News Releases
BMO Financial Group today announced it has signed an agreement to purchase land owned by the City of Barrie, to build a state-of-the-art data centre. The new facility will complement BMO's existing data centres and will provide a highly-efficient processing infrastructure to support BMO's operations worldwide.
The facility will be approximately 200,000 square feet and will be constructed on 24 acres in the Mapleview West Business Park, west of Veteran's Drive. Construction is planned for the early spring of 2005. BMO is currently in the initial stages of planning and designing the facility.
The centre will be built to accommodate up to 600 people, with initial occupancy at 250 to 300 employees in mid-2006. The centre is expected to be fully operational by 2008. Further details will be provided as the project progresses.
"Barrie is a growing, vibrant community that provides BMO with an excellent location for our new centre. It satisfied all of our technology infrastructure requirements and will provide an ideal setting for our employees to work and live," said Lloyd Darlington, President and CEO, Technology and Solutions, and Head, E-Business, BMO Financial Group.
"As one of BMO's most significant IT infrastructure investments, establishing a new data centre demonstrates our commitment to providing our more than eight and a half million customers with superior products and services, supported by industry-leading technology."
"I am absolutely thrilled to welcome BMO Financial Group to the City of Barrie," said Mayor Rob Hamilton. "City Council meant business when we made economic development initiatives one of our top ten strategic priorities for this term of office. BMO will be a major employer in the City of Barrie and their decision to locate here is extremely significant. BMO's selection of Barrie will surely herald an invitation to others to make a similar decision to locate in our business oriented community."
"Barrie is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada. Over the past decade the city has created jobs at a rate three times the national average and our expectation is that Barrie's strong economic performance will continue well into the future. The robust job market, together with housing prices that are below the national average, make Barrie an extremely attractive community in which to live and invest," said Tim O'Neill, Executive Vice-President and Chief Economist, BMO Financial Group.
BMO in Barrie
Arriving in Barrie in 1959, BMO Bank of Montreal now operates four bank branches and one BMO Nesbitt Burns office in the city, serving the financial needs of both retail and business banking clientele.
BMO employees in Barrie continue to be very involved in the local community, demonstrated by their leadership in the annual fundraising for Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH). Over the past six years, BMO and its local employees have been the lead sponsor for the major annual RVH fundraiser, the Crystal Classic, donating $120,000 directly to the hospital and helping to raise close to $750,000 in total donations to RVH over that timeframe.
Photos available at www.bmo.com.
- 30 -
From left to right: Lloyd Darlington, President and CEO, Technology and Solutions, and Head E-Business, BMO Financial Group with Rob Hamilton, Mayor