Fifth Third Bank building new branch

Construction crews are raising the walls on a new Fifth Third Bank branch in the developing area of northern Carmel around 146th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway.

Fifth Third has been on an expansion program in the suburban northside, opening other new branches this year at 116th and Meridian streets in Carmel, at 116th Street and Olio Road in Fishers and on Ind. 31, east of U.S. 31, in Westfield.

The new bank becomes the seventh for Fifth Third in fast-growing Hamilton County.

Bank spokeswoman Natalie Guzman said the 4,000-square-foot building will include seven offices and an extra-large lobby because of the extensive list of customer and personal finance services that will be offered.

The new building will include four drive-through lanes, plus a lane for an automated teller machine.

In the 1980s and '90s, many banks slowed construction of branches, while encouraging customers to bank by computer, at ATMs and by other electronic methods.

But this fits the current trend in which many banks have resumed building brick-and-mortar neighborhood centers for the face-to-face contact customers say they want, Guzman said.

Kim Maudlin has been appointed manager of the bank, which is expected to open in February.

The construction site is on the southeast corner of 146th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway, on a larger property developed by the county-owned Riverview Hospital.

The first two buildings in the Riverview Health Park in the 5900 block of East 146th Street opened this summer, including a medical office and immediate care service in one building and a fitness and rehabilitation center in the second.

Even after the sale of one lot to Fifth Third, Riverview officials have said land is still available in the 10-acre site for another medical-related building if the hospital needs to add more services in the future.

The intersection is at the border of Carmel and Noblesville and along the expanded four-lane 146th Street that is becoming an east-west corridor across the county.

Commercial development in the area has been limited by planning and zoning authorities, but mid-priced and higher-end residential subdivisions are sprouting around the bank and medical corner.

Some neighbors had opposed the commercial development. So the buildings were designed in brick and stone -- with roofs that compare to the residential character of the area.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.