St. Petersburg-based community bank BayFirst National Bank has expanded its offerings in Sarasota’s historically Black neighborhood, Newton.
The bank, which has operated out of the space at 1782 Dr. Martin Luther King Way since 2022, has transformed the location into a full-service facility. This means that it will offer traditional retail banking service — including personal and business banking. Before that, the site was a loan production and resource center. As such, it worked on commercial, residential and consumer loans as well as hosting financial education programs.
The bank told the Business Observer in July that the center had provided over $6.6 million in loans to business owners and residents, with $1 million being construction loans for affordable housing projects in Newtown. The bank also provided loans to three local contractors for the construction of eight single-family homes in the community.