By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
PRINCETON — In a sign of the healthy competition among community banks for local business, Hopewell Valley Community Bank is preparing to open a branch in Princeton just down the road from where the Bank of Princeton recently opened the doors of its newly constructed headquarters.
HVCB’s newest branch will occupy the site of a former Bank of America branch in Princeton Township, on the corner of Route 206 and Cherry Hill Road, less than a half a mile from the new Bank of Princeton headquarters which opened late last year at the corner of Route 206 and Birch Avenue.
”It is a wonderful opportunity for us to enter the Princeton market, in what we feel is an ideal location,” said HVCB President and Chief Executive Officer James Hyman. “We are hoping to be open by the end of June,” Mr. Hyman said of what will be Pennington-based HVCB’s seventh full service retail site. The bank currently has three locations in Hopewell Township, as well as branches in Hamilton, Ewing and East Amwell.
Mr. Hyman acknowledged the close proximity of the Bank of Princeton to the new site.
”I realize they’re there. We’ve got 10 years of history serving this greater area,” he said. “We believe it is a nice extension of our market,” he said, adding “we have a lot of presence over there.”
Prior to opening its Princeton branch, HVCB will be completely redecorating the 2,200-square-foot leased site, Mr. Hyman said. He said the two-car drive-up facility at the site offers a level of convenience to banking customers which is hard to find in Princeton.
Community banks in the area, have for months extolled the virtues of their personalized service and solid financial standing in contrast to the stories making the headlines regarding the shaky investments and financials of their national commercial banking counterparts.
HVCB serves a core client base of homeowners, small businesses and nonprofits, Mr. Hyman said.
”We believe that the Princeton community affords us a lot of opportunity,” he said.

