The wait is over as Oak Park village leaders finally gathered to discuss designs and cost figures for the village’s long planned police station and Village Hall construction projects Thursday night.
The special meeting held on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. centered around a review of the 61-page report compiled by consultants outlining a vision for Oak Park’s long-discussed municipal campus project, involving the construction of both a new police station and extensive renovations to Village Hall. The board ultimately voted unanimously to direct staff to pursue a multi-site solution for the project, where the police station is established on a different piece of property instead of on the south lawn of Village Hall as had previously been discussed.
The new police station will give the OPPD an up-to-date aw enforcement facility to base its operations and renovations to Village Hall will be focused on making the unorthodox architectural tribute to “open government” work as a modern municipal office building and be more accessible to disabled people.
The consultants, led by architectural firm JLK, had outlined plans several concepts for the campus, all of which would’ve seen a new standalone police station built on the lawn south of Village Hall, extensive renovations to Village Hall, a new parking garage— built either above or below ground — and new village board chambers. But those plans came with price figures too steep for Oak Park leaders.
Consultants’ estimates for the total cost of those design concepts range from over $140 million to over $169 million depending on construction timelines. The consultants then prepared a cost-saving study that laid out how the cost of the project could be reduced by reducing the “investment on scope, functionality, and site utilization” for both the renovations and the new construction. The consultants presented updated concepts that put the cost of the entire project at around $98 million for a new police station built on the south lawn, and at around $87 million for a multi-site project.
“In light of increasing fiscal constraints, the design team reexamined the preferred approach with an emphasis on prioritizing essential project elements and identifying feasible trade-offs,”,” the consultants wrote in the report. “Subsequent discussions with the village following the cost reduction exercise led to the exploration of two additional concept alternatives. The Municipal Campus Concept retains both the Police Department and Village Hall on a shared site and introduces an at-grade parking garage.”
“The design team has provided conceptual cost estimates to assist the village in evaluating these options in relation to overall programmatic priorities and budget considerations.”
The review of the concepts comes shortly after village officials publicly discussed a new plan to purchase a building to serve as the new home for the OPPD.
At a meeting Nov. 12, board members heard about efforts by village staff to strike a deal to purchase the U.S. Bank building at 11 Madison St. with the plan to redevelop it into a new police headquarters. At that meeting, the board unanimously approved a plan to acquire the bank site via condemnation if the village can’t reach a deal for the sale.
The 37,000 square foot building is listed for sale at $2.65 million and is located only two blocks away from Oak Park Village Hall.
Oak Park 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.”
Discussions on the shape of the construction project have been delayed several times in recent months as village staff began pursuing the 11 Madison Street option.
“I’m sad that we’ve had to pause six months to do this, because I understand the urgency of building the new police station,” said Trustee Brian Straw. “It is and has been a priority for the board, but the opportunity and the significant cost savings with the U.S. Bank site is an opportunity we couldn’t pass up for our community.”
For decades, the OPPD has operated 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.
Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2027, according to the consultants’ report.
The previous village board had hoped to review plans for architectural designs and project financing at a March 18 meeting, the board’s last scheduled meeting before April 1’s municipal Cook County elections in which two then board members — Ravi Parakkat and Lucia Robinson — lost their seats.
This special meeting also 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 for 2026 on Dec. 9.