Wes Gillespie said there wasn’t a bank branch in his neighborhood growing up in Harlem, New York. That meant that he and his father often hopped a subway downtown when he needed to make a deposit or get some cash.
Gillespie, who is now president of ErieBank, said he wants something better for residents of Parade Street and a sprawling expanse of Erie’s east side that’s currently without a bank.
In March of 2023, ErieBank and East Side Renaissance — an organization devoted to invest in both the real estate and the people of the Parade Street neighborhood — announced plans for a bank and financial education center to be located no the northwest corner of East 10th and Parade streets.
A crowd formed on that vacant corner Wednesday to formally break ground for a new $1.5 million bank and financial education center that could open this fall.
More than 100 people, including community and political leaders and sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students at Eagles Nest School of Academic Distinction were there for the announcement. A few of those students picked up shovels and donned hard hats for a ceremonial groundbreaking.