(KNSI) – Gate City Bank is looking to build a new branch on the former St. Cloud Area School District 742 Media Services block along Division Street in St. Cloud.
The St. Cloud Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, April 14th, at 6:00 p.m. The bank is asking to amend the site’s Planned Unit Development to allow construction of a 7,000-square-foot financial institution at 115 13th Avenue South. The city acquired the nearly two-acre property from the school district in 2021, and the Media Services building was demolished in 2023. The city has since entered into an agreement to sell the property to Gate City Bank.
The proposed plan calls for the bank building on the west side of the block, a 29-space parking lot in the center, and a three-lane drive-thru parallel to Division Street. A pad site on the east side is marked for potential future commercial development, though no details on that phase are available. Division Street carried nearly 30,000 trips per day in 2025, and the bank is expected to generate between 85 and 147 additional trips during peak hours.
The amendment is required because the proposed building exceeds 6,000 square feet and includes drive-thru service. The plan differs significantly from a 2023 layout that called for a smaller 4,500-square-foot bank and two retail spaces totaling 10,500 square feet.
City planning staff are recommending approval with conditions, including modifications to drive-thru stacking space and submission of additional details on signage and landscaping.
The site sits at the edge of the Lake George neighborhood, bordered by the St. Cloud Public Library to the north and City Hall and single-family homes to the south and east. Staff findings say the project is consistent with the city’s 2018 Tech High School catalyst site plan, which envisioned commercial uses on the block that complement the surrounding neighborhood.
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