By By BEN RAYMOND LODE / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- The Teacher's Credit Union is currently developing a new service center on 1500 South 11th Street in Niles.
The roughly 6,700 square feet full service center will have its official groundbreaking on July 30, and is expected to open close to Christmas.
The new service center, however, isn't expected to be in full operation until sometime early next year, said TCU's Karol Griffin, senior vice-president of organizational development and sales.
She said the new branch will be the company's first in Michigan, adding to the company's already 30 existing branches in central and northern Indiana.
In addition to being a TCU full-service center facility, Griffin said the center will also be the new home for five TCU insurance agents currently located at 721 E. Main Street in Niles.
Land clearing for the new development began a few weeks back and is currently being made ready for the construction part of the project to begin.
Griffin said TCU is looking forward to serving TCU's members in the Niles area.
Griffin said 28 percent of Niles' households are members of TCU, which was one of the reasons the South Bend, Ind., company decided to open a branch here.
She said the company wanted to put the service center close to where TCU members live, work and shop.
The new service center also has a new interior design compared to other TCU buildings.
She expects the new TCU center will employ 20 people, although all 20 won't be in place until sometime early next year.
Some of the employees will be new to TCU, while others will be transferring from other TCU branches, Griffin said.
The company, with $1.3 billion in assets, has 180,000 members who enjoy a wide range of services, including tellers member staff, deposit boxes, an investment office, insurance agents and travel agents.
According to TCU's website, the credit union is a nonprofit, cooperative financial institution owned and run by its members.
To join a credit union, you must be eligible for membership.
Each institution decides who it will serve.
The official groundbreaking for the new service center will take place at 10:30 a.m.