SO WHAT’S UP with that huge mound of dirt on McClellan (M-553), just south of Econo Foods?
More condos? A new brewery? A big coffee shop!!
Nope, nope, and nope.
It’s going to be the new corporate headquarters for Embers Credit Union. “We need more space,” says Embers CEO Tom Blake. “We need to expand.”
Embers is, indeed, in the midst of expansion. First, a little history lesson. It most recently was known as the UP Catholic Credit Union. And back in 1953, when it was founded, it was the St. Peter Cathedral Catholic Credit Union.
But the name and the brand have changed over the years to reflect the fact that it’s open to anybody, not just Catholics.
It currently has three branches–two in Marquette and one in Negaunee–but it’ll soon be adding two more in Munising and Trenary (currently Upper Michigan Community Credit Union branches), along with one in Gwinn (currently Huntington Bank), and eventually two more in Delta County.
The mergers and consolidation reflect what’s happening nationally.
“It’s already taken place in the banking industry,” CEO Blake explains. “Now the credit unions are doing the same. It just makes sense to join forces with all the changes in technology and regulations.”
The new Embers corporate building will open in July of 2020.