Walla Walla, Wash.-based Banner Bank plans to demolish four structures and build a new branch this year on 4.3 acres of land it owns at the northeast corner of Argonne Road and Sprague Avenue, in Spokane Valley.

Demolition of the bank’s drive-up and vestibule, located at 10 N. Argonne Road, is slated to begin this week, says Kelly McPhee, spokeswoman for the bank. The walk-in branch located on the site will remain open while a new branch is built at the site of the former drive-up facility, she says. 

McPhee says the new branch is expected to be completed in the fall, and then the walk-in branch will close and be demolished.

McPhee says the bank plans to use the remaining space to construct a mixed-use retail building, the concept for which was born from a decision to reinvest in Spokane Valley. Tenants haven’t been decided, she says, and no time line has been established for that phase of the project. 

The new structure will be built to match Banner’s push to modernize its buildings and make them more efficient and easily accessible for clients, she says.

“It is our intention to demolish all four structures,” says McPhee. “It will happen in phases with the idea of minimizing impact to our clients, because that is quite a busy branch for us.”

The current branch is odd, McPhee says, because the bank can’t operate the drive-up from within the building and requires a separate structure.

McPhee says total construction costs are undetermined at this time, as portions of the project are still in the design stage.

Spokane-based Bernardo|Wills Architects PC is the architect and Rob’s Demolition Inc. is razing the structures.

Spokane Valley-based Waynco Construction Inc. is the contractor. 

McPhee says the new branch building should have about 3,000 square feet of floor space, and the new drive-up will have three lanes and an ATM.

McPhee says the updated facility will come with new technology, including ATMs that offer more features, and new internal technology. 

“Our priority is to create a more modern and easily accessible space for our clients,” she says.

The current branch is a two-story, 5,500-square-foot building that was built in 1976, according to Spokane County Assessor’s records.

Also formerly located on the parcel was the 5,100-square-foot former Farmers & Merchants Bank headquarters, which has already been razed, McPhee says. Banner Bank acquired Farmers & Merchants in 2007.

McPhee says the former headquarters wasn’t up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards with regard to elevators and access, which she says led the bank to opt to demolish the structure rather than remodel it.

For those who wish to use drive-up banking in the interim, McPhee says customers can use the next closest branch, located at 10808 E. Sprague, about a mile east of the Argonne and Mullan branch. During construction, the Sprague branch will offer Saturday hours to accommodate customers.