Federal building ATM idles while construction wraps up

Each orifice is duct-taped shut right now.

But the ATM sitting idle outside the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke will dispense cash again, its owner predicted Friday.

Angela Price, president and CEO of FedStar Federal Credit Union, said the credit union plans to resume ATM and full-time branch services after a three-year, $51 million renovation of the Poff building is completed next year.

A construction crew began work in 2011 on a new roof and walls, and an upgrade to the heating and cooling systems and bathrooms for the Poff in 2011. FedStar scaled back, idling its automated teller machine and curtailing its branch hours there. More than 400 Department of Veterans Affairs staffers relocated, while judges and federal court personnel stayed put.

The building is open, but several floors are empty except for construction workers.

Friday, the U.S. General Services Administration, which owns the 14-story complex, said the facility should be back in full use by late spring or early summer. Spokeswoman Gina Gilliam said VA personnel should be moved back by then.

Workplace-based financial services go way back for area federal employees. Roanoke employees of the VA founded FedStar in 1947 when the VA was located at 211 W. Campbell Ave., Price said. Both entities moved to the Poff building after it was built in 1975.

FedStar membership is now open to all interested federal employees and stands at 2,500 people. As of June 30, the credit union had assets of $11.6 million and a net worth of $1 million, according to its filing with the National Credit Union Administration.

It is based on Melrose Avenue, and the Poff location is its only satellite branch. The Poff ATM provided 24-hour service to members on the sidewalk outside and was networked to other financial institutions. Price plans to ask the credit union board to fund the purchase of a new ATM for the Poff location, she said.

The old machine, now obsolete and lacking accommodations for the vision-impaired, was left to hold the space. Its welcome screen is still illuminated and something inside is beeping. But credit union officials taped all its portals shut so people wouldn’t try to use it, Price said.

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