Greenwood Credit Union breaks ground on operations center
Warwick’s once little hometown credit union is poised to get a lot bigger, as on Friday Greenwood Credit Union celebrated a groundbreaking on a plat that will become the site of a 20,000-square-foot operations center.
City and state representatives and Greenwood Credit Union administrators and board members gathered at the lot – located directly across from the credit union’s original home at 2669 Post Road -during a chilly morning as excavators and dump trucks worked in the background.
Celebrating their 70th anniversary this year, Greenwood Credit Union has doubled its size in the last 10 years, going from $250 million in total assets to over $500 million, according to President and CEO Frederick Reinhardt.
“I do think that the building represents two things – the growth the credit union has had and its commitment to Warwick and Rhode Island,” said Reinhardt. “It’s a great opportunity for the credit union to continue that growth.”
Reinhardt complimented the work of the credit union’s employees for the quick expansion and said that they’ve outgrown their original facility, and that the new building will be able to host their administrative services and enable the organization to continue to grow and expand into the future. Greenwood Credit Union did not disclose how much money would be spent on the project.
“It’s an investment, there’s no question. But it’s a necessary investment for sure,” Reinhardt said. “We hope that we’ve had some good forethought in creating some additional space so as we grow we’ll be able to grow into the space.”
The site of the new building is the site of the former Warwick Ford dealership, to which multiple on hand for the ceremony recalled memories about.
“As we stand here on this ground I have fond memories,” said Mayor Joseph Solomon. “The old Warwick Ford was here, and as everyone knows I’ve been involved in the automobile business. This property has been very good to me, and it has been very lucrative in generating revenue in the city of Warwick, and I think it’s going to continue along that highway with the utilization by Greenwood Credit Union.”
Solomon commented on the longevity of Greenwood and lauded their decision to continue to grow in the city where they started.
“For the last 70 years, Greenwood Credit Union has always been Greenwood Credit Union. That says something in and of itself,” he said. “That says that they are secure with their identity, the community is happy with what that identity brings to our local sector – not just in the city of Warwick, but statewide.”
For Thomas Ahern, chairman of the Greenwood Credit Union board of directors, he recalled getting his first car – a Ford Gran Torino from the early ’70s – at the dealership where Greenwood Credit will now be working to help people finance cars; a poetic turn of fate he thought he should incorporate into his speech.
“I was wondering what I should say at the groundbreaking – I’ve never done a groundbreaking before – so I thought maybe, ‘Four decades and three years ago this property was a car dealership, and now it’s going to be transferred into the new home of an organization that is a world leader in financing automobiles,’” he said.
Deciding against that, Ahern thought he would say, “One small scoop of dirt for the infrastructure of Greenwood Credit Union, but one giant mountain for the opportunities of our members of the future as we serve them,” before finally deciding to keep it simple.
“And then I said, ‘You know Tom, just get up there and thank the people for coming.’”
Ahern said the land being available to purchase directly next to their original building presented an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. Ahern’s father, Austin – whom he described as a hardworking man who never had a car like a Gran Torino – must have had a similar thought about good opportunities when he brought his son to pick up his shiny new muscle car all those years ago.
“I had that car probably for two weeks before he took it over from me,” Ahern said with a smile.
