Spokane Teachers Credit Union plans to open a home loan center in a single-story building it’s remodeling at 9207 E. Mission, in Spokane Valley, says Dan Hansen, spokesman for the Liberty Lake-based credit union.

Although plans are preliminary, STCU hopes to open the facility yet this year, Hansen says.

In addition to a home loan center, Hansen says the facility also will feature two drive-thru ATMs.

The city of Spokane Valley has issued a building permit for a $900,000 tenant improvement project for the vacant building.

The project is described in public records as an interior remodel of existing credit union space, although STCU hasn’t occupied the building since it bought the property and four adjacent lots nearly six years ago.

Bernardo|Wills Architects PC, of Spokane, is designing the renovations, and Meridian Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the contractor.

The Spokane County Assessor’s records show the parcel at that address has 0.3 acres of land and is occupied by a 2,600-square-foot, single-story multitenant structure.

Hansen says the credit union also plans to make improvements at an apartment building that’s being converted into multitenant office space next to the project site, at 9209 E. Mission.

The Spokane County Assessor’s records show the parcel, abutting the site of the future home loan center, features a two-story, roughly 4,500-square-foot building. 

In fall 2012, the Journal reported that STCU purchased 2.5 acres of land in that location in three separate transactions for a total of $1.8 million. The property is located at the northeast corner of Mission Avenue and Mullan Road, just south of Interstate 90-Argonne Road interchange.

At the time of the purchases, the credit union had planned to construct a financial center envisioned to include a full-service branch and real estate lending services.

Those plans included constructing a two-story structure to open in 2013 or 2014 with at least 20,000 square feet of floor space.

Separately, STCU announced in April that the credit union plans to open one branch in each of the three cities collectively known as Tri-Cities by the end of next year.

That growth will mark the first branches outside of the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area for the credit union.

The first branch in Kennewick will be located at 4842 W. Hildebrand Blvd., and STCU has said it’s negotiating for branch site properties in the neighboring cities of Pasco and Richland.

The credit union already has 2,300 members living in the Tri-Cities area.

As of March 31, the credit union had more than $2.8 billion in assets, up from $2.6 billion a year earlier, according to the latest available financial statements STCU filed with the National Credit Union Administration. STCU’s deposits totaled $2.3 billion, up from $2.1 billion a year earlier.