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More than a year after buying the property, Orlando-based Insight Credit Union has finally started clearing the lot where a gas station stood for decades before closing a number of years ago.
The just less than 10,000-square-foot site — less than a quarter-acre — occupies the southwest corner of North Woodland Boulevard and West Michigan Avenue, just south of the Stetson University president’s mansion and across from the school’s Lynn Business Center.
Once the lot is prepared, construction of Insight’s second Volusia County branch is expected to begin shortly thereafter.
Insight bought the dilapidated property in June 2018, from Stetson, which had bought it a little more than two years earlier to remove blight on its doorstep. According to property records, Stetson paid $299,900 for the property, invested in a general cleanup of the run-down building, and sold it to Insight for $325,000.
A deed restriction “as long as Stetson University Inc., is in existence in DeLand” prohibits the site being used “for a self-service laundromat, crematorium, outside overnight boarding of animals, package liquor sales, nightclub, business colleges or schools that directly compete with Stetson University Inc., exterminating services with on-site chemical storage, and transmission and communication towers.”
Demolition of the former gas station began in mid-September for what will be Insight’s first branch office in DeLand, complementing one in Deltona.
“We’ve completed the permitting phase of the project and work officially began on our new DeLand Office earlier this week,” George Davis, president and chief executive officer of Insight Credit Union, said in late September. “If the renovation goes according to plan, we hope to open the branch in the spring of 2020.”
As of Oct. 5, the former gas station was gutted, and the front wall and roof were removed, leaving just the side and back walls in place. Taking its place will be a roughly 1,750-square-foot office.
“The intention is to incorporate the remaining walls into the new structure and finish the front and side elevations to mirror that of many of the brick buildings found on Stetson’s campus,” said spokeswoman Melissa Boyink.
Founded in 1935, Insight Credit Union is a state-chartered credit union dedicated to improving the financial lives of those who live and work in the communities it serves, according to its website. With 14 locations — including one at 1235 Providence Blvd. in a Deltona shopping center — and more than 190 employees, Insight serves 55,000 members in Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Osceola, Lake, Sumter, Citrus and Marion counties.
As a full-service financial institution with more than $550 million in total assets, Insight offers banking, loans, mortgages and investments to anyone who lives or works in Central Florida.
Visit InsightCreditUnion.com for more information.
