traffic that goes back and forth between Coeur dAlene and Spokane.


STCU spokeswoman Keely Barrett says that design of the new structure isnt completed yet, but as envisioned, the building would be two stories tall and would have roughly 20,000 square feet of floor space. The organization hasnt selected a builder and doesnt have a cost estimate for the project yet, she says.


Spokane architect Jerry Shogan is designing the structure.


In addition to a full-service branch, STCU plans to house some business-development specialists and commercial real estate lenders in the new building. In all, up to 15 people will work at the Post Falls office, Barrett says.


STCU currently doesnt have concrete plans for additional branches in North Idaho, but Dahlstrom says, I can assure you it wont be our only office over there. Its a fast-growing area.


STCU obtained regulatory approval late last year to expand its membership to include people who work or live in Kootenai County, Dahlstrom says.


Already, though, the credit union has thousands of members who live in North Idaho. For some time, it has accepted as members anybody who lives or works in Spokane County, and many North Idaho residents work in the Spokane area.


Founded in 1934, STCU currently has nine branches in Eastern Washington and more than 70,000 members.