Suffolk News-Herald

More than a year after opening its first Suffolk location, Farmers Bank officials on Monday broke ground on the bank’s second branch in this city.

Scheduled to open in the fall of 2004, the new 11,000-square-foot Colonial-style building will be on Godwin Boulevard, one of the fastest growing corridors of the city.

The Windsor-based bank opened its first local branch in the Holland Plaza Shopping Center, just across from the Suffolk Golf Course, in March 2002. It has operated a branch in Smithfield since 1994.

Business has grown steadily since the Holland Road site opened, said Robert C. Claud, chairman of the bank’s board of directors.

&uot;It’s a good time for us to be expanding our business in Suffolk,&uot; said Claud, also chair of the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors.

&uot;We’ve been planning and looking forward to this day for more than a year,&uot; he continued. &uot;We are looking forward to establishing more good relationships in this city.&uot;

Even after the new building opens, Farmers Bank will keep a branch open in the Holland Road area, added Jennifer Ambrose, bank spokeswoman.

The late Shirley T. Holland opened Farmers Bank in Windsor in 1919. Today, more than eight decades later, his grandson, Richard J. Holland Jr., carries on the family tradition as the bank’s president and chief executive officer.

Holland pledged the bank’s commitment to Suffolk residents.

&uot;Farmers Bank is not an outsider to Suffolk,&uot; he said. &uot;…Our commitment is real and genuine. Farmers Bank understands its responsibility to the city and we take it seriously.

&uot;We’ll do our part to contribute to the growth of this city.&uot;