By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

Another branch of KeyBank N.A. is in store for Western New York, while 20 existing branches continue to undergo renovations.

Officials announced April 6 that a branch will be constructed on Pine Street in Niagara Falls, just east of 24th Street. A specific street address was not immediately provided by the bank.

The 2,356-square-foot office is the fourth new branch to be confirmed in the past nine months and the eighth one constructed or under construction by the bank since mid-2009. It will boost its total branch network in Western New York to 48 offices.

Construction is expected to begin in August and the branch will likely open sometime in the fall, the bank said. It will be staffed by nine KeyBank employees, including three new hires.

New offices are also in the works at three Amherst sites - at West Klein and Hopkins Road, Main Street and Springville Road and East Robinson and Niagara Falls Boulevard near Menne Nursery. All are due to open before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, upgrades to 20 existing offices are set to continue through 2012, the bank said. Specific branches undergoing upgrades were not immediately identified.

The enhanced branch network and existing office renovations are part of the bank's goal to gain 10 percent of local market share, district President Gary Quenneville said in February. The Cleveland-based financial institution was the third-largest deposit-taker in Western New York until June 2010 when it fell to the No. 4 position behind First Niagara Financial Group Inc.