A Spokane-based credit union soon will open new branches in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland.

STCU recently finalized the purchase of a 1.5-acre site for a Kennewick branch at 4842 W. Hildebrand Blvd., across the highway from The Rock Wood Fired Pizza.

Plans call for a 4,500-square-foot branch office with STCU Home Loans office, drive-through and 24-hour ATMs.

Designed by Spokane-based ALSC Architects, the new branch also will feature water-efficient xeriscape landscaping.

The Kennewick branch will open this year. STCU plans to build branches in Pasco and Richland, with one opening in 2018 and the other in 2019. Locations have not yet been announced.

It’s no surprise STCU has been eyeing the growing Tri-City market.

The Tri-Cities already is home to more than 2,300 STCU members.

STCU also has ATMs in both Richland and Kennewick Target stores.

“Over the past year, we’ve talked to more than 750 Tri-Cities residents who have said they would welcome STCU into their communities,” said Ezra Eckhardt, STCU’s president and CEO, in a statement. He said STCU looks forward to serving them in person soon.

STCU staffs each branch location with about six employees and will be hiring from the Tri-City area. STCU employees get paid time off for volunteerism and full benefits, including a tuition reimbursement program.

It’s the first expansion outside the Spokane-North Idaho market for STCU, which has been voted “best credit union” in the Spokane area for 12 consecutive years in the annual reader survey conducted by Spokane’s Inlander newspaper.

The Northwest’s third-largest credit union — and the largest headquartered east of the Cascades — STCU offers a full array of credit cards, loans and savings accounts for consumers and businesses. It is the leading provider of home and auto loans in Spokane.

STCU members have access to thousands of shared branching locations and surcharge-free ATMs nationwide, as well as STCU online banking and a mobile app.

That made it easy for second-generation member Melissa Slahtasky and her husband to continue using STCU for their banking needs, even after moving from Spokane to Pasco about 15 years ago.

“STCU has never given me a reason to leave, and many reasons to stay,” Slahtasky said. “It’s part of our family.”

STCU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with 175,000 members and $2.7 billion in total assets.

“As newcomers, we look forward to getting to know Pasco, Richland and Kennewick, and learning how we can best serve the communities,” Eckhardt said.

Founded by educators in 1934 as Spokane Teachers Credit Union, STCU is a member-owned cooperative with 21 branch locations, not including those planned for the Tri-Cities. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Washington or North Idaho.

The credit union each year provides free financial education to thousands of students and adults, hosts back-to-school events for teachers in more than 20 public school districts, and sponsors many events related to the arts, education and community.