Carrollton Bank nears completion of downtown Edwardsville campus

Carrollton Bank is finishing construction on a roughly 14,000-square-foot banking and office building at 235 S. Buchanan St. in downtown Edwardsville, with the bank most recently saying it hoped to move in shortly after Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 7 this year. The building will replace Carrollton's current full-service Edwardsville location inside the Madison Mutual building at 222 E. Park St., according to The Intelligencer.

This is not a new bank arriving in town. Carrollton has operated in Edwardsville since April 2019, and the Buchanan Street project moves that existing operation out of leased space and into a purpose-built facility next to the drive-up branch the bank opened on the adjacent lot in 2024.

Key details

• Address: 235 S. Buchanan St., at Buchanan and Schwarz streets in downtown Edwardsville
• Size: approximately 14,000 square feet, per contractor Plocher Construction
• Height: Plocher and recent reporting describe a three-story building; Carrollton Bank has described it as 2½ stories
• Contractor: Plocher Construction Company
• Permit value: $3 million construction valuation on a building permit approved May 19, 2025, per the city's monthly permit report as cited by The Intelligencer
• Status: under construction. The Intelligencer reported on June 22, 2026 that the project was in its final stretch
• Replaces: Carrollton's full-service branch at 222 E. Park St.

What is being built at 235 S. Buchanan Street?

Plocher Construction has described the project as a three-story, roughly 14,000-square-foot corporate office building containing banking and customer service areas, general office space, executive conference rooms and collaborative space. Carrollton Bank's own project page describes the building as 2½ stories. The two descriptions are not far apart in practice, since earlier plans called for two full floors with a smaller third-floor component.

Carrollton's chairman and CEO gave The Intelligencer a floor-by-floor breakdown in January 2026. The first floor is planned for the lobby and retail customer banking. The second floor will primarily hold commercial banking. The third floor is planned for employee break areas and space that can be used for bank events, including both indoor and outdoor areas, with views of downtown Edwardsville.

That mix puts the building well outside the range of a standard retail branch. Commercial lending, office functions and event space are all part of the program.

When will the new Edwardsville bank campus open?

The bank's regional president told The Intelligencer in June 2026 that the project should be substantially complete by August, with Carrollton hoping to move in after Labor Day. That holiday is Monday, Sept. 7, so the move-in window the bank described is just ahead.

No official opening date or grand-opening date has been announced, and there has been no public update since June confirming whether the August completion target was met. Carrollton Bank's website still lists 222 E. Park St. as its Edwardsville branch, and its development page continues to describe the Buchanan Street building as coming in 2026. Customers should treat the Park Street location as the operating full-service branch until Carrollton announces the move.

The timeline has shifted more than once. When Carrollton announced the project in November 2024, it expected the building to open in late 2025. Reporting tied to the 2025 building permit put the anticipated opening in spring 2026. By January 2026, the bank was pointing to late summer or fall 2026. Carrollton has not publicly explained the reasons for the changes, and no cause has been reported.

What was on the site before?

The property most recently housed DaVita Edwardsville Dialysis. Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board records confirm Edwardsville Dialysis operated at 235 S. Buchanan St. Older commercial property listings describe the former medical building as roughly 3,700 square feet, one story, on about half an acre, with 28 parking spaces and an original construction date of approximately 1980.

Before the dialysis center, the Illinois Business Journal reports the site was home to a Hardee's restaurant.

The lot immediately south at 245 S. Buchanan has its own recent history. It was the Edwardsville location of Annie's Frozen Custard, which closed in fall 2022. Carrollton redeveloped that parcel into a drive-up banking facility with three lanes, two staffed and one ATM, designed for vehicles rather than walk-up service. The city approved a special-use permit for the drive-through along with variances covering the building setback and the one-story form, according to a June 2023 city agenda. That facility opened in July 2024 and will continue operating as a separate building once the main bank opens.

Why is Carrollton Bank expanding in Edwardsville?

Carrollton opened its Edwardsville operation on April 2, 2019 on the fourth floor of the Madison Mutual building, according to RiverBender.com and the bank's own timeline. It added first-floor retail banking space there in October 2022. The one thing the location could not accommodate was a drive-through, which is what led to the separate Buchanan Street facility.

The bank's project page reports that by December 2024 the Edwardsville operation had reached $127 million in local deposits and $167 million in loans. Those figures do not fully match earlier reporting. The Illinois Business Journal reported approximately $140 million in deposits and $168 million in loans in December 2024. The loan totals are close, the deposit totals are not, and no explanation for the difference has been published.

Carrollton has said it wanted to stay in downtown Edwardsville rather than move to a suburban commercial corridor, and that it always envisioned a single primary Edwardsville location downtown. The bank has also emphasized its focus on small and medium-sized business relationships, which is consistent with the dedicated commercial banking floor.

Staffing is not the driver. Carrollton said in January 2026 that its Edwardsville operation had 14 employees and that a few more could be added as the operation grows. The bank dates to 1877, says it remains employee-owned under the fifth generation of its founding family, and reports more than $3.8 billion in assets across 11 locations in Illinois and Missouri.

How does this fit the larger Buchanan Street redevelopment?

The bank building sits inside a downtown block that has been the subject of a broader redevelopment effort. In 2024, Buchanan Street Plaza II LLC was pursuing demolition, remediation, new commercial space and expanded parking across the area bounded generally by Buchanan, Park, Kansas and Schwarz, according to City of Edwardsville agenda material. Plocher representatives told the city they had acquired the former DaVita property and a nearby house and wanted to improve the block in partnership with Carrollton Bank and others, The Telegraph reported.

What was planned for the DaVita site then is not what is being built now. The 2024 proposal called for roughly 8,500 square feet of office and retail space. The current building is a 14,000-square-foot bank and office facility, a significant change in both size and use.

The broader Buchanan Street Plaza II redevelopment is associated with the city's TIF District No. 2 and a redevelopment agreement covering eligible costs such as demolition, site preparation, utilities and parking. There is no public evidence establishing that Carrollton's building itself is receiving a specific TIF subsidy, and this article does not report one. The accurate statement is that the bank project is happening alongside that broader redevelopment within the same block.

What happens next

Substantial completion was targeted for August and move-in for shortly after Labor Day, which arrives Monday. Carrollton has not announced an exact opening date, a ribbon-cutting, or a firm closing date for the Park Street branch. Whether the two locations overlap for any period has not been stated publicly.

Sources: The Intelligencer; Carrollton Bank's Edwardsville branch and downtown banking campus pages; Plocher Construction Company; the Illinois Business Journal; The Telegraph; mrt.com; RiverBender.com; City of Edwardsville agenda documents from June 2023 and June 2024; Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board filings; LoopNet property records.

618 Homes is a real estate and development publication based in Edwardsville, covering the Metro East. We report on new development, construction, business openings and closings, infrastructure, and the local housing market.

Have a story to share or a project you're curious about? Reach out anytime.