Northview Bank opens on Willow Road after three years of construction

Northview Bank and Trust is officially open for business after a three-year project on Willow Road in Northfield.

The bank celebrated its opening mid-January with a ribbon-cutting ceremony along with the Winnetka-Northfield Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Northfield.

Developers originally submitted new construction plans for the bank in 2018, according to Steve Gutierrez, Northfield’s community development director.

Before that, the bank was “in talks,” Gutierrez said, for years with the cleaners that previously stood at that location. 

After the owners of Youngren Cleaners decided they wanted to retire, crews ultimately knocked down the building to make room for the bank’s new building.

The bank previously had a branch location down the road on Orchard Lane for more than 20 years.

“The bank had reached out to us after they had come to an agreement with the owners,” he said. “We had great collaborative conversations with them. They were really focused to build an architectural asset to Northfield’s town center.”

Gutierrez said a large amount of input for the site was given from neighbors who reside just south of the bank, and it was approved for construction in 2018.

But when building the new bank, crews ran into several issues with the soil and building foundation, Gutierrez said. 

“They had to come back and make some changes to the foundation design,” he added. “They just kept running into hurdles, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.” 

After three years and several delays later, the bank is now open and “solidifies the corner” with its architecture and new access to Willow Road, Gutierrez said.

Part of the construction of the new bank included extending Alice Place — the road used to access the adjacent shopping mall where Dunkin’ Donuts occupies — to Northfield Road.

Before, drivers could only access this area heading eastbound on Willow Road.

“It was really important to us that you could easily access these properties,” Gutierrez said. “Now if you’re westbound (on Willow Road), you can turn at Northfield Road and turn onto Alice Place.”

“The building turned out beautifully,” he added. “The community couldn’t be happier with the result of the project.”

For more information on Northview Bank and Trust, visit its website here.