LA MESA, Calif. (KGTV) — Union Bank is celebrating the reopening of its branch on Spring Street in La Mesa, more than two years after it was burned to the ground during civil unrest. Regional manager Carlton Hill says he always knew the company would rebuild. "I know Union Bank and I knew from day one we were committed to coming back to the La Mesa community," he told ABC 10News.
Hill was the branch manager and had been at the location 14 years when the protests erupted, sparked by the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and an incident involving a La Mesa police officer and an unarmed black man at a trolley stop.
That night of the fire, Hill got a call from his assistant manager, letting him know there was trouble at the branch. He arrived in time to see the building destroyed. "It was a surreal experience. It was really heartbreaking, to be perfectly honest.”
The bank opened a temporary office in a trailer in the parking lot while the replacement building was under construction. Included in the design is a mural commemorating the fire and its aftermath, which saw neighbors pitch in to help clean up. "There were people from the community with their brooms, and shovels, and trash bags trying to clean up what was going on," Hill said. "That part was really inspiring, that the community came together in the midst of a tragedy.”
Union Bank will celebrate it's 100th anniversary in La Mesa in 2026.
