MERRILLVILLE | Centier Bank unveiled its new Centier Corporate Centre headquarters just in time for Labor Day, showing off a facility that gives its associates a first-class place in which to work.

At an Aug. 21 ribboncutting and reception, bank President and CEO Michael Schrage revealed that the headquarters started out as a two-story building that grew to five stories and joins an existing operations center to house 300 bank associates.

As the corporate headquarters, Centier Centre is impressive from top to bottom, featuring a 27-foot high circlet atop the building that is lit at night and provides a new symbol to the Northwest Indiana skyline. On the plaza outside the main entrance, the name of every associate, active and retired, with 10 or more years of service is engraved on a separate brick, signifying their importance to the company.

Next to the entrance is a replica of the original doorway to the Bank of Whiting that still stands at 119th Street in Whiting, where Schrage's great-grandfather, Henry Schrage, founded the bank 113 years ago.

Inside, the headquarters features panoramic views of Interstate 65, U.S. 30 and beyond from almost every office and lobby, training and conference room. There is a large Centier Cafe with an outdoor balcony serving lunch to employees and their guests, as well as an employee fitness center, coffee lounges and even three well-appointed "privacy rooms" where associates can take a break for a few minutes for quiet reflection or to meet their medical needs.

At a press conference, architect Sam Jones of The Troyer Group said the Centier Centre combines "quality and functionality," adding that the mission given to designers was to create a building "that speaks of the care we have for the associates that will work here."

In addition to the ribboncutting, Schrage and professional artist and illustrator Mitch Markovitz unveiled a poster of the new Centier Centre commissioned in honor of the grand opening. "The color of the building is wonderful," said Markovitz, of Knox, best known for the "Just Around the Corner" series of the South Shore Line posters in Northwest Indiana.

Markovitz said it was easy for him to design Lake Michigan skyline that forms the background for the poster, "because I just had to think of all the errands I ran around here... I can do that skyline by heart."

Schrage, whose bank branches spread across Lake and Porter counties as well as reaching into Michigan city and Mishawaka, said Merrillville is the ideal location for a headquarters, since it "sits almost directly in the center of our retail footprint and is easily accessible by all of our associates."