Chicago Armenian Community Approves Property Acquisition

GLENVIEW, Ill.—On Oct. 3, a special meeting of the membership of the Armenian All Saints Church and Community Center overwhelmingly approved the expenditure of $1.25 million for the purchase of three parcels of land.

The property, which totals two acres, is located directly south of the church and community center along North Greenwood Rd., including a corner lot on Thornwood Avenue. This is the first new property acquisition for the community center since the original four parcels were purchased in 1967.

“This is an historic day for the Armenian community of Chicago,” said Mike Demirjian, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Armenian All Saints Church. “Since the earliest days of the Chicago community, each generation has made the leap of faith necessary to invest in our community’s future. Now it is our generation’s turn to carry the torch,” he continued.

The decision was made at a special membership meeting called to discuss the acquisition.  The meeting reviewed a presentation by Ara Surenian, representing the Land Acquisition Committee appointed by the Board of Trustees. In his presentation, Surenian took the community through a brief historical journey of the progress of the current church and community center since its inception in 1967, reviewed various expansion and growth strategies presented at a previous membership meeting in 2009, and outlined details of the proposed purchase agreement for the three new parcels.

Following a brief question and answer session, the meeting voted by secret ballot, with 96 percent of the ballots cast in favor of approving the property purchase. After the results of the ballot were announced, the meeting burst into loud applause as community members rose to congratulate each other.

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Now that the approval by the special membership meeting has been secured, the property acquisition agreement must also be approved by both the Eastern Armenian Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and by the Armenian Cultural Association of America. In addition, other contingencies to the purchase agreement, such as soil tests and environmental studies, must be completed. The Land Acquisition Committee stated that these activities should be completed by the end of October, in time for the Armenian All Saints Church and Community Center’s 67^th anniversary celebration on Nov. 7.