CLEVELAND — By the end of October, the Huntington Bank on Buckeye Road will reopen, thanks to what many are calling an all-hands-on-deck approach.
“I just want to thank everyone that played a role in maintaining the presence of a bank in this community,” said Pastor Jimmy Gates.
For more than seven months, an update detailing Huntington Bank’s temporary closure at their Buckeye branch has been posted, making things difficult for customers like Pastor Jimmy Gates.
RELATED: Cleveland Buckeye residents still hoping Huntington Bank will reopen in their neighborhood
“I’m a customer here as well and now we have to go to other areas in the community in order to use the bank and facilities,” said Gates.
But this inconvenience Gates said he once experienced will soon be relieved.
“I didn’t know when or didn’t know how it would happen, but I always felt that this branch would reopen up,” said Gates.
News 5 was there when the announcement first came down back in December 2023 that this Huntington Bank location would close its doors due to an increase in crime on and near the branch’s property.
As a result, the community started a petition in hopes of preventing this from happening.
But bank leaders carried on anyways with a temporary closure rather than a permanent one like the financial institution initially planned.
Since then, crime still occurred, with the latest incident happening in April when thieves attempted to steal an ATM but were unsuccessful.
RELATED: Police investigate attempted ATM theft at bank temporarily closed over crime concerns
Fast forward to August, bank and city leaders like Council President Blaine Griffin say they have found a way to reopen the bank’s doors despite the community’s struggles.
“There are more good well-being citizens and businesses in this community that want to do the right thing. We should never allow a few bad actors define this community,” said Council President Blaine Griffin.
Cleveland Police Chief Annie Todd said this plan will involve a collaborative effort from officers and the community.
“We started our microgrid enforcement with the lead being Commander Valentino from the Fourth District, and we’ve done increased enforcement. We’ve monitored the crime data in the area,” said Chief Annie Todd.
Todd said they will continue to look at different crime patterns.
But she said they will need the community’s help to address these concerns.
“To hear from the community firsthand the issues they’re seeing or the problems, it helps us to get ahead of them before we have something like this happen,” said Todd.
In a statement to News 5, bank leaders say when the branch reopens, it will resume offering access to banking services through its drive-through and in its lobby by appointment only.
Until then, Huntington will continue serving Buckeye customers at its existing ATM.
“Something special is happening in Buckeye, and I’m just so glad everybody got a chance to see it,” said Griffin.
Griffin hopes Huntington Bank’s decision to stay in this neighborhood will be an example for other corporate partners to follow.
