It’s a sight few in Wahoo will never forget. Sixteen workers scrambled to get out of a downtown bank, as it went up in flames nearly one year ago. Fire officials said someone doing roof repairs and putting up Christmas lights left a halogen lamp on the roof that had tipped over due to the high winds.
Wahoo State Bank officials promised to rebuild and return and they are making good on that promise.
On Thursday, construction crews were digging a deep basement for the bank in the same location it was before.
“Of course the question has been is ‘when is the back going to get started' and obviously we are getting started,” said Wahoo State Bank Executive Vice President Cindy Hohl.
Insurance and paperwork delayed reconstruction according to Hohl but they are excited to rebuild on the same spot, “We feel like we are an anchor in the downtown plus we miss downtown”.
The new 2-story building will feature outside brick with a lot of glass, “we tried to keep a mix of both the old and the new you know we did a survey of our customers they said we wanted it to kind of look like the old bank so we are trying to get a picture of the old bank clock and mix it up with a lot of glass and brick,” said Hohl.
But while Hohl said it was tough losing the history of their building, the community is excited to see this landmark return.
“I hope the bank is just as awesome as it was before,” said Gayle Rasmussen who works across the street at Lucille’s Gift Shop.
Hohl said the cost of this entire project is around $6 million and they hope to open by Spring of 2019.
