Commerce Bank will expand into Campus Copy retail space

Commerce Bank announced recently that its University City branch, located at 3731 Walnut Street, will be nearly tripled in size in the coming months.

The bank has acquired the space next door to its current operation, which is now occupied by a Campus Copy Center.

The branch of Campus Copy Center will relocate to a vacant slot at 3737 Walnut Street, which served temporarily as office space for the Wharton School after its previous occupant, Eckerd drugstore, closed its doors in 2000.

"We had been trying to get additional space for over a year, so we're really happy to have this opportunity now," Commerce Bank's Senior Regional Vice President Steve Umbrell said.

When complete, the enlarged bank will occupy 5,520 square feet -- up from under 2,000 presently -- and will include seven teller stations and eight customer service desks as well as a conference room.

Work on expanding the space will continue throughout the summer as bank officials aim to complete the project by mid-Oct. The University City branch, which holds more than $90 million in deposits according to bank officials, will remain open throughout the construction.

"From the University's perspective Commerce is a terrific bank, they've been here for several years and... they're expanding throughout the Tri-State area," Director of Retail Development Lisa Prasad said. "Given that, it's a natural for them to want to expand and for us to want them to expand."

Prasad noted that the expansion will fill the final vacancy on the block.

"That's terrific, particularly since it's right across the street from the new Huntsman Hall," she said. "It's a terrific resource for people in that part of the campus."

The University City branch was robbed twice in the same week in April and has been the target of nine robberies in the last seven years, including two that occurred in 2001 and two that took place in 2000. Following the April robberies, security officials from Commerce Bank met with University Police to discuss security plans, resulting in a contract with Allied Security -- the company that police use to help monitor crime on the outskirts of campus. A security guard has since been stationed in the bank's lobby.

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