Oak Park’s trustees pressed forward Tuesday on what is shaping up to be a tough topic after they participated in a facilitated discussion to help them determine how to rehab Village Hall.
“We each were stuck in our own perception of how we would proceed,” Village President Vicki Scaman said. “I wouldn’t oppose it being called a step back, but I think it was a necessary step to go forward.”
Options range from somewhat minor renovations of the hall to a nearly $150 million redevelopment of Village Hall with a new civic center – a project with an estimated price tag that some trustees called a “non-starter.”
One thing they agreed on, Scaman said, is that the police station, housed in the basement of Village Hall, needs work and trustees prefer it be rebuilt on the current property.
They also agreed in general that the rest of Village Hall needs change. How that will look is not yet clear.
Village staff will later offer a recommendation based on Tuesday’s discussion before a final vote is taken. That vote, Scaman noted, might follow a difficult conversation.
In 2023, the village board proposed demolishing and rebuilding the historic Village Hall while constructing a new police station and village government headquarters at an estimate cost of $118 million to $124 million. Later, a Facility Review Committee presented alternative options that included maintaining the hall’s historic design while upgrading much of its interior.
At Tuesday’s meeting, trustees continued discussions with Steve Ludwig from Ludwig Speaks, LLC, who guided the conversation. As part of that, trustees worked to build consensus by defining what they called their “needs” and “wants” for the project.
The “needs” include ensuring an adequate, healthy and more professional workspace; ensuring safety for all employees; creating public and private spaces while establishing accessibility in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and working toward environmental sustainability. They also agreed to keep fiscal responsibility in mind and to create a “modern” police station and sufficient parking.
Their “wants” include working beyond ADA compliance rules to ensure everyone feels they can participate equally, according to Trustee Brian Straw. This list also includes earning a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification, engaging the community by having dedicated spaces for activities like youth programs, and creating a “destination” workplace by having benefits such as childcare facilities for employees. They said they would also like to implement green space and partner with other organizations in the facility.
Preserving the historic Village Hall, committee co-chair Daniel Roush pointed out, was not mentioned as a “need” or a “want.”
The committee’s recommended plan had been estimated by Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects to cost between $39.2 million and $41.2 million. That would not include the cost of a new police station, which likely wouldn’t be cheap.
“This is a building that we’re hoping is going to outlive us all,” Straw said. “But we’re certainly hoping that the debt related to it would not.”
Options
Ludwig pointed out options based on research the village has already done. One is to build only a new police department on site. Another is to build a new police department on site and renovate Village Hall. The third is to revise both entirely.
The option to build a new police station on the current campus and to renovate the Village Hall basement areas – where the station is now located – to house internal police services and training spaces would cost an estimated $80.2 million to $83.5 million, according to officials.
This would allow police more space, which the department needs. To meet the goals laid out in the BerryDunn Community Safety study, the department would need 78,112 square feet, more than double the current space.
Another option, the cheapest, comes in at an estimated $71 million to $73.6 million. This builds an entirely new police station at another location, without renovating Village Hall. This would require acquiring a new property.
Trustees agreed at the Tuesday meeting that only building a new police station was off the table, as it wouldn’t meet their list of “needs” for the project.
A third option, to build a new police station and renovate Village Hall, jumps up in cost at an estimated $132 million to $138.3 million. This plan would address some parking and facility issues at Village Hall. But it would be hard to meet all goals for sustainability, equity and accessibility within the current structure, according to officials.
Because significant renovations would be required, the historic architecture of the building could be compromised, officials said. While this plan would address police and village staff space needs; it would also separate those services.
The most expensive option calls for redeveloping Village Hall and to build a village civic center.
This option addresses parking and space needs, while maintaining existing green space on the property. It would likely meet sustainability, accessibility and equity goals and provide opportunities for commercial space development on Madison Street, officials said. The cost is an estimated $139.4 million to $144.7 million.
A project in the range of $150 million is a “non-starter” for Trustee Cory Wesley, he said. Trustee Ravi Parakkat, echoing him, adding that the option he prefers is to build a new police station on site and renovate Village Hall. But the cost needs to come down, he said.
Staggering the remodel of the police station and Village Hall might help, Parakkat said, but the police station should be the priority.
A financial possibility
As part of deliberations over cost, Joseph Saverino, a partner at Chapman and Cutler LLP, presented the board one option. They could create a public-private partnership for the project.
“You really need political leadership, investment, commitment, a project champion, early on,” Saverino said.
Such a partnership would permit the village to avoid individual negotiations with partners, which would save time and money, Saverino said. Private companies would also likely be able to give more competitive pricing, he said.
This is a once-in-a-generation type of project, Jackson said, and it’s expensive. So, village staff wanted to explore every possibility for financial support, even though some trustees didn’t seem sure a public-private partnership would be the way to go.
“We may never be 7-0 on this,” Scaman said. “But we can push each other to be as fiscally responsible and as creative as possible.”
Next, village staff members will present a recommendation. A date for that has not yet been set.
