LCF Wells Fargo to move

Citing the need for more space to better serve customers, Wells Fargo last week announced that it will close its La Cañada branch in April and move to a larger location about half-mile east. The Dec. 1 decision came on the heels of Wells Fargo’s announced plans to close 21 branches since taking over Wachovia last year. A number of Wachovia branches are also slated to be closed.

Customers who currently have accounts at the La Cañada Wells Fargo branch at 817 Foothill Blvd. will see no interruption or gap in service, Wells Fargo Regional President Marla Vasquez said.

The new location at 555 Foothill Blvd., in addition to being larger, also has more parking spaces. Employees who are currently working in La Cañada will move with the bank to the new location, Vasquez said.

“They have a job today, and that will remain. It’s really important for us in [La Cañada] to have a familiar face,” she said. “The customers really want to make sure that they see someone that they’ve worked with over the years.”

The La Cañada Wachovia branch will change its name to Wells Fargo, and the staffs at the two locations will merge to create the new branch. The new and bigger branch, Vasquez said, will offer customers more services, such as additional tellers, trust services, investment services, and wealth management and business banking services, Vasquez said.

“We are actually very excited about the opportunity,” she said. “We really thought about what’s going to be best to service our customers.”

The existing Wells Fargo location measures approximately 4,400 square feet, with the lot size measured at 21,880 square feet, said Fred Buss, senior planner for the city of La Cañada Flintridge. The Wachovia location encompasses approximately 31,760 square feet, with the parcel measured at 149,350 square feet.

A Rubio’s Mexican Restaurant formerly existed in part of the current La Cañada Wells Fargo building, with the bank occupying the rest of the space, said Fred Buss, senior planner for the city of La Cañada Flintridge. The building, he said, was originally intended for a retail business and may revert to that use.

Wells Fargo will notify customers by mail of the closure. News of the bank’s decision caught some customers doing business at the branch Tuesday afternoon by surprise.

Altadena resident Ezell Whittle, who works as a trucker in Los Angeles, said the bank’s move doesn’t matter to him as long as there is still a branch in La Cañada.

“It’s convenient, because I work in this area,” Whittle said.

Sue McNerny, an administrative clerk at City Hall, didn’t see the move impacting her personal banking much.

“If they’re just moving down the street, that’s fine with me,” she said.