After more than a year of discussions and analysis, Oak Park trustees are moving forward with plans to remodel the existing Village Hall structure and build a new police station.
Two options were still on the table, according to village officials. One was to build a new police station and renovate the current Village Hall facility. That could cost between $132 million to $138.3 million. The other was to redevelop, or demolish and rebuild, the entire Village Hall campus. That was estimated to be between $139.4 million to $144.7 million.
Village staff asked trustees Tuesday if they’d like a feasibility study from Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects for the narrowed-down options, at a cost for the study not to exceed $265,000. Trustees decided not to spend the extra money, instead directing village staff to move forward with planning for the renovation option.
The price tag for renovation, which doesn’t come cheap, however, was not viewed favorably by some trustees. Balancing board goals for Village Hall improvements with cost constraints might prove to be easier said than done.
Village staff suggested using the feasibility study to see if a $100 million cap on the project was possible. But even that was too high a price for some trustees.
“The one thing that would annoy Oak Parkers about spending all of this money is if services were disrupted,” said Colette Lueck, Facility Review Committee co-chair. “People pay a lot of taxes to live here, and what they expect for those taxes are high services. That’s why things like leaf pickup become a big deal.”
Background
In July 2023, the village board proposed demolishing and rebuilding the historic Oak Park Village Hall, at an estimated cost of between $118 million and $124 million. But demolition was met with strong public opposition, so the board began to consider other options.
The Facility Review Committee recommended in April that the village board build a small glass addition to Village Hall, removing all police functions and moving council chambers to the lower level. JLK estimated this option to cost between $39.2 million to $41.2 million, excluding the additional cost of the new police station, which was undetermined.
At a study session in May, village trustees asked for revised plans. Trustees agreed then that the police station was a top priority, and that the rest of Village Hall needs change, but weren’t yet clear on what that would look like.
Meanwhile, there’s a bit of a ticking clock for the board to approve plans together before some of their seats go up for election in the spring, Lueck pointed out. Lueck is a former village trustee. There’s also pressure due to the poor conditions of the police station, Lueck said.
“I was skeptical whether or not the architects would be able to really address all the concerns,” she said. “The building is interesting, significant, but outdated and not functional. That being said, I do believe that the committee and its work with its consultants were able to address all the concerns.”
Maintaining the current Village Hall is also more sustainable than tearing down and rebuilding, Lueck said. Trustees agreed. And it might be the least disruptive option for village staff, she said.
Trustees’ discussion
It’s going to be challenging to rehab Village Hall, Village President Vicki Scaman said. But she said the best way to move forward is on the village’s land.
“This building and the openness of government, our accessibility, is important to us,” she said. “Village Hall isn’t just a place for meetings but it’s one where we want the residents of Oak Park to feel as if they are cared about.”
No matter what, it’s likely to be expensive, Scaman pointed out. In improving Village Hall, construction crews may discover unexpected issues in the nearly 50-year-old building that will need to be fixed. Looking for creative ways to fund the project is one option to assuage cost concerns, she said.
Trustee Lucia Robinson agreed that renovating the existing structure is the most cost-efficient path forward. One of her priorities is ensuring safety in the council chambers, she said. The Facility Review Committee had raised the concern that if trustees needed to get out quickly, they could be trapped because the stadium seats cascade down. And if everyone attending needed to leave in an emergency, it could be difficult to do so.
Renovating is the right option from a historic preservation and sustainability perspective, Trustee Ravi Parakkat agreed. But one of his top concerns is the cost. He said he is not in favor of spending even $100 million on this project, and that the board needs to make decisions based on what they can afford.
Trustee Cory Wesley proposed another alternative Tuesday, saying he was against both rehabilitation and demolishing and rebuilding Village Hall. It’s too expensive either way, he said. He suggested building a new police station with a few extra floors for village staff.
A new space would likely be cheaper, Wesley said, and as more employees work from home in future years, less people will need to utilize Village Hall anyway. But other trustees did not seem on board with his proposal.
Village Manager Kevin Jackson said village staff will return to the board with further planning and design considerations.
