HURON — “Facilities are a tool with which to do business,” said Dakotaland Federal Credit Union (DFCU) president and CEO Dan Cumbee. “We need the space to accommodate the personnel for our added branches.”
To accomplish this, Cumbee announced Saturday evening that DFCU will build a new administrative facility in the Southtown development in Huron. Cumbee’s announcement came during the 82nd DFCU annual meeting at the Huron Event Center.
The new 30,000 square foot, two level building will be constructed along Dakota Avenue, immediately north of property being developed by Iverson Motors. Plans are being completed by Mills Construction, Inc., located in Brookings.
“The new site is not only intended to accommodate the overcrowding we are currently experiencing in our main office, but also to prepare for anticipated growth we are predicting for the credit union and the Huron community over the next 10 to 20 years,” explained Cumbee.
The adaptable facility will be constructed with two primary purposes, according to Cumbee. The second floor will house those credit union staff members who are considered administrative or back office employees.
“The new site will be the home of those staff members who support front-line credit union employees in our nine current branches,” Cumbee said. “Accounting, marketing, human resources and payroll are a few of the divisions that will move there when the facility is completed.”
Building the new administration building will free space at the main office at the main DFCU branch on the corner of 14th and Dakota to accommodate the growing number of employees who serve the membership on a daily basis.
“We have quickly outgrown our current space,” Cumbee said. “There are cases where two or three people are sharing office space designed for one person. We started with three conference rooms and are down to one now,” he added, “and we have staff looking at it!”
Moving some administrative personnel to the Southtown location will also allow existing member services such as tax preparation and insurance to continue in their existing footprints.
There is a planned DFCU teller and drive-up area in the new building on the first floor, with the remainder of the first floor open as rental space for offices or possibly for retail.
Cumbee said the location, easy access and attractive store fronts will make the facility a very viable prospect for office space or retail business. The rental space will total approximately 10,000 sq. ft., but can be sized to fit. He added that he has been in discussion with some prospective tenants, but if an individual or business has an interest in space, they should contact him at 352-2845.
“We have nine branches and are opening a 10th this year in Watertown,” Cumbee said. “The addition of the new branch, combined with more and more regulation coming down from the federal government, means that we have needed to take on more administrative personnel in the past few years.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a planned expansion near the existing Dakota Ave. south location, but those plans fell through, according to Cumbee. “In actuality,” he said, “not building here will probably turn out to be for the best. We have added on at the South Dakota Avenue site twice already as needs arose.
Moving forward, Cumbee estimates the new facility will provide a bump of approximately 30 jobs to the Huron area, with the possibility of growing to 50 in the future.”
“It’s a big step, for certain,” Cumbee said. “But Huron is the center for our operation and we are excited about the future of Dakotaland and for the Huron area.”
