CRENSHAW : Bank Ready to Open After Quake Repairs

After eight months of repairs following the Jan. 17 earthquake, Founders National Bank is poised not just for a reopening but a rebirth.

The branch at King Boulevard and Buckingham Road, red-tagged by city inspectors after the temblor, will reopen Sept. 15 with a face lift and a new role as Founders’ corporate headquarters. The structure will house the three-branch bank’s administrative, loan and accounting operations, something President Carlton Jenkins said was overdue.

“It’s taken us awhile, but I think the community will be pleased with it,” Jenkins said of the refurbished quarters of the black-owned bank. “Ultimately, it will allow us to better serve our customers.” The King Boulevard branch operations have been consolidated with those at the nearby Stocker Street branch.

Although the change from branch to corporate headquarters was planned before the quake, the closure forced the bank into immediate action. Founders was one of the hardest-hit buildings in Central Los Angeles, suffering interior and exterior damage, epitomized by its cracked, fallen sign.

The quake hit on the day Jenkins was scheduled to move into his newly redone office, and just three days before a gala event was planned to celebrate the bank’s three-year anniversary.

“The paint was still wet in my office and the wood was brand-new,” Jenkins recalled. “Then it was all wrecked. It was really discouraging. Rebuilding has set us back. But we’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. We think we’ve demonstrated our commitment to the community here.”

While Founders’ service continued uninterrupted, the overnight exodus from the flagship branch sent Jenkins and staffers scrambling for work space at the bank’s three other locations. The accounting staff went to the branch at 43rd and Western, the lending personnel wound up in a lunchroom at the Gardena branch, and Jenkins ran administrative operations out of a cramped office at the Stocker Street location.

“It’s been a difficult managing exercise, particularly since we’re a small business,” Jenkins said. “But we were just happy to keep things going.”

Construction costs were well below the original estimate of $750,000, but Jenkins said the price tag to refurbish the 18,000-square-foot building was nonetheless a “healthy six-figure amount.”

The bank received no government or other financial aid, relying instead on “creative accounting--moving in-house monies from one department to another,” Jenkins said.

Renting the office suites on the top level of the building will help offset some of the rebuilding cost, he said. Before the quake, Founders was the structure’s sole occupant, frequently using its surplus space for community functions.

Jenkins said he is determined that Founders continue to host events for such groups as the African American and Crenshaw chambers of commerce.

“Those were important,” he said. “They gave people a sense that there is a real, active business community in this area. Unfortunately, once we were damaged, no one took up the slack. Now that we’ll be back on our feet, we can think about doing that again.”