NIU office workers will have a little more elbow room since the Board of Regents approved the purchase of the $1.3 million Floor-to-Ceiling Store.

The Regents approved NIU’s purchase of land for expanding its services at its meeting Thursday.

NIU will acquire 2.38 acres of land on the far west edge of campus, which will include the purchase of two connected buildings at 1515 W. Lincoln Hwy.

NIU will use the new location for printing services, insurance, payroll, and personnel offices. Moving these departments will benefit “the academic community by freeing centrally-located space for other uses,” said NIU President John La Tourette.

There are no current plans for the space that was freed, but there are many possibilities being considered, said Ken Beasley, assistant to La Tourette.

The property cost is listed at $535,000 with an estimated remodeling cost of $800,000, according to a July Regents report.

Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said the purchase of the property is justified and he recommended approval from the board.

The current structures on the location are two one-story metal commercial buildings connected by a 20 feet by 24 feet metal enclosure.

The main building is a 16,000-foot structure which contains several small offices. The rear storage building has 11,360 square feet.

The paved parking lot contains 60 parking spaces.

Financing for the new location will be through a contract for deed over a 10-year period with an estimated 7 percent finance rate. A letter of commitment was supplied by the National Bank and Trust of Sycamore, 230 W. State St.

La Tourette said the funds for the property will not come from appropriated funds.

All costs for operation and maintenance will be paid from non-appropriated and institutional funds.

Groves said the Regents have been acquiring an increasing number of small-scale properties.

The property, which had several owners, was built about 25 years ago for Farm and Fleet of DeKalb. The facility then was occupied for several years by Forster Implement Co. before the Floor-to-Ceiling Store moved to the location.

The current owner of the Floor-to-Ceiling store is planning on moving out of the store by January 1992. The target date for NIU occupancy is July 1992.