LONGMONT - High Plains Bank plans to open a 3,778-square-foot branch at 600 Kimbark St. in Longmont by spring.

John Creighton, the bank's executive vice president, said recent consolidation of existing banks in the Longmont market has created a niche into which a community bank such as High Plains can move. The bank will have a drive-up facility and an automated teller.

"(We) have the flexibility to move quickly with customers as customer needs dictate," said Creighton, who lives in Longmont.

Chris McVay will serve as branch manager in Longmont and vice president of the Flagler, Colorado-based bank. The local bank branch is expected to focus on agriculture and other business loans as well as on commercial real estate loans, Creighton said.

High Plains Bank has been able to continue lending during the recent economic downturn as some other community banks folded, Creighton said. He attributes the bank's success to its varied loan portfolio.

The Kimbark Street building most recently housed a branch of South Dakota-based Great Western Bank.

Commercial real estate broker Craig Ockers at The Colorado Group in Boulder represented both High Plains Bank and Great Western Bank, the building's landlord, in the transaction.

High Plains Bank has $105 million in deposits. The family- and employee-owned bank currently has three locations - in Flagler, Bennett and Wiggins.