The Plattsmouth State Bank was slowly outgrowing its building which has been a key anchor in the downtown of this river community for years. Plans to tear down the building a replace it with a bigger one had to be reviewed by the state Historic Preservation Office through Section 106 Review because of the bank’s FDIC affiliation. The bank owners wanted to tear down two adjacent buildings to make their dreams of a bigger building become a reality. The bank had already expanded into one of the buildings with a very unique façade. Members of the Plattsmouth Main Street program, the Nebraska Main Street program and the State Historic Preservation Office worked together to come up with an acceptable plan. The groups helped the bankers to understand that the facades of the two buildings should be preserved to allow the block to retain its proper building size perspective. That way the bank could then build its new building behind the facades, giving the bank the room it needed and preservationists the historic scale they wanted. After much negotiation, all parties arrived at a win-win solution that worked. An unforeseen benefit to downtown Plattsmouth came when the bank moved to quarters in three unoccupied buildings across the street. The buildings were remodeled to accommodate the bank’s temporary needs. After the bank moved to its new facility, the temporary buildings were more attractive to prospective tenants and rented almost immediately. “We are proud to be a vital part of the downtown economy in Plattsmouth and plan to make a commitment to staying downtown,” said Plattsmouth State Bank President Lori Schneider.
