Canton buys former bank building for township offices
After decades of working out of a building on Grove Avenue, Canton Township officials will be moving their municipal offices to a new location inside a former bank several miles away on West Chestnut Street.
The board voted last month to purchase the former Northwest Savings Bank, 1265 W. Chestnut St., at cost of just over $400,000 for the 3,300-square-foot building. The bank branch closed in April 2016, when the operations were consolidated at a location on Murtland Avenue in South Strabane Township.
“There are some things that need done, and some of that work will have to be bid out, but we hope to move in sometime in April,” said Bob Franks, chairman of the board of supervisors. “We believe this space will serve the residents better and be more accessible.”
Stephanie Pettit, township manager, said all of the township offices, including that of the code enforcement officer and real estate tax collector, will make the move along with the administrative offices. The public works department will remain at the Grove Avenue location.
“We have been running out of room as the public works continues to expand,” Pettit said. “Everyone will now have their own office space, and we can use the basement to store files. I think it will be a lot more organized.
“I think it is a good step for us,” she added. “I am excited.”
Pettit said tax collector Sharen Mosier plans to make use of the former bank’s drive-through window to collect taxes from residents.
The main part of the bank where the tellers once worked will be transformed into a meeting room, Franks said.
“We’ve been thinking about a new building for some time,” Franks said. “For the past several years, the supervisors have been watching what we have been spending and setting aside some money, so the building is all paid for, including what we will need for renovations.”
At one point, the supervisors contemplated constructing a new building at the former site of Washington Steel off Woodland Avenue and Jefferson Avenue. The eight-acre property was recently donated to the township by ATI.
“We are thinking of building a social hall or emergency management facility, but that is off in the future,” Franks said. “We are taking it one step at a time.”
Before anything can be built, the property needs to be checked for possible contamination. The township got $8,000 from Washington County Redevelopment Authority for the first phase of the inspection, which included a walk-through of the former industrial site. Franks said the property passed the first phase.
The second phase of the inspection, which includes core drilling in different areas, is now being done. Franks expects those results to be available later this month.