Local Businesses In The Midst
Of Renovation Projects
Exterior work continues on the Hicksville
Building Loan and Savings Bank addition at the corner of High
and Main Street in downtown Hicksville. The 9,300 square foot
addition includes office space and a basement which will house
a training area and storage. The project is estimated to be complete
in late August.
Two Hicksville businesses are in the midst of renovation projects
and looking forward to late summer, early fall completions.
As one of the oldest financial institutions in the Village
of Hicksville and all of Defiance County, the Hicksville Building,
Loan and Savings Bank, currently celebrating its 115th anniversary,
is focusing on the future with a 9,300 square foot addition at
its 100 North Main Street offices.
"We are using space now for work area that was never
intended to be used in that capacity," President Jamie Shinabarger
says. "We quickly outgrew our last expansion project and
with this addition we have intentionally overbuilt, giving ourselves
room to grow into it. We don't expect to be building again for
years to come."
The Building and Loan opened its doors in 1890 in the former
Hicks Land Office which stands next door to the current offices
on West High Street which now houses Hicksville Historical Society
memorabilia. The Land Office was moved from its original High
and Main Street location, north on Main Street (where the parking
area is now) when the Building and Loan built its new 3,720 square
foot facility in the 1960s. The Land Office made the move to
its current location in 1997 when a 2400 square foot addition
to the Building and Loan offices brought the facility to over
6,000 square feet, with its current entrance and lobby configuration.
Shinabarger says the public entrance will remain the same
and the lobby area and the drive thru areas will also remain
substantially as they are now. The newest addition is again at
the north end of the facility. Renovations to the existing structure
will be minimal. Construction began in the Fall of 2004 and the
final stages of this current renovation will include resizing
an exisiting office at the north end of the facility to allow
for access to the new administrative office area.
The new space will include ten offices and eight workstations
on the main floor and a basement which will include a large training
room, conference room and lunch and kitchen area.
"The training area is something that can be utilitized
in a variety of ways," Shinabarger states. "In the
Post 9/11 banking environment, financial institutions have been
enlisted in the war on terrorism via monitoring of the nation's
payment system. In addition, the already burdensome regulatory
landscape has heightened the need for more comprehensive employee
training. We intend to use the new facility to provide the necessary
space to accommodate our training needs as well as instances
where a large community group (like the Chamber or Economic Development)
has a need or we want to invite the public in for an informational
purpose. We hope to offer expanded services as part of our latest
upgrade. We see ourselves as a progressive institution, welcoming
new technology when it can be cost justified and has a practical
business application. We look forward to serving the Hicksville
area for many, many years to come."
An open house for the public is being planned for August 27.
The nation's only two-time Heisman trophy winner, Ohio State's
Archie Griffin, will be in attendance to sign autographs and
be available for photo opportunities.
Portions of the warehouse area at Trident
were recently razed to make room for the new structure which
is under construction and should be completed by fall. The warehouse
area will incorporate the present loading dock area and will
complete the local industry's recent renovation project.
Trident Corporation, one of Hicksville's oldest industrial
facilities, is in the midst of renovating its Defiance Avenue
facility.
General Manager Joyce Ringer says the plant will remain virtually
the same size, the new construction simply replaces portions
of the facility which are over 50 years old.
"This renovation has been mostly about better utilizing
the space we have," Ringer says. "The substantial investment
was in re-layout of the machining area to create a better flow
line. We also added some new equipment and refurbished the office
area. The new warehouse construction is now underway. It will
incorporate existing truck and loading dock areas which were
upgraded several years ago. The poured masonry addition will
be an environmentally friendly area, conserving heat and cooling.
"The new area won't add any square footage to our facility,
but it will allow us to bring back 15 warehouse employees now
working out of Harlan, Indiana. We are focused on keeping our
operations here in Hicksville strong and this project provides
that for the future."
Trident, a manufacturer of hydraulic fittings, is a division
of Anderson Copper and Brass of Chicago, Illinois. The local
plant has 69 employees.
