Sandia Area Federal Credit Union Investing in New Operations Center

Sandia Area Federal Credit Union has partnered with Momentum, a national design build firm specializing in efficient, intuitive workspaces, to transform a 48,000 square foot building near the Journal Center business park into the credit union’s new operations center.

Sandia Area, New Mexico’s fourth largest credit union, is thriving, and its success has revealed a need for a central operations facility that will support the credit union’s tremendous growth. The Sandia Area team sees this investment not only as an opportunity to unify operational staff but as a key component of future growth by offering employees a modern, accessible, and truly collaborative work environment. The goal: to deliver a workplace that is not just a building but one of the best places to work in Albuquerque.

“Our employees are essential to Sandia Area’s success, and we believe that the care and service they provide to our members will be vitally enhanced by workspaces that are functional, beautiful and comfortable,” said Paula Peknik, CEO of Sandia Area. “This facility will be designed and created around our employees’ needs, allowing for greater connection with each other.”

Momentum’s design team is working with the credit union to gain a deep understanding of the work Sandia Area employees do and how they do it with the goal of designing workspaces that spark productivity, collaboration, and innovation. The final design will incorporate lessons learned from working through the pandemic as well as insights from the latest workplace research into the design process. This research includes original studies from The Filene Research Institute in partnership with Momentum, covering topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion in the physical workplace and how workplaces can better support employees in the future.

“This is an exciting time because organizations like Sandia Area are actively shaping the future of workplaces,” said Jenny Bengeult, Design Director at Momentum. “We’re using the latest research into credit union workplaces to deliver on Sandia Area’s vision of truly supporting their employees and building a space where Albuquerque’s best and brightest want to come to work.”

This project represents a significant investment by Sandia Area Federal Credit Union in the local community. Momentum is a national firm, but this project will rely solely on local subcontractors and source as many materials from within a 500-mile radius of a project as possible. The result: 85% of the project’s investment will stay local.

The operation center is still in the planning phases, and the project team will soon be reaching out to local contractors and suppliers in anticipation of the construction and design phases. More updates will be provided. To learn more about this project, reach out to Jay Speidell, Marketing Manager at Momentum (jspeidell@momentumbuilds.com) and Rachel Garcia, SVP of Marketing at Sandia Area Federal Credit Union (rachael.garcia@sandia.org).