Bank of St. Francisville executives anticipate breaking ground on its second Baton Rouge location in the fourth quarter of this year.
The bank bought the 1.74-acre property on Jefferson Highway that will serve as the bank’s main Baton Rouge branch for $2.2 million in February 2023.
Douglas Dupont, the bank’s Baton Rouge market president, says the location’s lot size and proximity to its other location on Highland Road were factors in their decision.
Bank President and CEO Carter Leak IV says having a branch on both sides of I-10 was important for customer convenience.
The Bank of St. Francisville recently opened its first Baton Rouge branch on Highland Road near Lee Drive in a 1,400-square-foot building that previously was home to an Investar Bank location. The new location, comprising roughly 10,000 square feet, will serve as the leading Baton Rouge branch.
“It was really important to have our commercial lending team together for collaboration, and we needed a larger office to do so,” Leak says.
The bank hired Cockfield Jackson Architects, Cangelosi-Ward General Contractors and Kenneth Brown Design to partner in the project.
Bank officials say it is too early to determine the total financial investment in the project.
Leak credits Dupont with the bank’s financial growth, creating opportunities to expand its footprint.
Bank of St. Francisville has grown its assets approximately 300% in the past 10 years and over 200% in the last five years, according to officials.
Leak became president and CEO of Bank of St. Francisville in 2014, taking over the company his father founded in 1978.
“We believe it (new location) will substantiate our brand in the market,” Leak says. “We were in St. Francisville alone for approximately 45 years, and we put a small branch on Highland Road and have had a lot of success. We believe that it will allow us to hire the best and the brightest in the Baton Rouge community and to show our customers we are committed to serving Baton Rouge for the long haul.”
