Seven branches of TD Bank are expected to close this fall, with the location on Trapelo Road among them.
“As one of the nation’s top 10 banks, TD Bank continuously evolves its business to better serve its customers, colleagues and communities and meet ever-changing customer expectations,” TD Bank said in a statement. “We are focused on building the bank of the future by evolving our model and enhancing capabilities to improve customer experience and enable long-term growth. As part of this strategy, the bank regularly evaluates its physical store network and looks for opportunities to better align our network of stores to best serve our customers through an optimal mix of convenient TD Bank locations and digital banking products and services.”
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Trapelo Road location was established in October 2015.
“We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for our impacted customers and look forward to continuing to provide legendary service through any channel our customers choose, including at any of our 126 locations in Massachusetts,” the statement reads. “Additionally, we are committed to supporting impacted colleagues with resources to assist with the transition.”
Paul Joy, chair of the Economic Development Committee, said the closure doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise.
“It’s a loss to the Trapelo corridor,” he said. “It’s going to make it more inconvenient for TD customers to access financial services. But from a larger perspective, it’s part of a national trend of bank closures. …. I would anticipate we see additional numbers of national and regional bank closures.”
The bank, which will close in September, could be the next storefront added to the list of vacancies in town. In February, The Voice reported six vacancies, specifically in Belmont Center. A few have since been filled, but the former CVS, Bank of America, and Trinktisch spaces remain vacant.
“You’re sad to see existing businesses make these types of decisions but we should also look at it through the opportunity of attracting new and perhaps more growth-oriented businesses in the future,” Joy said.
What can Belmont do?
“That’s a really important question,” Joy said.
The town is engaged in a market analysis of existing businesses and potential future businesses.
One of the preliminary findings of that report, that should be made available to Town Meeting members this fall, is the benefit of having some type of hotel or hospitality-based industry investments within the town,” he said. “There’s tons of demand but not a whole lot of supply.”
Earlier this month, the Planning Board discussed the possibility of creating a registry for vacant properties. Owners or managers would be required to register when a property becomes vacant, and those who fail to comply would be fined.
Though some questions still require answers, including the size of a noncompliance fine or how much the town can charge for an administrative fee, the board voted to move a proposed bylaw along to counsel. Once town counsel approves the language, the proposed registry could be presented to Town Meeting in the fall.