The Green Park Board of Aldermen last week granted Fifth Third Bank’s request for more time to begin construction of a new bank along South Lindbergh Boulevard.

Aldermen voted unanimously in January 2011 to approve the final development plan for the Fifth Third Bank to be built at 6080 S. Lindbergh Blvd. — between the Dairy Queen restaurant at 6070 S. Lindbergh Blvd. and the Golden Corral restaurant at 6110 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

In an Aug. 13 letter to the Board of Aldermen, architect Gerald G. Weber, of Lakewood, Ohio, requested the extension on behalf of Fifth Third Bank, noting the approval of the bank’s final development plan expired Jan. 17.

“The bank has been waiting for federal approval to proceed with construction and (does) not anticipate approval until sometime in 2013,” Weber wrote. “We respectfully request an extension to Dec. 31, 2013, in which to begin construction.”

Weber told the Board of Aldermen in December 2010 that construction of the 2,800-square-foot bank building would cost from $1.2 million to $1.3 million.

As proposed, the Fifth Third Bank would include drive-through services and employ six to eight people.

The proposed Fifth Third Bank would be constructed in the Flori Drive Community Improvement District, or CID, which also includes a Lion’s Choice restaurant at 6032 S. Lindbergh Blvd., along with the Dairy Queen and Golden Corral.

The new Lion’s Choice, which opened in early 2009, is near the former site of Fantasy Coachworks, which was demolished, as was the former Lion’s Choice restaurant. The project also realigned Yuma and Flori drives at their intersections with Lindbergh.

The Board of Aldermen voted in August 2009 to establish the CID. Businesses situated within the district charge an additional 1-percent sales tax on purchases.

The additional tax revenue reimburses the district for public infrastructure improvement costs, including the new, signalized “T” intersection at Flori and South Lindbergh.