August 19, 2010

By Rick Winterson

A site at 1981 Centre Street in West Roxbury has been selected for the newest Mt. Washington Bank Branch – their seventh.  Renovations will start early September; the opening is slated for January, 2011.

  Mt. Washington Bank’s President Ed Merritt has just announced plans for opening a new Branch Bank.  It will bear the customary Mt. Washington Bank logo and signage.  It represents an expansion into a new area of Boston for Mt. Washington Bank – 1981 Centre Street in West Roxbury.

  In an interview earlier this month, Merritt began by remarking on how well the merger with East Boston Savings Bank continues to go.  “Exactly as planned” he said, which echoes the words he spoke at the Mt. Washington Bank Breakfast in The Venezia on May 11.  The merger was announced a year ago; Mt. Washington Bank’s identity and its personnel team remain in place.  The last major step in the merger is the systems conversion between the two banking entities, which will take place on Monday, October 18.

  In other bank news, Merritt said their Roxbury Highlands Branch, up till now the newest of the branches, is being renovated, with a completion date for the million-dollar project in the early fall.  The Roxbury Highlands Branch is also located on Centre Street but in Jamaica Plain, approximately three miles eastward from the new West Roxbury site.

  Mt. Washington Bank has seen its deposits increase 15% to more than $400 million since the merger was announced, which is gratifying in these economic times.  The Roxbury Highlands Branch realized an impressive 25% growth over the same interval.  Business lending is likewise strong, accounting for half of Mt. Washington’s total loan volume.  Merritt attributes this to keeping the Bank’s team together, as well as adding new jobs in several key positions - again, good news in these times.

  The new Branch Bank will occupy the site where the Skara Grill once was, which is near Billings Field, close to the intersection of Centre and LaGrange Streets.  The floor plan amounts to 2,500 square feet; the project expenditure will be $1.2 million.  Construction will begin soon after Labor Day, with the branch’s opening slated for January, 2011.  The Branch will be staffed with six new employees.  It has 20 parking spaces for its customers.

  In a phone conversation with Dick Gavegnano, the CEO of the combined East Boston and Mt. Washington Banks, he expressed similar enthusiasm for the new Branch.  He stated that the Bank’s Board was solidly behind the new Branch, and that he is fully committed to growth of Mt. Washington into West Roxbury.  According to him, “Our level of service and growth has never been better.”

  Plans are already being made for another Mt. Washington Bank Branch at an undisclosed location, perhaps a year or two in the future.