Independence Savings opens 21st branch in Brooklyn

Real Estate Weekly, Sept 29, 1993

Independence savings Bank (ISB), the largest thrift based in Brooklyn, announced that it has agreed to acquire a condominium interest in the former Brooklyn Union Gas building to serve as its corporate headquarters. The 195 Montague Street building, bordering the municipal, commercial and residential areas of Brooklyn Heights, will be renamed The Independence Building when the bank relocates its headquarters operations there in September 1994.

ISB also said that it is taking 69,200 square feet which comprises six floors, including 6,500 square feet on the ground floor and lower level of the building for its new 21st branch. The site will enable ISB to add staff for the 21st branch and to merge back office operations at the current 130 Court Street building and at several satellite offices.

According to Morgano, ISB will expand as needed within the building. He noted that the terms of the condominium interest enable ISB to approve other tenants, obtain space vacated by a tenant, and acquire the rest of the 200,000 square feet building over time.

Including the new 21st branch in Brooklyn Heights, the bank will have nine branches in Brooklyn and 12 more in Queens, Manhattan, Bronx and Nassau County. ISB, with a top CRA rating, has a strong community-based lending record and boasts a strong performance in the urban marketplace. Receiving five-star ratings from Veribanc and Bauer, ISB has seen its assets and net worth increase by 73 percent from 1988-1992, a period of considerable turmoil for many thrifts.