Oak Park village leaders have revealed a new direction for the village’s long-discussed new police station project.
The village is looking to purchase the U.S. Bank building at 11 Madison St. with the plan to redevelop it into a new police headquarters. At a meeting Nov. 12 the full board also signed off on a plan to acquire the site via condemnation if necessary. The building is listed for sale at $2.65 million.
The building is only two blocks away from Oak Park Village Hall, where the Oak Park Police Department has been based for decades.
“The village reviewed the property and determined that it’s suitable for adaptive reuse for a new police station,” said John Melaniphy, Oak Park’s assistant village manager for economic vitality. “The village then began negotiating to purchase the property. After several rounds of negotiation over several months and multiple offers from the village, a standstill was reached. In order to provide the village with an opportunity to acquire the property at an acceptable price and within a timeline necessary for a new police station, the attached ordinance was prepared for the village to obtain title by condemnation.”
The building is approximately 37,000 square feet and already has its own parking lot, according to village documents.
Details on this plan emerged just over one week before a special board meeting on the future of the police station and Village Hall renovation projects is set to take place Thursday, Nov. 20. The project had been expected to deliver the Oak Park Police Department a new standalone police station on the patch of grass south of Village Hall’s parking lot at Lombard and Adams. The cost of that project was expected to have eclipsed $80 million on top of the costs for the planned renovations to the Village Hall building.
Trustee Jim Taglia said the move to purchase a building for adaptive reuse rather than constructing a brand-new building makes sound financial sense.
“From what I can see, this is a fiscally prudent approach, it’s far cheaper than a new construction and an efficient use of our capital,” Taglia said. “Time is money in this sort of endeavor, and it’s important to get moving on it. I think everyone on this board has wanted to move on a new site, and members of previous boards.”
“It offers good long-term value, it’s a real value play for the future.”
The OPPD presently operates out of Village Hall’s basement, a space considered too small and outdated to suit the needs of a modern village police department. The village has been working to find a path to a new base of operations for the OPPD since at least 2015, when it commissioned a property condition assessment on Village Hall.
Over the last decade, the village has spent millions on design work, kicked around several concepts and hired a new architect for the project.
Next week’s special meeting comes as the board is in the thick of finalizing Oak Park’s budget for next year. The board is expected to vote on adopting the final budget on Dec. 2, its next meeting following the special session and its last meeting of 2025.
