Washington Trust Bank, which said earlier this year that it hoped to open a branch in Liberty Lake and expand its presence in southern Idaho, has filed applications with regulators to establish bank branches in those areas.


Washington Trusts planned free-standing Liberty Lake branch, which the bank hopes to open next summer, would be constructed at the intersection of Liberty Lake Road and East Kenney Road, south of Appleway Avenue, says bank spokeswoman Lea Werner.


The branch will have about 3,100 square feet of floor space with a full-service lobby, including safe deposit boxes, as well as a drive-up banking window and a 24-hour drive-up automated teller machine, Werner says. She says the branch is expected to employ six people.


Wolfe-Ballantyne Studio Architects, of Spokane, will design the structure, and Design Source, also of Spokane, will design the buildings interior space. A general contractor hasnt been selected yet to build the project and a construction start date hasnt been established, Werner says.


Meanwhile, in southern Idaho, Washington Trust hopes to open a branch in mid-July in leased space in an office building at 3090 Gentry Way, in Meridian, Idaho, near Boise. That branch, which would give the bank three branches in southern Idaho, likely will employ three to four people, Werner says. She says the branch will accept consumer deposits, but mostly will specialize in commercial and private banking.


Washington Trust opened its first two southern Idaho branches in Boise last year and expects to complete construction of a fourth branch in nearby Nampa, by the end of September, she says.