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VyStar Credit Union, the $8.7 billion-asset credit union, is shaping the community it calls home. Soon, its name will be emblazoned on two iconic buildings in downtown Jacksonville and on the rechristened VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

These investments, which include millions in renovations and the movement of at least 900 workers to downtown, commemorate a credit union coming into its own, with decades of growth and change having prepared VyStar for this moment.

VyStar’s investments are the beginning of a new chapter for the credit union. What began 67 years ago as a five-county institution focused on military employees now serves 53 counties in Florida and Georgia, growing both organically and through acquisitions.

While growth will require continued expansion beyond Northeast Florida, VyStar’s local employment base and investment in the First Coast could further bolster Jacksonville’s financial services cluster and grow the urban core.

“I think the time has come,” CEO Brian Wolfburg told the Jacksonville Business Journal, “for us to be at the center of Northeast Florida, to be in downtown Jacksonville, to be present and to have our name on the skyline.”

Wolfburg has worked to improve member experience. He’s created a vice president of community engagement and added a sponsorship position while increasing the days and hours VyStar’s call center is open, expanding VyStar’s ATM network and eliminating two thirds of the credit union’s service fees.

The credit union is building into this footprint by adding branches in Orlando, Tallahassee, Daytona Beach and more, as well as renovating its existing branches. It also expanded its 225-ATM network by joining a major ATM network, giving members fee-free access to more than 20,000 ATMs across the United States, Mexico and Canada.