Dirt will be flying at the corner of Ridgetop Boulevard NW and Myhre Road NW in Silverdale next week.

Kitsap Credit Union hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon for its new Silverdale branch which will be located on the corner of Ridgetop and Myhre.

“This is our return to the east side, our return to the Highlands,” said Kitsap Credit Union President/CEO Elliot Gregg.

The credit union was founded in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 74 years ago and has had several locations in Silverdale over the years.

“We are certain of our future in the community,” Gregg said.

Kitsap Credit Union Board of Directors Chair Dave Anderson said the new Silverdale branch will be “a beautiful addition to our neighborhood.”

The Silverdale Highlands branch will be a full-service branch and office complex and will somewhat resemble the Kitsap Credit Union Corporate Office in downtown Bremerton.

“We take the architectural statements of our buildings very seriously,” Gregg said.

The 14,790-square-foot building will house the branch location and Kitsap Credit Union home loan and member business lending departments. The west side of the building, which includes 2,294 square feet of lease space, features a view of the Olympic Mountains.

The Home Loan Center will be on the first floor of the Silverdale Highlands branch, a full-service branch will occupy the entire second floor and the third floor will house Member Business Lending as well as an employee break room and lease space.

“The members trust the credit union to hold their money,” said Jeff Brown, president of BCRA, the architectural partner for the Kitsap Credit Union Silverdale Highlands project.

The Silverdale Highlands branch will include six teller stations, five financial service representative offices and two drive-up lanes with an additional drive-up ATM.

Gregg said the Silverdale Way Kitsap Credit Union branch will remain open for business, providing Silverdale residents two locations to fulfill their banking needs.

Tom Motland, the senior project manager with Merit Construction, said construction on the new Kitsap Credit Union branch will officially begin next week.

“We look forward to coming over here and getting started,” Motland said.

The Kitsap Credit Union Silverdale Highlands branch is scheduled to open for business in spring or summer 2009.