DANVILLE — Danville Bell Credit Union will construct a new building on North Vermilion Street, just south of the former CiCi’s Pizza location. Plans call for the former restaurant to become a medical office.

The credit union has set a groundbreaking at the site of the new building at 3591 N. Vermilion St., for noon March 16.

The board of directors of Danville Bell Credit Union, along with local dignitaries, will participate in the ground- breaking ceremony with shovels in hand.

The credit union plans for a 3,500-square-foot building near the intersection of Poland Road and North Vermilion Street. Anticipated to open in early fall 2013, the energy-efficient facility will offer two drive-up lanes, a drive-up ATM and office space for future expansion.

The one acre of vacant land between the former CiCi’s Pizza and Pizza Hut was sold by the Wallis State Bank last year to credit union board chairman Steve Autor for $35,000. Autor then sold the land to the credit union for the expansion.

Board members also have worked with the city and the Illinois Department of Transportation for an entrance to the site.

Autor said the credit union likely won’t keep its current building at 307 N. Walnut St. But a final decision hasn’t been made.

“We wanted to grow the membership,” Autor said. The credit union now has about 1,700 members.

The new building will be three times bigger than the current site.

“It’s a great credit union and people love the staff,” Autor added, saying that they wanted to expand on that and open up a more visible building.

The credit union has four full-time and two part-time employees.

The staff likely will be expanded at the new site.

History

The credit union’s first office was located in the basement of the Illinois Bell Telephone Co. on the southwest corner of Seminary and Walnut streets in downtown Danville.

During the 1980s, the board of directors desired to grow the membership by adding other employee groups to the field of membership. The membership also grew through mergers with other credit unions including Chuckles Credit Union, Lyons NYC Credit Union and Interstate Publishers Employees Credit Union.

A new office with a drive-up window was built to accommodate the growing membership at 307 N. Walnut St. in 1987.

“After spending our first 65 years on a side street near the downtown area, this is an important move for the success and growth of our credit union,” Autor said in a press release.

“Now that we are able to open accounts for anyone who lives or works in Vermilion County, we decided that an office on North Vermilion Street would provide greater visibility and easy access. Our staff is known for personal face-to-face service and this building will provide the office space needed for the one-on-one attention needed to handle your financial needs. We truly look forward to serving our current members and future members from this larger location...” Autor said.

For more information about Danville Bell Credit Union, visit its website at http://www.danbellcu.com.

Credit unions are non-profit organizations that are owned by their members. They provide financial services to their members at competitive rates.

For information about credit unions and the services they offer, visit http://www.cuna.org or http://www.iculeague.org.