North Shore Bank Breaks Ground on Grafton Branch Incorporating 19th Century Stone Farmhouse

Celebration with Grafton children and dignitaries links community's past, present and future

GRAFTON, Wis. - North Shore Bank today joined with Grafton officials and children from the community to break ground for its newest location - a state-of-the-art bank branch incorporating a stone farmhouse that has stood on the site for nearly 140 years. The branch, at Wisconsin and First Avenues, is expected to open in early 2009.

"This event is a little different from our typical groundbreaking, because we normally don't have a building already on our construction site," said Steve Steiner, North Shore Bank's senior vice president - Retail Banking. "But this is no ordinary building project. We are thrilled that based on input from the Grafton community, our project will preserve this historic home. What we're building on this site is much more than a bank branch. We're building a business that we want to be an economic asset to Grafton, and we're building the foundation for what North Shore Bank hopes will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship with this community."

Preschool-age students from the Just 4 Fun Children's Center - wearing child-sized hardhats and using miniature shovels - carried out the ceremonial groundbreaking "dig." They were joined by Steiner, Grafton City Administrator Darrell Hofland, State Rep. Mark Gottlieb, General Contractor for Jim Pankow, Inc. Dick Daehnert, North Shore Bank VP Darrel Eishenhardt, and the bank's District Manager Lyneen Fischer and Market Manager Becky Reinhardt.

"It's exciting for us to have Grafton's current and future leaders here today as we celebrate our new branch and this vibrant community," Steiner said. "Being community-minded and a strong neighbor is important to us, and we're excited to help preserve Grafton's history while helping to build its future."

The two-story stone home was built in 1869 by Heinrich Anschuetz, whose family opened the Lime Kiln Quarry in the late 1800s. Many buildings in Grafton and Cedarburg were built with stone from the quarry.

Construction plan calls for the original house to be preserved and connected to a new building, with North Shore Bank's office encompassing the interior of both buildings. The small amount of stone removed to allow the connection of the two structures will either be used elsewhere in the building or offered to a local historical group, Steiner said.

North Shore Bank, headquartered in Brookfield, was founded in 1923. It has assets of $1.7 billion and 42 offices throughout eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. Current Wisconsin branch locations are in metro Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Appleton, Menasha, the Green Bay area, Burlington, Union Grove and Door County. North Shore Bank also has two Illinois State Bank offices in McHenry County, Ill. To find an office, visit www.northshorebank.com/Locations/.