CEDAR FALLS -- The homemade cookies are on at Liberty Bank in downtown Cedar Falls.

The bank, which entered the metro-area market just 16 months ago, has opened its first full-service Cedar Falls branch office at West Second and Washington streets, adjacent to Iowa Sports Supply.

The 3,200-square-foot, $1.5 million building opened Monday, said Liberty Bank market president John Rathjen, and Teresa Samec, Cedar Falls branch manager.

The bank offers residential and commercial banking services. It has two drive-up lanes and an automated teller machine.

Construction began in January. Kirk Gross Co. of Waterloo was the general contractor.

"This is a good location for us," Rathjen said. "We're close to the downtown area; we're close to City Hall. And this location will do a nice job of allowing us to not only serve the downtown clientele but heading out west to the residential areas," including neighborhoods west of downtown and along First Street out to the Thunder Ridge Court area.

There was a demand for a Cedar Falls branch, Rathjen said. "Probably 20 percent of the business we put on the books in Waterloo will be transferred to Cedar Falls because they're Cedar Falls clients," Rathjen said.

"In fact, one already came in this morning," Samec said. "She was using our Waterloo facilities until we got up and running. She was the first one in door. She said 'I was waiting for you to open those doors so I could make my deposit here.' "

The brand-new building, a block west of the Main Street Parkade, is intentionally non-imposing, as is the case with many of Liberty's other branches.

"They're nice sized locations. They're not overly big but they're efficient," Rathjen said.

"I think a small office like that is welcoming," Samec said.

The bank was built on a portion of the Iowa Sports Supply parking lot. Rathjen said Iowa Sports Supply, as the bank's next-door neighbor, was particularly accommodating with the land and parking arrangements.

Some grand opening events for the downtown Cedar Falls branch are planned for Sept. 11-12.

Liberty is not done adding branches. It plans to move out of its current Waterloo location at 125 E. Tower Park Drive to a new location in the proposed Country Club Estates office complex at Ansborough Avenue and San Marnan Drive adjacent to the VGM Group's Sunnyside Heights office complex. The bank hopes to break ground on that location this fall and be open in 2008.

After that, "I think our next site will probably be to identify something in downtown Waterloo," Rathjen said.

Liberty Bank is a state-chartered institution formed in 1998 by a group of business people led by Kum & Go convenience store entrepreneur William Krause, a native of Hampton. Liberty Bank has 29 locations throughout Iowa, plus expanded locations in Illinois and Florida{M3. Its total assets recently broke $1 billion.

The bank also will provide a trademark staple at all Liberty locations.

"We make our own cookies always at Liberty Bank and have them for customers," Samec said. "We're proud that there's always cookies and coffee available."

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com.