Drive-up ATM coming to Cary after mayor breaks tie vote

A U.S. Bank drive-up ATM will be coming to a Cary parking lot after it was narrowly passed by the village board with a tiebreaking vote from the mayor.

Petitioners Kimley-Horn will construct a drive-up ATM in the Cary Square shopping center parking lot, at 700-732 Northwest Highway, which houses businesses including Kojack’s and RamenDoBo Noodle Bar and is next to the Jewel-Osco parking lot.

Trustees were tied 3-3 to approve the drive-up, with Mayor Mark Kownick casting the deciding vote in favor of the proposal Tuesday.

The ATM will take up nine parking spaces and can hold a queue of up to three cars. The removal will bring down the total parking spaces to 84, still leaving eight spaces more than village code requirements, Community Development Director Brian Simmons said.

A U.S. Bank branch used to be in Cary but left years ago.

Michael Villarreal of Flite Banking Centers, a company that builds drive-up ATMs for banking companies, said the bank cannot financially keep branches open, but providing ATMs is a viable alternative.

The nearest U.S. Bank locations are in Crystal Lake and Algonquin, according to its website.

“You can deposit checks, you can deposit cash, you can check balances obviously, but you can also do a lot of other things with these ATMs,” Villarreal said. “They’re kind of smart ATMs now. They can call them a bank in a box, so to speak.”