VIDALIA — A long, empty structure fell in Vidalia this week, and a new building will rise from its rubble.

For the last 12 years, Concordia Bank has owned the vacant grocery store located slightly southeast of its Carter Street location, and in recent years the bank has experienced some growing pains, Concordia Bank President Pat Biglane said.

The bank wanted to expand its services but keep everything conveniently in one building, and that meant it was time to demolish the old supermarket.

“We have always needed the space for our personnel to park and to allow our customers to get around the building easily,” he said. “We also wanted to use the space in our current building to make our customer service better.”

The bank was using the old building as a storage facility, so it had to be cleared before demolition could begin, but after that it was ready to be knocked down.

Once the mess from the demolition — which was completed in one day — is cleared, Biglane said the bank will build a 6,000-square foot building that will include a community room, as well as a training and storage facility.

The plans for the new building are already in place, Biglane said.

“It is going to match the building we have here, and we are excited about it,” he said.

As of yet, the new facility does not have a groundbreaking, but Biglane said it shouldn’t be long.

“Once the demolition is completed and brought back to dirt, the construction should start,” he said.