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It was a transformation that occurred amid a pandemic.
Central Pacific Bank’s RISE2020 $40 million renovation and modernization project, which at one point appeared to be ill-timed because of COVID-19, is being unveiled today in what now appears to be impeccable timing as the state’s economy turns the corner toward recovery with a vaccine rollout and improving tourism market.
The state’s fourth-largest bank, with $6.6 billion in assets, has made what it calls “an historic transformation” with a refreshed brand, new community spaces and improved digital products that will serve its customers in what is increasingly becoming a digital-first world.
Central Pacific unveiled the concept for RISE2020 in July 2019, held its groundbreaking Jan. 31 and began construction in February with a time horizon of finishing the project in January of this year. It’s the bank’s first major upgrade since moving in 1983 into its main branch.
“It was on time and on budget,” Paul Yonamine, executive chairman of Central Pacific Bank, said Monday in an interview.
“To be honest, had I known we were going to have COVID, I would have waited. But we went ahead, we committed and very fortunately, it was the right decision to continue to go forward,” he said. “These are difficult decisions because nobody’s gone through a pandemic before. Before we committed the $40 million, it would have been a really difficult call. But very fortunately, it was the right decision to make. We’re a lot more digital. Our customers are using it a whole lot more, and it was the perfect thing to do.
“Now that we’re in 2021 and we’re going live in January, what a great statement. We have to contain the pandemic this year, and this is the start. We start off 2021 strong.”
The project’s most visual change is at the downtown main branch at 220 S. King St. Central Pacific Plaza is a new ground-floor lobby that has transformed the corner of South King and Alakea streets into a community hub. It offers a new coworking space named Tidepools@CPB; Aloha Beer Co.; and Starbucks Pickup, which emphasizes ordering and paying ahead through the app and then picking up.
Tidepools@CPB is equipped with several meeting rooms, private phone booths and common-area seating that small-business owners, qualified nonprofits and other remote or teleworking professionals can use by making a reservation online at cpb.bank/tidepools. The lobby furniture and seating configurations have been temporarily adjusted to account for social distancing due to the pandemic, and patrons of the space are required to wear face coverings.
“People are doing more remote work and hybrid and working in coworking space,” Central Pacific Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Dahlstrom said. “So that’s an example where the timing was perfect for RISE2020 because we were doing it anyway. It just turns out that the world changed to suit what we were doing.”
A thermal screening camera that reads customers’ temperatures is at one of the lobby’s main entryways. The camera was developed by NEC and is the same technology that is being used at Hawaii’s airports.
Upon entering the lobby, the bank has an art display entitled “Kai nu‘u o Kanaloa,” or “Kai” for short. “Kai,” which means “ocean” in Hawaiian, is a kinetic sculpture that synchronizes with data transmitted from offshore buoys throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The installation’s instruments re-create the movement and sounds of the ocean in real time. Kai rises to “Nu‘u,” the peak. “Kanaloa,” one of the four great gods of the Hawaiian pantheon, is god of the sea and tides. Central Pacific commissioned the art to be built for the space. It has movement, lighting and sound.
Central Pacific also has made major digital improvements in its ATMs, online banking and mobile banking app.
The bank has enhanced its ATMs to give customers the ability to withdraw cash in various bill denominations. Deposits for same-day processing also can be made up until 8 p.m. — five hours later than other local banks. All of the bank’s 69 ATMs have been updated with the new technology.
Central Pacific’s new digital technology allows its customers to manage all of their accounts from Central Pacific and other institutions in one place, set budgets and monitor cash flow, and make person-to-person payments digitally through Zelle.
“Our customers now will be able to open a deposit account online,” Central Pacific President Catherine Ngo said. “So the entire process from beginning to end is an online one. Similarly, for consumer loans, a consumer now will be able to apply for and even have their loan funded entirely online. And if they need help, they can request an appointment for a face-to-face meeting with one of our bankers.”
The main branch also has an open floor concept to optimize customer flow and has reduced the number of teller stations to four from 21 because of the increased use of digital banking. These changes will roll out to other Central Pacific branches throughout the year. The renovation reduced the cavernous 12,719-square-foot size of the main branch lobby to 4,000 square feet.
The bank also said that in contrast to its simple logo, it is introducing new signature colors like swell, sand, papaya and plumeria, and a portfolio of custom illustrations that work together “to capture the beauty and vibrancy of Hawaii.”
Central Pacific will showcase its new brand through a series of television commercials that will begin airing today. The commercials will include unscripted soundbites from real Central Pacific customers who say in their own words why they like to bank with Central Pacific.
Yonamine said one of his biggest expectations is to see downtown revitalized at King and Alakea streets, aided by the bright lights of the bank’s 22-story building.
“We really want to see those (other) buildings come up with new restaurants,” he said. “They can use our parking after hours. We need to lighten up this place, and with (developer) Doug Emmett doing the residential project, there’s a lot of possibilities here to help the congestion commuting back. That was part of the concept. Our customers can stay here and eat a pizza and have some Starbucks after hours, and they can wait until the traffic is done.”
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