Officials get early look at renovated Palatine village hall

Thanks in part to the late arrival of winter weather, work on the $12.7 million renovation of Palatine's village hall remains on schedule, the project's lead architect said Monday during a tour of the premises for village staff.

Mark Bickel, a partner at Wold Architects and Engineers, said workers were able to finish the building's exterior and begin pumping in temporary heating into the building so they could shift their attention to the interior for the remainder of the cold weather season.

"The late onset of winter was a huge benefit," Bickel said. "We worked outside up until the end of the year and continued without any slowdown to the interior."

The project will improve the building's appearance and enhance its functionality for residents and staff alike, officials say.

Located at 200 E. Wood St. near the village's downtown, the building opened in 1952 as Palatine High School, and still looked like a school inside, particularly in some hallways that were still lined with beige lockers.

Work crews started 10 months ago by ripping out nearly everything in the building - even exterior walls and a section of the roof - and now are rebuilding it.

Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the interior is designed to have a logical flow for visitors. After stepping through the main entrance, visitors will be able to plan their route either by using directional signs and a TV displaying that day's event or meeting schedule. Many of the places that visitors will most likely want to go, including meeting rooms and the staircase up to the council chambers, are visible from the entrance.

Ottesen said the new layout also benefits village employees by placing departments which often work together nearby, as opposed to on different floors like the old layout.

Apart from a construction crane toppling over and striking the building's structure last year, work has been going smoothly, Bickel said. The crane accident in September delayed work for a week and a half because a few of the steel tubes that were to be part of the new roof were damaged and needed replacement, he said.

Workers will begin adding ceilings in February and flooring in March. The work is scheduled to be complete in late June, Bickel said.