Not long ago, Rhinelander’s Ripco Credit Union ran into a problem.
It couldn’t hire new employees because it was out of office space.
So, within the next two weeks, Ripco will begin a major expansion at its headquarters on Sutliff Avenue.
Vice President Diane Sowinski said discussions have been taking place for a year.
The credit union felt ready this spring, but had to figure out whether to go forward during a virus pandemic.
“We had a pretty big decision in deciding, do we go forward at this time based on everything that’s going on? But we came to the agreement that we’re in a strong enough position, and we want to invest in the credit union for our continued success and invest in our community,” Sowinski said.
Sowinski hopes the project will be completed by next summer.
“We’re having a whole new entrance situation, so we’re going to come out front, closer to the parking lot,” she said. “Unfortunately, we will lose some of our beautiful landscaping, but we’ll make up for it with some new, beautiful landscaping.”
Ripco has been in Rhinelander since 1932.
It was originally created to serve the employees of the Rhinelander paper mill.
