BMO Harris Bank announced it will begin construction on its new branch in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood.
The bank will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Thursday. The branch is being built at 3637 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
BMO announced in February it would build the new branch, across the street from its former 20,000-square-foot branch, which burned during the unrest in the Sherman Park neighborhood last August. Four to five employees will work there, and it will be constructed with a smaller footprint and additional technological features.
Madison-based Compass Properties will develop the new branch and redevelop the former branch, but has not yet revealed specifics of those plans.
Several buildings housing eight businesses were damaged in fires set during the Aug. 13 violent unrest in Sherman Park, after 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith, an armed African-American suspect stopped by the Milwaukee Police Department for a suspicious vehicle check, was shot and killed by a 24-year-old African-American police officer following a foot chase in the 3200 block of North 44th Street.
The Canadian bank opened a temporary Sherman Park branch in September, when it became clear the damage to its original branch was extensive.
