Bank of Idaho on the move again, this time to Nampa

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Bank of Idaho is continuing to live up to its name by expanding to Nampa, after expanding to Boise earlier this year.

The bank has announced plans to enter the Nampa market, starting out with a loan production office (LPO) to offer commercial loans. The office is opening in temporary space, to be followed with an actual branch. The Nampa location will be the bank’s ninth statewide.

The new LPO branch has opened in the downtown Historic Library building on the second floor while its permanent location is being remodeled. The permanent Nampa location will be at 324 12^th Ave S., formerly home to a KeyBank. The building is owned by Ballenger Insurance, which will continue to occupy part of the building. The bank hopes to open the permanent location by Dec. 1.

Ironically, the former library building had itself originally been a bank. It was built in 1919 as the Farmers and Merchants Bank and was designed by the prestigious architectural firm of Tourtellotte & Hummel, which also designed a number of other striking Idaho buildings, such as the State Capitol. First Security Bank donated the building to the library in 1966, and it was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Nampa Library moved to its new building in 2015.

At that point, the Nampa Development Corp. (NDC) awarded Nampa developer Mike Mussell the former library building for $1 in 2015. NDC, the city’s redevelopment agency, took on ownership of the building after the library moved to its new structure. While the building retained its Classical Revival exterior with its ionic columns and pediment, it was converted to offices inside.

Bank of Idaho is headquartered in Idaho Falls, where it moved into The Broadway last year. In January, the bank had a soft opening in downtown Boise in the One Capital Center building, also known as the CenturyLink Building, where the J.R. Simplot Company had previously had its offices. Simplot vacated 120,000 square feet at One Capital Center by the end of February 2017 with its move to its new corporate headquarters at 11^th and Front streets.

President and CEO Jeff Newgard had said at the time of the opening of the Boise branch that it was likely to be the first of several expansions for Bank of Idaho, though he wouldn’t provide specifics on other locations. He did indicate, though, that Twin Falls, where the company currently has mortgage operations, was definitely on the list for a branch in the future.

“Our dream is to encompass the entire state,” he said at the time.

Bank of Idaho has also named Alan Mullins as vice president area manager of loan operations at the Nampa branch. He started his career as a bank teller in Weiser. He has a staff of two: Sean Edwards, commercial loan officer, and Kelsey Pease, commercial loan assistant.

The company announced earlier this year that Bank of Idaho Holding Co., the parent company, had completed a $15 million private placement of its capital stock. The investor in the private placement consisted of affiliates of Castle Creek Capital LLC., an institutional investor based in Rancho Santa Fe, California, specializing in the community banking sector.

Bank of Idaho said at that time that proceeds from the private placement would be used to facilitate strategic initiatives and support the company’s organic growth and market expansion activities throughout the state of Idaho. But while representatives from Castle Creek joined the company’s shareholder base, the existing management team and board of directors continued to lead the bank’s efforts.

Bank of Idaho is an independent community bank chartered in 1985, and operates branch locations in Island Park, Ashton, St. Anthony and Pocatello, as well as Idaho Falls, Boise and Nampa. Additional mortgage offices are also located in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Twin Falls and Boise.