The Facility Review Committee voted to finalize its recommendations for the Village Hall remodel that would include a small glass addition to the historic building, removing all police functions and moving the council chambers to the lower level.
At the March 13 meeting, Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects presented cost estimates for options the committee had been debating.
The new recommendation combines what the committee believes are the best features of an option to retain as much of the original structure as possible and an option to add a glass addition.
The committee passed on the idea of constructing a large glass addition or a “sunken plaza” option that would bring all visitors and staff into a lower-level public commons area, according to JLK’s presentation. The full report can be read online.
Meg Kindelin, JLK president, said focusing solely on retaining Village Hall would cost roughly $31.5 million to $32.5 million. The “sunken plaza” scheme would cost approximately $35.5 million to $38 million.
“These are very big numbers, there’s no getting around that,” committee co-chair Colette Lueck said. “They are what they are.”
Constructing a glass addition would be more expensive than both of those options, Kindelin said. The large addition plan would cost roughly $54.5 to $57 million. A small addition plan would be about $47.5 to $49.5 million. The committee decided to make the addition as small as possible to combat that potential financial concern.
“Nobody is going to spend this kind of money and move,” Lueck said.
The committee is not recommending where the new police station will go, so no one yet knows the costs a new location would add to the Village Hall remodel.
“What we’re giving the board is what they asked us to do,” Lueck said. “It’s not our fault they asked us to do something that doesn’t give them useful financial information in the long run. They have to do that next step.”
The recommended plan
If the village board approves the committee’s plan, it would include implementing skylights in the basement to allow for adequate daylight, refurbishing the existing council chambers as a small meeting space and creating a circle drop-off area.
They also decided that the addition, if approved, will include a new entryway that is accessible and inclusive, vertical circulation and at least one restroom.
The recommendation includes improving sustainability, accessibility, lighting and parking, as well as reducing sonic issues throughout the building.
JLK presented options for moving the council chamber functions to Room 101, to the new addition or to the lower level, where police functions are located now.
The committee agreed the current council chambers weren’t going to cut it from a safety or accessibility standpoint.
“If you are in a wheelchair and you want to preside as the president of this village, how do you do that with any sense of dignity [in the current chambers]?” Kindelin said.
Moving the chambers to Room 101 would allow for roughly 125 seats, additional access in and out and potential chair storage. Moving it to the new addition would be more expensive, JLK confirmed, but would allow for roughly 225 seats and an adjacent conference room.
The consensus was to move chambers to the lower level, allowing for roughly 210 seats and space adjacent to a new public commons area once the police functions are moved out. Kindelin said she likes the symbolism of the chambers located in the heart of Village Hall.
A wider stairway will be necessary, the committee concluded, as an entrance to the new chambers for both accessibility and safety, as well as promoting the vision of open government.
“You have to have a building that people feel welcomes them,” Lueck said.
The existing council chambers would become a smaller meeting space with minor improvements to make the space safer and more accessible. Committee co-chair Daniel Roush said there’s a lot of traffic on weeknights for meetings in the chambers, so this plan will allow smaller groups to meet there instead.
Local architect and committee member Tom Bassett-Dilley said he wants to be a good steward of the building, putting as much of the existing structure to use to save money and resources, a statement that echoed around the room.
As for office space, Kindelin said the plan accommodates modern needs, which generally don’t require as much space. The presentation calls the concept “smaller but smarter.” People typically no longer need space for huge amounts of paper or filing cabinets in a digital world, she said. Moving some village functions to the addition will allow for more space within the existing building, too, said public works director Rob Sproule.
The committee also discussed having the construction done in phases to allow for minimal disruption for the day-to-day functions of village staff. The building may have to be shutdown at some points, Kindelin said, but they could try to keep it mostly open throughout the process.
Kindelin said the final recommendations use the existing building while also accommodating for future functions of the Village of Oak Park and are also feasible to complete.
The committee agreed that while this option may be expensive, it meets the most needs.
The co-chairs will present the recommendations to the village board, who has final say, on April 9.
“We have to convince them [the public] that what we’re doing is necessary and will improve their lives,” Lueck said.
