State Bank of Fraser building has deep roots in downtown

FRASER — The former State Bank of Fraser building has been at the center of the debate about whether Sheetz, a gas station and convenience store chain, should come downtown.

The building sits at the corner of 14 Mile and Utica roads. It is flanked by two gas stations, one on each side. The bank building is a link to another time, before big-box stores and chains were ever-present.

The bank started a few years after a catastrophe. In 1905, there was a large fire that consumed Fraser’s downtown. The blaze happened when Fraser was still a village.

According to Fraser Historical Commission member Tom Iwanicki, the bank was founded in 1910. However, the building was originally in a different spot. Turns out it was across the street, on the east side of Utica.

“The bank grew rapidly, and it was moved and enlarged to its present site,” Iwanicki said in an email. “The stone at the top of the bank that reads ‘1910’ does not denote the age of the building, but the founding of the bank.”

The bank moved across the street and reopened in 1930, according to an “Images of America” book about Fraser and its history. It was constructed with Bedford limestone. Inside, the bank featured gray Tennessee marble, Botticino marble from Italy, antique Vermont marble and solid walnut woodwork. It cost $47,000 to build.

The year before the move the bank was robbed, according to the book. It states that three robbers made off with $1,180.

“A shower of bullets rained upon the three hoodlums, as an assistant cashier of the bank and a Macomb County vigilante member fired upon the bandits,” the history states. “Other citizens, heeding the vigilante alarm, got into the cars to pursue the crooks.”

The robbers, who were heading in the direction of Detroit, were never caught.

Iwanicki said the bank was expanded and renovated in 1958. Later, the stone was sandblasted to give the building a newer appearance, and drive-up teller lanes were created.

Fraser made the leap from a village to a city in 1957, according to a history of the city compiled by Barbra Meyers. Charles Berg, George Steffens and Henry Bohn were early presidents of the bank.

The bank was acquired by Security Bank of Commerce in 1990, according to previous reporting by C & G Newspapers.

A 1999 Macomb Daily article detailed plans to demolish the building and replace it with a smaller bank and a CVS pharmacy. Following protests, this never happened. CVS later opened down the road at Garfield Road and 14 Mile.

PNC Bank took over the building in 2009. The structure has never been declared a historic site. It’s been vacant since 2019.

Sheetz held an open house in March at the Fraser Lions Club to inform residents about the proposed development. Many residents were opposed to the bank being demolished for a Sheetz.

At the meeting, resident Lori Kusmierz said while she has nothing against the chain, she didn’t think it’s a good location.

“I know the residents of Fraser are very emotionally attached to the bank,” Kusmierz said. “I think that’s a lot of the problem here. If that bank wasn’t there and it was a vacant lot, I do believe there wouldn’t be the pushback there is right now.”

The fate of the bank will be decided by Fraser’s City Council. The next step for Sheetz is to try to get a proposed development approved by the council for a conditional rezoning agreement. No date has been set for council to take on the issue.