By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

President Bill Ritzmann (left) and Executive Vice President E.G. McLaughlin outside the new United Community Bank. The 1819 building is two blocks from the riverfront in Lawrenceburg. Enquirer photos by STEVEN M. HERPPICH

LAWRENCEBURG - Flush with money from the Argosy Casino, this town might have easily forgotten its historic past.

It took a lawsuit by preservationists to save a key part of that past - the Jesse Hunt building - from demolition in 1998.

But not until now did a happy combination of circumstances allow a modern-day use of the old hotel, which was Indiana's first brick three-story building when it was built on the riverfront in 1819.

In July, United Community Bank will move its headquarters two blocks south to the Jesse Hunt building at Walnut and High streets. The city's administration offices will move from the outskirts of town to the bank's current site in the heart of downtown.

"We saw this as an opportunity to create a win-win situation for three entities," bank president Bill Ritzmann said. "The city was looking for a new city hall, Historic Landmarks (Foundation of Indiana) was looking for a buyer to breathe life back into the Jesse Hunt building, and we were looking for a key location for future growth in downtown Lawrenceburg."

A lifelong city resident, Ritzmann joined the bank 30 years ago when its total assets - now approaching $265 million - were $9 million.

A new partnership with Lincoln Financial Advisors, which will expand the bank's services into investments and insurance, will maintain the community connection.

Since Dearborn County native and Bright resident Gary Morris is heading that venture.

ABOUT THE HOTEL

Jesse Hunt, a Lawrenceburg harbormaster, built Indiana's first three-story brick building in 1819 and operated it as a hotel. Over the years, the hotel had a variety of names. While en route to Washington for his inauguration, President Lincoln stopped at the hotel to give a public speech. A lawsuit filed by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana stopped demolition of the building in 1998. The foundation bought the building in 1999 and restored the exterior. United Community Bank bought the building in 2003. Source: Drew Boggs, real estate consultant with Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

"Service is capital with those guys at United Community and part of the reason we got together is because they knew me and I'm from the area," Morris said. An investment adviser representative, Morris works out of offices in Covington and Bright, but will shift most of his Indiana business into the Jesse Hunt building.

The union is aimed at customer service and convenience - "doing what's right for the customer," Morris said. In addition to moving its headquarters, United Community Bank is opening three new branches in Aurora, St. Leon and Milan, bringing its total number of locations to seven.

The bank's growth in size and services may put it in league with larger institutions, but Ritzmann assures it won't be a tradeoff for the "feeling of trust and security" that is characteristic of community banks.

It's time to move

For the city, a move somewhere was inevitable. According to City Manager Tom Steidel, the current location on U.S. 50 is too small and the building needs renovation.

"It's a great time to move," Steidel said. "We're on the outskirts of town on a very busy corner. It's hard to get in and out of. The bank building (at Walnut and High streets) meets our needs.

"Best thing is, we've saved that old building (the Hunt building)."

The move is part of Lawrenceburg's transformation as a newly wealthy municipality that wants to position itself as a major stop off Interstate 275.

"We're 12 minutes from the airport," Steidel said. "We're easy to get to, safe, clean, with good parks. But we should be entertaining more businesses than we are. I think people want to see a transformation of this city."

Argosy, the most popular riverboat casino in the nation, hosted 3.7 million people in 2003 after it switched to 24-hour gambling.

In the seven years since it opened, Argosy has generated more than $800 million in city, county and state tax revenue. About half of its 2,100 employees live in Dearborn County.

Lawrenceburg has used casino revenue to build a sewage treatment plant and refurbish the entire infrastructure downtown. The park system has been expanded, plus new police and fire stations were built, along with a municipal swimming pool. New roads and sidewalks are everywhere.

Under way or in the planning stages are a parking garage, office buildings, a hotel, entertainment/meeting complex, more downtown renovation and some commercial and residential development.

Tenant wanted

Steidel said Lawrenceburg's current city building on U.S. 50 should attract a more suitable tenant for a high-traffic area.

"It's worth a lot of money and probably not in its best use right now," he said. "We'll sell it for high-end retail - a car dealer or drug store."

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