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Bank plans move into new office By DAVID PRESZLER Bank of Southern Oregon has purchased the Airport Road office building that houses Cutler & Co. The community bank will move its administrative offices into half the building at 503 Airport Road, according to Bank of Southern Oregon President John Anhorn. "We think it'll be a nice office," said Anhorn. The 13,000-square-foot building will allow the bank to consolidate administrative employees who now work in four separate buildings. "We're just scattered all over the place," said Anhorn. "I have to walk half a mile to see my secretary." About 20 bank employees will move into the building later this month. The building will also house a new office for commercial loans. The bank will continue to operate its Medford branches on East McAndrews Road and East Barnett Road, and its Central Point branch on East Pine Street. Cutler & Co., a locally owned investment management company, will lease half of the building for two years. Carol Fisher, Cutler & Co.'s chief operating officer, said the company has expanded outside of the area and simply doesn't need as much space. "It's too large for us," Fisher said. Cutler also has offices in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. It has 16 employees in Medford. The bank bought the building -- and the three and a half acres it sits on -- and plans to move other operations into in the future. Anhorn declined to disclose the purchase price. County records show the property was sold by Cutler & Co. to Big Bear Timber for $1,456,239 on April 1, 1998. Big Bear Timber is owned by Mel Ashland, who is married to Cutler & Co.'s chief executive, Brooke Ashland. The sale to Bank of Southern Oregon closed Dec. 1, though the county's electronic records had not yet been updated Tuesday. The purchase is part of a plan to position Bank of Southern Oregon "as the region's outstanding community bank," Anhorn said. He added that the bank plans to increase its market area, though he declined to give details. In October, Bank of Southern Oregon announced plans to acquire Roseburg-based Douglas National Bank. The deal, expected to close next spring, would create a bank with $280 million in assets. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA