Blue credit union to take over First Tech office in Loveland

LOVELAND – Blue Federal Credit Union will take over an office in Loveland that is occupied by First Technology Federal Credit Union; it will open its branch next fall, company officials say.

Blue on Sept. 13 completed the $3.25 million purchase of the 5,364-square-foot, 15-year-old building on 1.25 acres at 1371 Sculptor Drive from the Kevin and Michelle Falsken Revocable Trust, according to Larimer County property records.

“We’re excited to be coming to Northern Colorado. It’s a very attractive area,” said Matthew Vignale, Blue’s chief retail and member experience officer. He said the credit union also plans to open a branch in Superior soon, adding that no other buildings or parcels in the Boulder Valley or Northern Colorado are under contract for expansion, but “I can tell you we’re continuously looking.”

First Technology Federal Credit Union does business as “First Tech.”

In a statement emailed to BizWest, Chylon Pappas, First Tech’s vice president for marketing, said that the credit union “has made the decision to not extend our lease at our Loveland location. We will share the details with our members as soon as we’ve completed the agreement with the landlord.”

Pappas said the company is “constantly evaluating our footprint and aim to locate any new branches where there is a high concentration of potential members and a need that First Tech can fill. We continue to stay committed to supporting our members’ financial wellness in Colorado.”

Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Blue Federal Credit Union has existing branches in Boulder, Broomfield, Erie, Fort Collins, Lafayette and Wellington, and Vignale said it soon will open a branch in Superior. 

Blue was created in 2016 when Cheyenne-based Warren Federal Credit Union and Broomfield-based Community Financial Credit Union merged and rebranded. In 2020, Blue became the first credit union in Colorado to purchase a bank when it acquired the assets of two Colorado branches of Liberty Savings Bank — in Denver and Granby — and converted the customers to credit-union members.

According to its website, First Tech works specifically with technology companies “to help those people who have never navigated America’s financial system.” The credit union was founded in 1952 by employees of Hewlett-Packard and Tektronix. Based in San Jose, California, it oversees assets of more than $15 billion from its 680,000 members in 50 states and 22 countries. To become a member, depositors have to work for or be a family member of an employee at one of First Tech’s hundreds of partners, which include such Front Range corporations as Agilent Technologies Corp. and Oracle Corp.

First Tech has an office at 2720 Council Tree Ave., Suite 188, in Fort Collins.

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