The City of Roland is to purchase the Availa Bank building at 120 N. Main Street to serve as the new Roland City Hall. Availa Bank announced it would be closing the Roland branch as of April 28, 2023.
“After the 2020 derecho it was discovered that the current City Hall and Roland Community Center is not structurally sound and so began the City Council’s exploration of options for a new facility. While the goal remains to build a combined Community Center, City Hall and Fire Station building, it was clear that the current building needed to be relocated before the new facility could be built,” said Andy Webb, Mayor of Roland. “When the news of Availa Bank’s branch closure became public, the City Council saw an opportunity to relocate with a plan to maintain the current lease with tenants and provide a future incubator for businesses once a City Hall is constructed.”
The purchase of the building at 120 N. Main Street is being funded by a $400,000 bond which will cover the purchase of the building, some minor renovations as well as demolition of the current City Hall building at 208 N. Main Street.
“As the economic development representative for the City of Roland, I am excited for this solution to a number of significant issues facing the community,” said Greg Piklapp, Director of Economic Development Outreach & Government Relations with the Ames Chamber. “The foresight to create a temporary City Hall with a long-term plan of creating a business incubator location to bring new business to Roland for years to come is the result of a lot of combined work and partnerships which creates great momentum moving forward. City staff has been phenomenal on identifying the financial resources and finding the most efficient way of city workers handling the remodel needs to keep taxpayer costs to a minimum. Also with this action by Mayor and Council, it provides clear intent for future downtown development investments and projects to come. Availa Bank made it a top priority to work with the community needs being targeted and was uninterested leaving an empty building downtown so this was a mutually beneficial solution.”
Availa values its clients in the Roland area and as part of the agreement includes that an ATM owned and maintained by Availa will remain at the 120 N. Main Street building. The City of Roland will obtain ownership as of May 5, 2023.
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The City of Roland, Iowa, incorporated in 1891, has a population of 1,362 people and is located at the very center of Iowa. With its location three miles from Interstate 35, Roland is just minutes from major business, shopping and cultural areas in central Iowa and beyond.
