First Midwest Bank of the Ozarks will begin construction this year in Van Buren on a new building to replace a location damaged by historic flooding in 2017.
The bank recently announced the purchase of property on Main Street, the site of the former Coleman building.
Construction is expected to be complete no later than January 2019, said Debbie Gibbs, community bank president.
Several hundred homes and businesses were damaged nearly a year ago by flooding from the Current River, in both Van Buren and Doniphan.
Both communities have continued to make repairs after seeing record breaking river levels.
The river rose more than 17 feet above flood stage at Van Buren, with water up to the roof of First Midwest's location on John Street near the courthouse.
Water was more than 20 feet above flood stage in Doniphan, where a location of Southern Bank on Washington Street was flooded more than waist deep.
Both banks reopened at temporary locations within days.
Southern Bank moved to a temporary location at Oak Tree Village, operating with plastic tables and chairs the day after the historic flood.
The location served only for a week, until a mobile unit could be set up in the parking lot of Town and Country, said personal banker Serra McCabe, who shared her experiences in an account for The Prospect-News.
"We faced many situations that were uncomfortable but my co-workers and I pulled together and really proved what a team is," said McCabe. "A team is not a one-man show, a team isn't having the spotlight on an individual, a team is what Southern Bank has been and continues to be."
First Midwest Bank has also been through two temporary homes since the flood, the first a single-wide modular building placed in a parking area behind their damaged building. It was replaced later with a double-wide modular building to offer more space.
"We have a data processing and an IT department that got us up and running (within two days). It took everybody as a group," Gibbs explained. "We had a contingency plan and we followed that plan."
The new branch will be designed to look like a First Midwest location constructed on the north side of Poplar Bluff, Gibbs said.
The new property will keep First Midwest in the downtown area of Van Buren. The courthouse square has been home to a bank for about a century, she said.
Southern Bank employees were able to clean up and repair their original location, moving back in September.
The Current River at Van Buren topped 37 feet April 30, 2017, beating a record of 29 feet that was set in 1904.
At Doniphan, the river crested at 33.13 feet May 1, 2017. It beat a record of 27.3 feet that had been set in 1982.
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Reports by The Prospect-News contributed to this article.