STCU to open new Othello building
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 1 week AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 29, 2026 3:00 AM
OTHELLO — Spokane Teachers Credit Union’s Othello branch is moving July 1, according to Vice President and Communications Strategist Dan Hansen.
The new building at 1335 E. Main St., comprises 3,300 square feet with four offices, six teller stations, a large lobby and, importantly, plenty of parking. That was an issue at the old location, Hansen said.
“The lot was a bit cramped, and sometimes when the drive-thru was busy it spilled out onto the road and caused congestion,” he said.
STCU opened its Othello branch in 2021, and the problems with parking and drive-thru lines were obvious right away, Hansen said. In 2023 the credit union built a new four-lane drive-thru less than a mile away on Main Street, with plans to put in a new building at the same location. Members were mostly unfazed by having the drive-thru separate from the offices and walk-in services, Hansen said.
“(They) got used to it once they realized that the drive-thru was no longer attached to the branch, and they're not that far apart,” he said. “With the new location, there’ll be plenty of space.”
The branch leadership will remain the same, according to an announcement from STCU; Danae Valdez remains community branch manager and Lulu Gonzalez remains assistant branch manager.
STCU will host a grand opening July 15 at the new location, according to the announcement.
STCU, based in Spokane, serves more than 300,000 members at 51 locations in Washington, according to the announcement. Adams County’s two locations, in Ritzville and Othello, serve more than 3,000 members, Hansen said.
“We were excited to see so many friendly faces in need of services in Othello, but the original branch just didn’t have the capacity,” STCU Retail Director Luke Todd wrote in the announcement. “This new branch will ensure that STCU’s prompt, member-focused service will continue for years to come.”
STCU grand opening
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
1335 E. Main St., Othello
Everybody welcome
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