By Max Goodwin
A four-story building with the UMB Bank name on it has stood at 1310 Carondelet Dr., near Interstate 435 and State Line Road for more than 40 years. Until February when VanTrust Real Estate LLC began the process of demolishing the familiar structure.
UMB Bank is seeking permits to build a new 4,500-square-foot bank branch in the southwest corner of the total 4.3-acre site. The company plans to open the new bank by the Spring of 2023, said Abby Wendel, president of consumer banking for UMB Bank.
The Roasterie will share a coffee shop on the site with a separate entrance for security reasons, but close enough to easily move between the bank branch and coffee shop. A temporary building has already been built and is currently serving as the branch while the new building is constructed.
“It’s an excellent location for a wide variety of customers right in and around that area,” Wendel said. “You can consider it a hub for us.”
A 110,155-square-foot five-story office building is planned to fill most of the space that previously was occupied by the large UMB parking lot. VanTrust Real Estate is still in search of an anchor tenant for the office building that its website advertises as “a rare build-to-suit opportunity that is ideally suited for a corporate headquarters.”
Before the old UMB building was demolished, the bank turned it into a “financial center.” UMB used the branch to concentrate more capabilities into one branch. They recognized the area as a thoroughfare for many people in south Kansas City.
“It’s a way to get on the highway,” Said Abby Wendel, president of consumer banking at UMB. “There’s a lot of population right around there, so it’s an excellent location for us for a wide variety of customers right in and around that area.”
The 435 and State Line branch is one of several in the Kansas City area to undergo remodeling by UMB. Banking trends show customers moving to mobile and online banking for simple bank activities.
But while UMB has its sights on the future, many in the community were concerned about the building’s past, especially the former EBT restaurant’s décor that originated from the downtown department store of the same name. It appears most was saved, according to Jory Hennelly, Assistant Vice President and Communications Manager for UMB Bank.
“The column caps were retro-fitted to accommodate the structural columns inside the building so we had to remove them as part of the demo,” he says. “We have a few column caps still in storage from the original EBT building. As for the elevators, they were taken down and kept. Some of the materials were donated to a non-profit and some of the materials UMB retained.”
Everything else, including the vault, was demolished, according to Hennelly.
The sculpture that stood in front of the building was relocated to UMB’s 80th and Metcalf location. In keeping with its tradition of showcasing original artwork, the UMB facilities at State Line and Metcalf will display some history and corporate art that ties back to the EBT building downtown, says Hennelly.
Why is UMB spending all this money when I lost almost 10,000.00 in stock. I guess its not about the people. Now and past employees BUT the almighty dollar 8n their pockets
Forget about the retired employees that depend on this for their retirement!