New bank to replace old Firestone shop in Arlington Heights
A long-standing Firestone auto repair shop in Arlington Heights will be demolished to make way for a new BMO Harris Bank branch.
The 8,000-square-foot, six-bay vacant shop at 630 W. Northwest Highway is being replaced with a 4,177-square-foot bank building with three drive-through lanes and 15 parking spaces, under plans approved this week by the village board.
BMO Harris plans to close its current branch just on the other side of the train tracks, at 1007 W. Euclid Ave. across from the Arlington Heights post office, and relocate to the new building next to Big Ange's Eatery. Officials say the facility will be the company's operational prototype for branches, featuring new technology and equipment.
Village Trustee John Scaletta called it a "great reuse" of the old Firestone site. He said residents were concerned it might have been replaced with a fast food drive-through, after viewing a billboard notice for the Jan. 12 plan commission public hearing. But he assured them that wouldn't be the case because of the amount of traffic that would generate.
"That's a really difficult triangle - that entire block. So I was really happy to see (the bank)," Scaletta said. "I hope that in the future we see a good reuse of the BMO bank across from the post office because they just remodeled the entire facility, which was confusing. But I think in the big corporate world maybe there's lots of moving parts that we don't see."
Trustee Jim Tinaglia said the new development is a benefit because of stormwater upgrades. There's no such detention on site now, but the developer is looking to tap into the combined sewer system on Euclid.
The village board this week also approved plans for a 3,460-square-foot Consumers Credit Union with three drive-through lanes at 780 E. Rand Road, as part of the latest redevelopment within the Southpoint Shopping Center. Two weeks ago, trustees issued approvals for a new Chipotle and another stand-alone building that will house a restaurant still to be named.