With the decision by TOP Food and Drug to close its Kent store, the BECU credit union will move its Neighborhood Financial Center inside the store to a temporary site at Kent Station.

“We are in the process of finding a new permanent location in the Kent area,” said Adrienne Sharples, BECU Kent manager, in a Nov. 1 media release. “Our goal is to ensure that we do not have any disruption in service to our members while also finding a larger location that will allow us to better serve our growing membership base in the Kent area.”

The credit union will close the location within the TOP Food store, 26015 104th Ave. S.E., at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.  It will open a temporary center at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18 at Kent Station, 417 Ramsay Way, Suite 109.

TOP Food announced Oct. 15 it would close stores within the next few months in Kent, Auburn and Yakima in an effort to improve its overall business performance.

The new permanent location will not be in a grocery store, but rather, a “stand-alone” Neighborhood Financial Center that will be much larger (in excess of 2,000 square feet) than its current in-store location. Projected to open by the second quarter of next year, the permanent location will give members the opportunity to make appointments with experts who can help with everything from retirement and estate planning, buying or refinancing a home, or growing their business with BECU Small Business Services.

As with BECU’s other Neighborhood Financial Centers, the temporary location will be staffed 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

BECU also has a financial center inside the Fred Meyer store on Kent’s West Hill.