Santa Cruz County Bank In The News

April 6, 2007

The following is an article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, to visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel web site, click here.

April 6, 2007 Bank to open business lending office By JONDI GUMZ Sentinel staff writer Santa Cruz County Bank plans to open an office devoted to business lending in May. The date has yet to be announced. The bank has signed a lease for 1,281 square feet of space at 1500 41st Ave. in Capitola owned by the Lomak Property Group. The lease rate was not disclosed. Doug Kaplan renovated the building last year and was asking $1.40 to $2.75 per square foot plus taxes, insurance and maintenance. The new office, which has room for six employees, will house the bank's Small Business Administration Department and construction lending. It also will have a walk-up ATM and night depository. The bank is recruiting an experienced SBA lender to join its staff. Santa Cruz County Bank is the only locally owned bank in the county. It currently has three branches and plans to open a fourth in Capitola on Bay Avenue by the end of June. Teresa Thomae of the Central Coast Business Center welcomed news of the bank's expansion, saying, "This new office will make it easier for local business owners to know their local banker" Office space is at a premium in Mid-County, where renovations were completed last year at the Nob Hill shopping complex on Bay Avenue in Capitola and a Home Depot store is under construction next to the newly opened Safeway on 41st Avenue in Soquel. NAI BT Commercial, which tracks commercial real estate, reported the vacancy rate was 3.3 percent for Capitola/Soquel/Aptos as of December. Vacancy rates were substantially higher elsewhere, with 21.4 percent in Scotts Valley, 5.7 percent in Santa Cruz and 5.4 percent in Watsonville.