Bank committed to downtown Kokomo by calling iconic building home

Downtown Kokomo has spent decades under the knife. Buildings that were erected more than a century ago are still standing and host dozens of businesses, from law offices to restaurants to an impressive array of small businesses that actually draw people to the city from across the Midwest.

The city’s core holds significant history, and chief among the many buildings that tell Kokomo’s story is City Venture One, the stately stone building along North Washington Street that originally served as City Hall. The police and fire departments called it home, along with the city’s administrative offices, until 1983.

For most of the past 42 years, it has served as the home for Fortune Companies and various small businesses. As of this month, however, it is now the world headquarters for Community First Bank. It was an unexpected move, according to CEO Robb Blume, but it is happening at the perfect time.

“It happened very quickly,” said Blume. “We started looking for a new location maybe three months ago. We wanted our people to continue to be close together, so it worked out really well from that standpoint.

“And there's such a history with (developer) Scott (Pitcher) and that building and (Community First founder and former CEO) Mike Stegall. When I came to Kokomo in 1994, it was kind of the cornerstone of the downtown redevelopment. Mike had just financed the refurbishment of that building. Fortune had its offices in there. So, when we got a chance to buy it, we just jumped at it.”

Pitcher explained that he had worked with Community First over the summer, searching for options that would keep Community First downtown, but the few options available weren’t a good fit.

“We looked and looked, and then I finally woke up one morning said, ‘Well, I'll just sell them my building,’” said Pitcher. “Community First Bank can utilize that building much better than I can.”

Fortune Companies is relocating back to their former location in the 300 block of North Main Street, which fits easily for the business, Pitcher explained, because space isn’t as much of a concern for Fortune as it is for Community First. Still, it was a significant decision that wasn’t taken lightly. After all, the former City building was Pitcher’s first major downtown revitalization project 42 years ago.

“I swore I would never move again,” said Pitcher. “We developers like ourselves a lot. But I think it was a great move. The building was slated for demolition when I bought it in 1986. It was the first major project we ever did. I think we took out 70 dumpsters of trash before we could even start working on it. It's probably still our most rewarding project we've ever done.”

And Community First is overjoyed to have the building. It’s footprint is among the largest in downtown, and given the bank’s aggressive growth, the additional space will allow it to grow while remaining a cornerstone of the community.

“When we started here (at 201 W. Sycamore St.), we occupied about a third of the first floor,” said Blume. “We bought the building in 2013, and we quickly expanded into the entire first floor. Over the past 10-12 years, we've now occupied the whole thing. We're just out of room.

“We wanted to keep our team as close together as we could. Obviously, we have a commitment to Kokomo, and particularly downtown Kokomo. So, going out somewhere and building a new headquarters building just didn't feel right. Plus, it would be prohibitively expensive.

“So that is going to be our administrative headquarters. Our retail operations will remain here in this building. We're starting by moving our accounting office. Our marketing team and Human Resources team will be the second to move shortly thereafter.”

Blume explained that there is still one tenant in the building that is in the process of finding a new location. And then there is the matter of The Hobson. The event center, which occupies the building’s third floor, will remain in operation through the end of the year, fulfilling any existing commitments.

However, the space will remain largely untouched, other than a few mild renovations. The bank intends to maintain the space for training activities and possibly as a meeting location for the bank’s travel club. But the bank intends to be careful with how the community might access the space in the future.

“We have some customers that have event space, and we don't want to compete with them,” said Blume. “However, for some not-for-profits that might not otherwise be able to afford space, will selectively make that available.

“We're also going to make it available kind of as an employee benefit. So, if an employee has a daughter who's getting married and they want to use that, we'll make it available to them. We’re really excited to have it.”

“We’ve talked quite a bit about remaining independent; we just think community banks serve their communities better,” said Blume. “They're better for our people, better for our customers, and better for communities.

“However, I think every bank that has ever sold has said they weren't for sale. It's really about the way you act, not the way you talk. So, making continued investments in Kokomo just reinforces that position to the community and to our people that we are not for sale. We're here to stay. We are committed to Kokomo, and this will continue to be our world headquarters.”

For Community First, the move is more than filling a need for space. It is an investment in the community; a preservation of its history, its appearance, and its character. And it is a commitment to continue Kokomo’s growth.

“We've been blessed by this community, and then, growing in Hamilton County, we've doubled the size of the bank twice in the last 10 years,” said Blume. “That affords us some opportunities, but it comes with some costs. We look at it as an investment rather than an expense.

“It creates some really unique opportunities, both for work purposes and for personal purposes. We strive to create a great place to work, and that's just a benefit you're not going to find places.”

The former city building also stands as a reminder to Pitcher, and the entire community, of how important a vibrant downtown can be. Over the past 42 years, virtually every space in the city’s core has been revitalized, and most of it came from Fortune.

“Let's look at the big picture,” said Pitcher. “Our downtown has the highest occupancy level of any city in northern Indiana. You look anywhere else, you see vacancies everywhere. You see blight everywhere. With the elimination of the Firestone building this year, there's no blight in downtown anymore. I don't think another community can make that claim.

“The reason for that is it is hard growing a downtown. But it’s worth it. We used to get $3-$4 a square foot in lease rate. Now it's sold at $12. We used to buy any building we wanted for $10 a square foot, maybe less. Now it's north of $100 a square foot. We call it an overnight success that it only took us 42 years to get.”