Palatine’s long-awaited police headquarters opens

Chief John Koziol emerged Tuesday afternoon from the new Palatine police station’s inaugural roll call with a smile on his face, knowing now he’ll actually see everyone at the start of a shift.

It’s a welcome change from life at the old facility, when not every officer could fit in the same small room.

“I was amazed at how many people were in there today,” Koziol said. “We had all those detectives standing in the hallway before.”

Space — nearly double the amount — is just one of the features police look forward to utilizing at the new 70,000 square-foot station, which opened its doors Tuesday.

Officials for several years have wanted to build the $20 million-plus facility in order to move the police department out of its home in the former Palatine High School’s cafeteria.

When Koziol joined the force in 1985, the village employed fewer than 50 officers for a population of about 35,000 people. Today, 110 sworn officers serve the village’s 70,000 residents.

The chief is particularly excited about traffic patterns within the new building.

In the old station, a suspect would be escorted by the employee lunchroom and a complainant often had to share personal information near others waiting a turn. Now, someone can give a report, get fingerprinted or obtain a record without ever leaving the expansive lobby, which is equipped with four private rooms.

“Before you had to get into the inner workings of the station, and you were basically free to roam the building,” Koziol said. “All that’s different now.”

Another upgrade is the sizable evidence room, which consolidates four separate rooms at the old station. The basement also houses homicide evidence that can never be disposed, including that from the 1993 Brown’s Chicken murders. That evidence previously was spread across multiple rooms.

Community organizations can take advantage of the 72-person training room when it’s not in use, Koziol said.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen said it will be several months before he can provide a final figure, but he’s confident that the design, engineering and construction costs are running about $900,000 under budget.

With a Mariano’s Fresh Market set to open any week immediately to the south, the village in April will widen the entrance into the property.

As for the old station, the village received a $250,000 federal grant to help renovate its training room into a full-time Emergency Operations Center. Ottesen said the center will include permanent infrastructure for computers, phone lines, monitoring equipment and other items.

The old station also will serve as records storage until officials evaluate how to use the balance of the building, which includes village hall.

The Nurses Lending Closet, which provides residents with donated medical equipment such as wheelchairs, will be relocated to the old station’s front desk and radio room area.