Marquette Savings Bank to build $7M Innovation Center next to downtown corp office.
From Erie Times-News story
https://www.goerie.com/news/20190811...ovation-center
Tom Tupitza, president of the Erie law firm of Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, sees big changes coming to the neighborhood around his law firm on West 10th St.
Those changes began with the $8.5 million transformation of the former Rothrock building across the street that’s now the home of Velocity Network and the Erie Innovation District.
Just to the west of the law firm, Gannon University has plans to spend millions transforming the former six-story Verizon call center into the headquarters for its Institute for Health and Cyber Knowledge.
Now, another big project is set to begin next door as Marquette Savings Bank begins construction sometime in the next few weeks at the site of the former Toni & Guy building at the corner of Peach and West 10th streets on a new $7 million operations, training, innovation and learning center.
According to Marquette CEO Michael B. Edwards, the idea for the building grew out of a simple problem: The bank, which has doubled its employment over the past 10 years, was running out of space.
But the concept, shaped by Kelly A. Montefiori, executive vice president, evolved to meet another need.
Montefiori said the bank recognized a need to train customers on a wide range of products and technology. A 2,500-square-foot space on the first floor of the innovation center will provide space for that training to take place as well as a cafe space.
“We are committed to growing Marquette,” Montefiore said. “In this day and age, technology is important to growing a bank and we wanted to make a statement about our belief in downtown.”
The design, created by the firm of Weber Murphy Fox, incorporates brick, cast stone, blue composite paneling and graphics on the second floor to create a look like nothing else to be found in Erie, said Pete Sitter, vice president of marketing for Marquette.
“It will have real modern Apple Store feel to it,” he said. “I don’t know that there is any other building to compare to it.”
While the largest part of the building, including the basement and second floor, will be used for operations, Montefiori said, “The signature piece is going to be on that corner with our blue metal panels, lots of glass. As people are walking by, they are going to able to look into the innovation center and see lots of technology hanging on the wall. We hope to do lots of activities and hold events in the front part.”
Edwards said the new building will more than double the space of the bank’s headquarters located next door at 920 Peach St.
“This project enables us to keep pace with our current growth with an eye on the future,” he said in a statement. “While we could have expanded our operations anywhere, we felt it was important to enhance our presence within the city limits and, more important, right here in downtown Erie.”
Like Tupitza, Sitter said he believes the impact of the new building will be multiplied by the impact of other new buildings, including those developed by Velocity Network and Gannon and the plans that the Erie Innovation Network has for the Downtown YMCA building.
“You are starting to develop a critical mass,” Sitter said. “Now when you are driving down Peach Street you are going to have that feel that this is where the Innovation District is.”
Employees were another consideration for a bank that’s been growing, Sitter said.
“We are ranked as one of the top 100 places to work in Pennsylvania,” he said. “We pride ourselves on the work experience here, but right now things are kind of tight.”
Tupitza, who remembers a very different feel to the neighborhood not so long ago, said there’s a new energy and food trucks parked outside on Mondays.
“We are very excited about it,” said Tupitza, whose law firm just tore down a building that will now be used as a construction staging area for Marquette. “Overall, we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/ETNMartin.
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