Arvest Bank recently broke ground on the area’s first financial institution built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. Arvest hosted an official “Greenbreaking” at the construction site with local dignitaries along with business, community and civic leaders.

The new branch will be located at 1627 East Joyce in Fayetteville and when complete will replace the current Arvest branch on Joyce Boulevard.  “Arvest is proud of our commitment to sustainability,” said Donny Story, president of Arvest Fayetteville.  “We are pleased to be among a community that is taking steps to become better stewards of the environment.  Fayetteville, as a whole, has taken steps to improve sustainability, and this is the right thing for us to do in opening a new branch.”  The branch will be built to meet the guidelines established by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for certification. The 8080-sq. ft. building will incorporate sustainable elements that tap natural resources, such as sunlight and rainfall, into the building’s functionality.

“This has been a natural move for Arvest, because our established building practices were already close to meeting the LEED standards,” Story continued. The certification promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The branch is slated for completion in late 2008 with construction beginning soon, according to Story. “This branch will replace one of our busiest branches. It’s always great to have to build a branch because the one you have has been so successful and has out grown itself.”