When you step into the newest Bank Independent office, you feel a special vibe.

Which is fitting since the office is in Huntsville’s vibrant MidCity District.

And, the building is different from the company’s other offices which reflect a Williamsburg style. The MidCity office blends elements of Williamsburg with the MidCity vibe – a carryover from the MidCity districts in Huntsville and New Orleans.

But, it’s what’s inside that counts.

“This building doesn’t look like our other buildings,” said Bank Independent CEO Macke Mauldin at Thursday’s ribbon-cutting. “But when you go inside, you know it’s us.”

And when you go inside, the feeling is similar to walking into someone’s living room.

Comfortable couches on a vibrant rug in the lobby provide a welcoming atmosphere.

“The sales office is designed to make our customers feel comfortable,” said DeMarco McClain, the area president for Madison County.

“We’re bringing our unique approach to customer service,” said Chief Administrative Officer Penny Camp.

Reflecting on the old Madison Square Mall property which is now the site of the MidCity District, Senior Vice President Tim Singleton said it was “hard to remember” what the area used to look like when the mall was leveled, leaving barren land.

“We now have a place with so much energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “We hope to do our part to bring the same energy and enthusiasm to here.”

Mauldin said the mall was an “icon of my childhood” but the site today is a salute to Huntsville’s legendary success with public-private partnerships.

“The public-private leadership in the greater Huntsville area is world class,” he said. “There is no better place in the U.S. than Huntsville-Madison County for public-private leadership.”

The new office is at the corner of MidCity Drive and Commerce Place, just off the University Drive entrance to the district.

Lindsey Pattillo Keane, director of the MidCity District Association, said, “It’s so great you’re on this corner.”

She said the bank’s new location after three years elsewhere at MidCity brings a permanence.

“We have families, markets, businesses,” she said. “It feels like a village; it feels fantastic.”

Started in 1947, Bank Independent has 34 traditional sales offices across North Alabama, an on-campus Deshler Tiger Branch, and the Digital Sales Office.

Bank Independent will move its operations into its new headquarters in March with an official celebration in May. The four-story, 100,000-square-foot Operations Center sits on 50 acres of former TVA land in Muscle Shoals.

The bank entered Huntsville in July 2014 with the opening of a loan production office and opened its MidCity office in 2022.

Bank Independent opened a five-story mixed-use development project at 225 Holmes Avenue in early 2023. The office building offers more than 77,000 square feet of Class A office space and ground floor retail opportunity.

Further growth followed in 2023 with a new office in Hampton Cove and an office opened last year on South Memorial Parkway. There are also plans for a North Huntsville office.

As Bank Independent branches out, McClain said the MidCity office is part of a growing Rocket City.

“This office represents our commitment to Huntsville long-term,” he said. “We’re here to support economic growth.

“Bank Independent came here to be a part of the fabric of the city.”