In a holiday gesture to appease an unhappy community, HSBC Bank USA announced Thursday that it donated its closed Fillmore-Glenwood branch in Buffalo to the Community Action Organization of Erie County, effective immediately.

The Virginia-based U. S. bank subsidiary of giant HSBC Holdings Plc said it transferred ownership of the former branch at 1423 Fillmore Ave. to the CAO following “a competitive review involving a number of locally based not-for-profit organizations.”

HSBC closed the branch Nov. 20, saying it wasn’t profitable enough because business volume had declined and there was not enough demand to justify it. At the time, HSBC had already expressed its intention to donate the building to a community group and had begun working with the CAO to develop a plan for the building’s future, but no details were available.

The CAO now will use the building as the headquarters for the Martin Luther King Jr. Better Schools/Better Neighborhoods Collaborative, “which is spearheading an unprecedented initiative to redevelop the community,” CAO President and CEO L. Nathan Hare said in a news release.

The building will house the CAO Keep Buffalo Neat program, a free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program tax-preparation site, a Community Technology Center and a job training facility. There will also be an Internet cafe, a bookstore and a retail food outlet. The 5,100-square-foot building has a ground floor and a basement, and the branch vault will remain.

The group said the goal is to support existing businesses on Fillmore Avenue by bringing more people to the neighborhood.

HSBC was criticized by residents and community activists over its decision to close the office. Customers and community leaders said the bank “killed” the branch by offering insufficient hours and services, and they worried that its closure would further harm the urban neighborhood.

The bank said its nearby offices can still serve the community and its residents, particularly the Broadway Market branch a mile and a half away. Accounts were automatically transferred.

e-mail:

jepstein@buffnews.com