MARS HILL, Maine — The County Federal Credit Union is opening a new branch in Mars Hill in 2019 at the site of a former gas station at the junction of Routes 1 and 1A.
The County Federal Credit Union announced that it will open its fifth branch in Mars Hill next year at the site the One Stop gas station previously occupied before its move to a larger space on Main Street.
“We’ve been looking for the opportunity to expand within our current field of membership, and the Mars Hill community has the best opportunity on the Route 1-Route 1A corridor,” Ryan Ellsworth, the credit union’s CEO, said in a press release.
“Once we heard a convenient location at the corner of Route 1 and Route 1A intersection was going to be available, we knew it would be a great location for our new branch,” Ellsworth said.
Originally founded in 1956 as Loring Federal Credit Union for service members at the former Air Force base, the County Federal Credit Union today has nearly 19,000 members and branches in Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Houlton and Presque Isle.
Currently Mars Hill has one bank, a branch of Katahdin Trust Company. In the fall of 2018, R.H. Foster Energy consolidated its gas stations in Mars Hill and Bridgewater into a new On The Run gas station and convenience store on Main Street in Mars Hill, leaving the property at the Route 1-Route 1A intersection.
Workers will demolish the former Mars Hill One Stop building, with construction of the bank branch beginning in spring of 2019 and estimated completion set for the fall, according to the press release.
The new branch will be a full functioning branch offering all of the credit union’s services in loans and accounts, as well as a drive up window and 24 hour ATM, according to the press release.
“Currently we have over 1,000 members in Mars Hill and its bordering communities,” Ellsworth said. “We see great potential for growth in that area of the county and we are optimistic that area residents and business owners will allow us to help them meet their financial goals.”
