Bank Reserves 14,000 SF for New Strategy

The 40-employee banking group gets a new 14,000-sf headquarters and main banking facility while the Shops at Legacy gets its second-largest tenant. For the last three years, Benchmark has been operating in 8,000 sf at 5068 W. Plano Parkway and a drive-through near the new location.

Benchmark is abandoning the branch concept for a one-stop shop in an end-cap in the Shops at Legacy, Mike Barnett, Benchmark's chairman tells GlobeSt.com. "We found our customers don't care where we are as a bank," he adds. The financial institution has about $90 million in deposits. Barnett's goal in the next few years is to the reach the $120 million in deposits that his Quinlan, TX-based chain had at sale time to American National Bank in Terrell. Benchmark Bank, with 1,400 customers, was founded in 1964 and the title company in 1997.

Not only is Benchmark pulling away from the branch concept, but it's placing its focus on Collin County and Park Cities instead of Hunt County. The smaller existing office will be shuttered, but the Plano Parkway drive-through will stay open, according to Barnett.

The changing strategy also includes an elaborate online banking system. "There is no doubt that many of the simpler transactions for both business and personal banking are being handled via the Web," David Crockett, Benchmark vice chairman, said in a press release.

Rogers-O'Brien Construction Co. of Dallas is the general contract for the finish-out, designed by Fort Worth's Carter & Burgess Inc. Bobby Myers of Dallas-based Myers Commercial handled lease negotiations for Benchmark. Building owner Karahan Cos., also Dallas, used in-house representative Hannah Douglas to structure the deal for the upscale mixed-use complex at the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive.