Country Bank President and CEO Paul Scully, third from left, with Ware town officials.

Ware-based Country Bank plans to donate its former headquarters, a building valued at around $3 million, to the town of Ware.

The bank said in a statement that the building is currently vacant. If approved by the town, the former bank office would be used as a police station, the statement said.

The property being donated is located at 75-79 Main St. and includes a building that currently houses an education center sponsored in part by the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corp. The property also has a rear parking lot, bunker-style garage, and rooftop parking that Country Bank had donated to the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corp. in 2016.

Founded in Ware in 1850, Country Bank had a branch at 75 Main St. until the pandemic started. The corporate headquarters had already moved to 15 South St. in 2005. The bank said the building had been “significantly underutilized.” Country Bank’s branch on West Street is less than a mile away, the statement said.

“Not maintaining a presence on Main Street was a tough decision that required months of consideration while assessing how this location might be best utilized to support the community,” Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, said in the statement. “The effects of the pandemic combined with a significant decrease in customer foot traffic over the years and a shift in banking habits to more customers adopting electronic delivery channels were all a considerable part of the decision. It is a massive building to be sitting empty. The decision to donate the building became evident as we weighed the usage of this location and discussed the opportunities it could provide to the Town.”

Country Bank said it had looked at various options for the building, with several developers expressing interest in acquiring it. The statement said the Ware Police Department had moved to its current location 20 years ago and outgrown the space.

“The bank’s Board of Trustees wanted to ensure that it was repurposed into something that would make a difference to the Town for generations to come,” the statement said.

The bank expects to transfer the property in 2023. The donation, as well as approximately $2-3 million to renovate the building, will need to be approved by a future Ware Town Meeting, Country Bank said.

The $1.7 billion-asset Country Bank has 14 offices in Ware, Palmer, West Brookfield, Brimfield, Belchertown, Wilbraham, Ludlow, Leicester, Paxton, Charlton, Springfield and Worcester.