When our Chesapeake Payment Systems (CPS) team began out to outgrow their existing facility in New Town, we knew that it would be challenging to find another piece of property that could accommodate our needs within our markets. It’s taken some time and a lot of consideration, but we finally found it in the former Farm Fresh shopping center located on Norge Lane, in Norge, which is located in James City County.
“We can come in and occupy this building for less than it would take for us to design and do site work on a totally new space,” said Leigh Houghland, Regional Executive and SVP of Chesapeake Bank. “We’re glad we’re not cutting down more trees as well.”
Henderson, Inc. will modify a third of the 51,233 square foot space to accommodate our offices following the design of Guernsey Tingle. The remaining space will be later leased to the public.
This isn’t the first time that the duo has come together for projects on our behalf. Our relationship with both of the Williamsburg-based companies spans over 20 years. In that time, there have been 50 projects ranging from renovated entryways to ground-up construction on a new branch.
“Contractor and architect relationships can sometimes be known for being contentious, but that is not the case here,” said Brad Sipes, Vice President and Project Manager at Guernsey Tingle. “This is a great relationship and I look forward to meetings. We’re always walking away smiling and solving problems in a much faster way.”
Brian Schultz is the Director of Building Operations at Henderson, Inc. He agrees and adds, “A lot of this relationship’s success is because of the values that our firms share and the type of people we have working on our teams. It feels good, and it’s always a win-win when this group is together.”
CPS, our merchant services team, offers credit card processing and point of sale solutions to businesses. They moved into their existing space in 2014, then quickly outgrew it, requiring them to lease another suite in the same building in 2018. Now again, at full capacity, the team knew it was time to consider other options with the three-year lease coming due in spring.
Not only will this move give the staff of 16 more room to grow, but it will also relocate our Information Technology Team and our Solutions Center which is responsible for customer support and online banking.
“There’s an advantage of being able to consolidate several groups under one roof,” said Ginny Hartmann, Financing and Facilities Manager with CPS. “We’ll have better collaboration and communication as a team and across departments — with room to grow.”
Members of our Chesapeake Bank Solution Center team will also have a new home in Norge. The Solution Center are the folks who answer the phones or respond to e-mails when a customer has a question. They too will be moving from a smaller space to the new facility, as their team is in a growing phase as well.
Additionally, there will be flex offices for team members working in the Williamsburg region for the day and a large meeting room that will be open to the community non-profits, of course, when social guidelines permit.
The Chesapeake Bank Payments and Solution Center is expected to open in April 2021.