SB One Bank recently retained DMR to design their new banking center in Weehawken, the bank’s 14th New Jersey location. The banking center is located within The Avenue Collection luxury condominium complex at Port Imperial, and when complete, will be the first new location to open since the bank formerly known as Sussex Bank rebranded in early 2018.
DMR was commissioned to design the banking center, which will serve as a prototype design for future banking center renovations. The design supports the bank’s focus on providing a private, intimate experience for employees and customers to collaborate on higher-level needs, a break from a more traditional banking interactions which often are more transactional and impersonal, and where customers and bankers are frequently physically separated by counters or desks, and in some cases, windows.
“While online banking can address many customers’ needs, financial investment and saving is still a very personal matter,” Vito Giannola, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer for SB One, said. “DMR created a welcoming environment where our team members can create on-on-one relationships with clients and customize their banking needs.”
“While many might think that customers are turning away from physical banking center locations, recent research into customer preferences actually found that despite the impact of technological advances, customers still value and desire human interactions when dealing with higher-level concerns. This, coupled with security concerns, is leading to a trend in people returning to the banks,” Lloyd Rosenberg, AIA, President and CEO, said. “The SB One Weehawken banking center renovation is a prototype space that supports an experience that customers can’t get online or in other banking institutions.”
