Wealthy Garden City makes cents to financiers.

Two leading financial institutions have signed retail leases at one of Garden City's premiere office buildings, the Albanese Organization and Castagna Realty announced. Countrywide Home Loans and Community National Bank will both be establishing branch offices at 1055 Franklin Avenue, a prime location along Garden City's commercial corridor.

Countrywide Home Loans has leased 7,200 s/f for its first branch office in Nassau County. The seven-year lease at the three-story, 45,000 s/f office building will extend through 2012.

Also at 1055 Franklin Avenue, Community National Bank has signed a lease for 3,500 s/f for a term of 10 years. This will be CNB's second Nassau County branch office and is scheduled to open in March 2006. Community National was represented by Jeffrey A. Cebula of Sutton & Edwards, Inc.

"We look forward to providing a full range of community banking services in Garden City, utilizing the approach that has been so successful for us in Great Neck. CNB fuses the product and service offerings of old-time banking with new technology and branch hours seven days a week, to meet the needs of the community while providing total ease and convenience," said Stewart Lubow, CNB Chairman.

"Garden City is well positioned as the center of the financial and legal communities in Nassau County," said Russell G. Matthews, executive vice president of the Albanese Organization and head of the firm's Long Island development and leasing business. "Like Greenwich, CT, Garden City is one of the region's wealthiest residential communities, and has an upscale business district that is a very desirable location for financial services companies and upscale retailers."