Chris Nardella, a spokesperson for BMO, said the bank is in the "early process of exploring options to enhance the building."

"We are exploring potential ideas that would preserve the historic elements of the current building while enhancing and updating the functionality of the site to better serve the needs of the community," Nardella said. "At this point, it's too early to say what those plans might entail as no decisions have been made."

Nardella said the bank is committed to the Hill neighborhood and maintaining its branch there.

The bank, which dates back to 1925, started as a local institution serving The Hill's Italian immigrants. It grew in assets and locations over the years before it was gobbled up in 2002 by Marshall & Ilsley, then later becoming part of BMO.

"St. Louis, unlike a lot of cities, still has a strong stock of historical buildings, but each one that we tear town, rather than repurpose, demolishes the character of our City and one of our greatest assets," Alderman Megan Green wrote on Facebook.

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