Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, executives from Capital One Bank and leaders from the Southwest Baltimore communities were on hand for the grand opening of the new Capital One Bank at Mount Clare Junction on Tuesday morning. This is the first local grand opening for Capital One, which will be opening three additional new banks throughout Baltimore including one on Reisterstown Road, one at Mondawmin Mall and one in Dundalk. Capital One, which described their bank as a safe place to keep your money and get credit, will be bringing 19 new jobs to the area.
Joining Price Rite, which opened in December, Capital One marks the second big opening for the once-failing Mount Clare Junction shopping center at 1205 W. Pratt St. in SoWeBo. “It is great to see a new business in the area, especially a bank. It shows great investment in the area and provides a great opportunity for residents,” said Scott Kashnow of the Franklin Square Community. Kashnow also noted that residents could now avoid having to cash their checks – and receive heavy fees – at nearby liquor stores.
George Swygert, market executive of Capital One Bank, raved about their first impressions of the area. “It’s probably been the most amazing welcome we have received from a community. We hosted a breakfast for the area and people stayed after for 30 minutes just talking with us. So many people were offering to help us out.”
Branch manager Barbara Waddle and her staff have also been walking around the community on a daily basis meeting neighbors and building relationships.
Capital One Bank is based in McLean, VA and has more than 900 branches throughout the country.
