VyStar Credit Union is hosting a grand opening Jan. 18 of its new regional hub in Tallahassee that's the first of its kind for the Jacksonville-based financial institution.

Located on Mahan Drive and Weems Road, the two-story, 15,000 square-foot facility has been opened for about a month and represents VyStar's 68th location. It features a "digital-forward design concept" that allows employees to connect with members and interactive touchscreen kiosks for accessing products, services and rates.

Miron Richardson, vice president of universal retail banking, manages the new full-service branch and contact center. The first floor will have a VyStar branch and VyStar administrative offices, along with a satellite Starbucks site that's slated to open this year. The second floor will accommodate a regional contact center and more administrative offices.

"We're looking forward to this location being a great experience for our members, where they can of course grab a cup of coffee and they can start by the branch for our team to support to address all of their financial needs," Richardson said.

The regional hub has about 30 employees. Richardson said the goal is to allow for members to have access to the credit union in many different ways.

"With our contact center, they're able to phone in speak to someone that can help them just as well as anyone in our branch," he said. "This particular location is what we call a regional hub because currently the contact center and the branch reports into one manager. And so it allows us to universally kind of be in every every corner of the branch."

VyStar entered Tallahassee's market last year with the opening of its first branch on West Tennessee Street. It recently opened another branch in Thomasville, Georgia, VyStar's first branch in the state. Plans are underway to open an additional 25 branches between Central Florida and Georgia in the next several years.

Contact reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: VyStar Credit Union opens first regional hub in Tallahassee