Plans to move the Oak Park Police Department from the basement of Village Hall to its own building moved forward as officials approved steps toward the completion of a schematic design for the new station.
Oak Park village manager Kevin Jackson called the action at the Aug. 25 Village Board meeting “a substantial milestone in the journey of this project over the last several years.”
The board voted unanimously to proceed with design development and negotiate a professional services agreement with architectural and engineering firm Johnson Lasky & Kindelin Architects, Inc.
The new police station will be in the former U.S. Bank building at 11 Madison St., and its relocation will open up space for a new room for Village Board meetings at Village Hall.
Estimated design costs for the police station are north of $57 million, which is less than the $63.7 million that was presented at a previous Village Board meeting, but there were over a dozen exclusions from the presented price, such as professional design fees and construction contingencies. Rob Sproule, Oak Park’s public works director, said costs associated with some of the exclusions will fluctuate throughout the process.
The new station will have a two-level parking garage that will cost an estimated $10.5 million.
The new facility would also allow for a training room, a wellness room where officers can take a break or have lunch, police Chief Shatonya Johnson said at a previous meeting.
Although the price of the police station has dropped, Trustee Derek Eder said he is still interested in looking at ways to reduce the number even further.
“The debt that this village is going to have to take on with bonds to pay for this, and the debt service that we’re going to have to pay for 30 years to pay that off, anything that we can do now to reduce this large ticket item, even though it’s a one-time expense, that will affect the amount of money that we have to spend over 30 years,” Eder said.
Oak Park’s Village Hall is over 50 years old, and the police station has outgrown the space, officials said. The evidence storage space is short and the department’s roll call room is also used as a lunch room.
Beyond pure functionality, the design will incorporate elements that honor the history and service of officers and have a welcoming space for employees, officials said.
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Sproule said the focus is more on the progression of the police station rather than the planned changes at Village Hall.
“We’ve always said the police station is the priority but it’s not going to end there,” said village President Vicki Scaman.
The work on Village Hall, Sproule said, is predicated on the police moving out of the basement, too.
Renovations at Village Hall are expected to cost more than $33 million, though that number could be closer to $40 million in six years due to anticipated escalations in prices. Plans call for a new council chamber to be built where the board can meet, among other updates.
A recommended contract for a construction manager for the project is expected to be acted on in October and construction on the police station is set to begin next year.
“I think the sooner the better on all projects,” Scaman said.