With renovation work nearly completed on their planned location in downtown Dowagiac, Chemical Bank is hoping to move into the final stages before opening their doors to the city’s customers.

The bank is currently awaiting regulatory approval to move forward with the opening, which could happen as early as March if the approval comes in January.

“We have had a long desire to be in the Dowagiac community,” said Lynn Kerber, the bank’s regional president. “You always have to look at the cost of entry into a market and the expected return, and we saw this as a great opportunity to enter this community and give our customers a new location to do their banking at.”

Chemical Bank made their move to enter downtown Dowagiac by purchasing the former Bank of America and the Alternative Welness Center building, located on Commercial Street, at auction last year. Since then, construction crews have been hard at work renovating the building, making updates to the infrastructure as well as adding new carpeting and paint to match the bank’s other locations.

“A majority of work has already been completed, though there’s still more that needs to be done,” Kerber said. “We’re just trying to get it prepped for opening.”

Chemical Bank purchased the entire building at auction, which has additional office space for lease, Kerber said.

Chemical Bank already operates a branch in Sister Lakes, located on State Route 152 near Sister Lakes Elementary School. However, a number of local members have encouraged the bank to expand its presence in the community, Kerber said.

“We think this is a fantastic community and we have already have several customers living in the city,” Kerber said. “This community is a great fit for us, and it fits well with our values.”

Chemical Bank is the second largest Michigan-based banking firm, with more than 156 branches and 17 community banks across the state.