By CYNDI LOZA, Special from the West Suburban Journal

The Proviso Township Board approved the purchase of a property for a new township headquarters during a special board meeting on June 27.

The headquarters is planned to be a base for executive offices, as well as provide community services such as a food pantry. It will be located at 2421 S. 25th Ave. in Broadview.

Proviso Township Supervisor Kathy Ryan explained that a special board meeting needed to be held to approve and finalize the purchase of the building when an offer was made Friday, June 23.

“This was a work in progress,” said Ryan. “It all just happened Friday.”

Don Sloan, Proviso Trustee, explained that a negotiation was made with the owners of the building to sell the property for $855,000. Sloan said the price was $90,000 less than the original price the owner wanted for the property.

Sloan added that the township should have a designated headquarters since it is one of the largest townships in the state. According to Jerry Crabtree, Associate Director of the Townships Officials Illinois, Proviso is the fourth largest township in Illinois.

The headquarters, Sloan said, will provide offices for the assessors, clerks and general assistance. He added that in the future the mental health and senior services departments would have the option of moving into the facilities.

He said the building would also provide a food pantry toward the back of the building. He said stores such as Jewels and Dominick’s can be targeted for donations in the future.

“The way the building was laid out was absolutely perfect for what the township was looking for,” said Sloan.

Sloan said the purchase of the building would pay for itself in the long run. Normally, he said, $120,000 is spent annually for rent in two Proviso facilities. With the purchase of the new building, that money will be saved for future expenditures such as maintaining the cosmetic structure of the building.

Though the purchase of the building was finalized, Ryan explained there is still much to be done. For example, she said, the back of the building still needs to be renovated. The first to move into the building will be the assessors and clerks in October and general assistance by November.