The Northeast Bank branch on Canal Street in Lewiston will be closed and consolidated with the bank’s Auburn branch, leaving the city’s Southern Gateway. Employees in its operations center will be moving to new space in Bates Mill No. 2. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
LEWISTON — Northeast Bank will be moving out of the prominent four-story building at the city’s Southern Gateway in 2020, relocating its workers to Bates Mill No. 2 and moving its headquarters, in name, to Portland.
Vice President and Marketing Director Chris Delamater said on Tuesday the bank’s current lease is up at 500 Canal St. in 2020, and instead of extending it, the bank opted to lease 17,000 square feet on the fifth floor of Bates Mill No. 2, a move that will keep its operations center employees on one floor.
“This newly built-out office space will be able to hold all our existing Lewiston-based support staff, along with providing additional space for future growth,” said Delamater.
The operations center houses back-office operations such as accounting, human resources and a customer call center.
As part of the change, the bank is closing its Lewiston branch and consolidating with its Auburn branch at 232 Center St.
No jobs are being lost as a result, he said.
What is new: Delamater said that under Maine banking regulations, a bank’s corporate headquarters need to be at a location that includes a branch. Since Lewiston will no longer have one, 27 Pearl St. in Portland will be considered the new corporate headquarters.
“There is no other change with the headquarter relocation other than including on public filings,” he said. “No impact to our employees or the operations of the bank.”
Northeast Bank moved to 500 Canal St. in 2005, according to the Sun Journal archive, after selling its then-headquarters, the Auburn Engine House, to developers.
At the time, it brought more than 80 employees from three bank locations under one roof.
The bank currently has 180 total employees, about 60 of them based in Lewiston and Auburn, Delamater said.
Pending regulatory approval, he said Northeast expects to close the Lewiston branch and consolidate with Auburn in the third quarter of 2020 and move the operations center into Mill No. 2 in the fourth quarter.
It will leave the bank with nine branches.
The building at 500 Canal St. was one of six properties included in a sale this summer to investor Matt Hancock.
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