The newest M&T Bank branch in Western New York opened this week in West Seneca’s Southgate Plaza.
The 9,100-square-feet building shows off the bank’s new design model, which will be replicated in future new-branch construction. It sits on the site of a demolished Citibank N.A. office, which M&T acquired in 2006.
Bank officials said M&T’s existing Southgate Plaza branch shut down March 22 and all 24 employees have relocated to the new space, which features four drive-up lanes, a drive-up ATM lane and a large, open lobby with skylights.
The branch was designed by international design firm Pentagram, with help from Buffalo-area firms Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects and Kideney Architects. It was constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines, which means it eventually will be reviewed by the U.S. Green Building Council to become LEED-certified.
The cost of the building was not immediately available, though bank officials did say that LEED construction adds to base construction costs. The branch was originally slated to open at the end of 2009.
The Buffalo-based bank is currently building a similar branch in Chambersburg, Penn. It has no immediately plans for additional new-build branches in Western New York.
