Wakarusa Drive’s standing as a major financial center in Lawrence is growing.

Emprise Bank has opened its new area headquarters building at 1121 Wakarusa Drive, continuing a trend of banks and mortgage companies opening in the west Lawrence area.

In addition to serving as a full-service bank, the 7,000-square-foot building will be headquarters for the bank’s operations in Lawrence, Hillsboro and Council Grove, said Dave Adams, Emprise area president.

The company’s headquarters had been in the bank’s 2,700-square-foot building at 2435 Iowa. That location will continue as a full-service bank, but company executives have moved their offices to Wakarusa Drive.

“We simply outgrew that south Iowa building,” Adams said. “And west Lawrence seems to be where the majority of our customers live and work, so we really wanted a greater presence out here.”

Assets at the bank have increased to about $98 million, Adams said, up from about $93 million at the end of 2003.

“We consider this building evidence of our commitment to Lawrence and that we plan to be here for many years,” Adams said. “We think Lawrence is a dynamic market that is going to continue to grow.”

Adams said the company didn’t have plans to build another branch in the city, but was looking for locations for ATMs, especially on the east side of the city. The bank closed its lone eastern Lawrence branch at 23rd Street and Haskell Drive in July 2003 after announcing plans for the Wakarusa Drive location.

Emprise’s opening continues a trend of banks locating along the Wakarusa Drive corridor.

Emprise Bank's new area headquarters are at 1121 Wakarusa Drive in west Lawrence. The new 7,000-square-foot building, pictured on Monday, is a full-service bank with three drive-through lanes.

Last year, Salina-based Sunflower Bank chose the area for its first Lawrence bank, and Grandview, Mo.-based North American Savings Bank also located a mortgage office there. Intrust Bank has purchased property to build a branch near 16th Street and Wakarusa Drive within the next year.

Emprise’s Lawrence operations are a subsidiary of Wichita-based Emprise Financial Corp., which is owned by the W.A. Michaelis Jr. and the M.D. Michaelis families. The company operates banks in 15 Kansas communities and has about $750 million in assets.