Montgomery Bank to open training, conference center in Jackson

A dormant Jackson property will have new life when the Montgomery Bank Conference and Training Center opens in it next year.

The building at 526 W. Main St. most recently housed Main Street Lanes.

The former bowling alley will undergo $3 million in renovations to transform it into the training center for the bank.

Jim Limbaugh, executive vice president and community bank president for Montgomery Bank, said its staffing needs had outgrown current facilities, and a centralized location for training employees in St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Sikeston, Missouri, was needed.

Montgomery Bank has owned the vacant property for about two years. There is income with the property, Limbaugh said, through a long-term lease with a neighboring Dollar General, which he praised as an ideal renter. But the property went unsold.

"So we said, 'What are we going to do with this space? How are we going to maximize our space and try to fit the needs of our bank and yet create a facility we can share with our community?'" Limbaugh said.

The Montgomery Bank Conference and Training Center was the answer.

The facility will provide a relatively central location for meetings among all Montgomery Bank branches. It is "an hour and 17 minutes from our facility at I-270 and Manchester [in St. Louis], 38 minutes from Sikeston," Limbaugh said. "So it's easy to get our folks together."

Planned renovations include a 160-seat auditorium with state-of-the-art video equipment, Limbaugh said, as well as office space, flexible meeting space, a concourse, kitchen and bar area.

Training for bank employees is necessary for keeping up with banking regulations, and in the past, people would been required to bring in various computers and equipment to the training sessions. The technology in the facility will allow meetings to occur without the need for lugging in equipment, which Limbaugh called "a pain."

"It will really make us much more efficient in terms of training perspective," Limbaugh said.

The facility also will accommodate the bank's accounting and financial-support departments that occupy the second floor of the bank's Cape Girardeau location on Broadway. Once those departments vacate the Broadway location, those offices will be available for rent.

Office space within the new facility also will provide ample space for growth, Limbaugh said.

Phillip B. Smith Architect LLC and Kiefner Brother Construction are handling the design and construction, which Limbaugh expects will be completed in 12 months.

A 10,000-square-foot space adjacent to the conference center will be available for lease.

Dollar General will remain in its current location.

The Montgomery Bank Conference and Training Center will not be limited to use by the bank. Bank customers, business partners and the community can rent out the property for meetings, events and the like. Limbaugh suggested it might be used by the Jackson school district for staff meetings and for gatherings by the local chambers of commerce, among other uses.

Brian Gerau, director of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, said he is glad to see activity in that section of town, which recently was identified by consulting firm Catalyst Commercial Inc. as a targeted area for development.

"It's a really great fit and a really great partnership," Gerau said.

The property has ample parking and is accessible from all sides of Jackson, Gerau said. He said he envisions the new facility bringing new jobs, and more traffic into uptown Jackson businesses and restaurants.

"It's going to take a vacant building and make it viable for our community," he said, "and that's a fantastic endeavor."

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

526 W. Main St., Jackson, MO