Going to the bank, in the past, has been relegated to the bottom of many to-do lists. If it’s the only thing on your list, you might want to add a couple things to make your trip worth it — get your coffee of choice, treat yourself to a hearty and healthy meal — but previously, that meant stopping at three different places.

What if there was a place that combined all three things under the same roof?

Wonder no more — it’s just minutes away.

First Alliance Credit Union is rethinking the banking experience with First Alliance Commons, their new branch location on Commerce Drive NW — just off West Circle Drive and right in the middle of the blossoming business district around 19th Street NW. The building is already open for business, with two main tenants joining First Alliance under the new roof: Moka and Great Harvest Bread Company.

The hope behind the new space, according to First Alliance’s executive VP and COO Mark Hettinger, is for the tenants to feed off and support one another. People in need of coffee might stop for a sandwich. Someone looking to deposit money into their accounts might decide they need a pick-me-up.

“We really wanted to come up with a different concept,’ said Hettinger. “We wanted to partner with collaborative, small businesses that help drive traffic to each other. That’s what we can do here. It’s First Alliance Commons, and we’re excited to have these two businesses as partners.”

The new space has been open since the beginning of June, but there’s still spots for two new tenants to join the party. While the coffee and sandwich boxes are checked by Moka and Great Harvest, First Alliance reps say they are looking to make the space even better — as long as the new tenants have a Rochester connection.

“We’re really looking for partners that share our mission, so we really want to be with locally connected businesses,” said Lisett Comai-Legrand, director of marketing and product management for First Alliance. “We also want something that provides convenience, because we consider this branch to be convenience personalized.”

Inside the First Alliance wing of the new space, there’s plenty of new advancements in technology to check out as well. Members check in at the ‘tech desk’ before their appointments, with touchscreens allowing members to start loan and account applications with just a few touches — all before the appointment even starts.

The crown jewel of the First Alliance space, however, are their ‘Advisor-Supported Kiosks’ — think of an ATM on steroids. The kiosks take the place of in-person bank tellers, allowing members to cash checks, make loan payments, safely deposit money, and withdraw cash in whatever denominations they wish. Today, the kiosks are accessed by debit card, and in the future palm-reader technology will make accessing accounts easier and more secure than ever before.

If the new kiosks sound a bit foreboding, or there’s some problem that a machine simply can’t solve, no worries — with the push of a button, a First Alliance representative appears on the screen, ready to solve any problems that come up.

In an ever-changing industry, the technological advances put in place by First Alliance came about to please the members, who were noting a desire to shift more towards self-service. The state-of-the-art machines allow the people on staff to focus on person-to-person interaction — which means a better experience for everyone.

“Banking has been changing for years,” said Comai-Legrand, “and we’re working a lot with members to figure out what their needs and wants are. The kiosk is great because members can self-serve those transactions, and we can devote more resources towards helping them with big life decisions.”

Hettinger and Comai-Legrand both said members had been clamoring for a new branch on the northwest side of town for years. They could have played it safe, built a regular credit union, and called it a day — but that’s not what happened. First Alliance decided to be bold and provide an entirely new banking experience to its members, plus a new space for the general public to use.

It’s a strategy that Hettinger hopes will pay off for everyone involved, well into the future.

“This area has really taken off,” said Hettinger. “There’s so much support for the business community out here. We wanted to create a space that people can relax and have a good time at, and we think this space will do that.”