Whitinsville-based UniBank to open 2nd location in city across from Polar Park

WORCESTER — Whitinsville-based UniBank will open a second location in the city on the ground floor of an apartment building across the street from Polar Park by the fall.

Michael W. Welch, CEO, said the full-service branch will be the first in the neighborhood.

“We're right in the heart of the most comprehensive urban development that Worcester has seen in decades,” said Welch. “The density has been built. This is where the energy. This is where the excitement. This is where the fire is for the community. So for us to be right in the center of the prime location — that was a natural.”

The branch will be found inside The Revington, a 228-apartment building at Madison and Washington streets and Green Island Boulevard, which opened in late 2023 as the dreamchild of Boston-based real estate developer Madison Properties.

UniBank will be leasing from Madison, who bought the land for $6.1 million in March 2019 from the owner of metal forging company Wyman-Gordon.

UniBank’s branch at the building will be the 15th in the state, with others located in Shrewsbury, North Grafton, Hopkinton and its headquarters in Whitinsville.

Welch, who became CEO in 2019, said the bank is the largest one headquartered in Central Massachusetts.

The bank was one of the 21 original founding partners of the Worcester Red Sox, who play their home games right across the street from where the new location of UniBank will be found.

Originally from Worcester, Welch worked as the headmaster of St. John’s High School from 2001 to 2016. Before that he worked with Jesuits at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where he was involved with ministry activities.

In 2022, the bank made a $5 million commitment to its foundation, UniBank Charitable Foundation, to celebrate the bank's more than 150-year history, in addition to an annual donation of $750,000 to local charities and organizations.

The bank was established in 1870 to serve mill workers in Uxbridge and Whitinsville.

Welch estimated the bank’s assets at $2.75 billion.

“This location complements our roots as a bank that was founded in a mill community,” said Welch. “And now it’s set to serve the immigrant base here in the area.

“We’re fulfilling the dream that the local residents have financial institution, right here, in their neighborhood.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Whitinsville-based UniBank to open 2nd location in city across from Polar Park