DuPage forest district to build long-delayed maintenance facility

After a decade of delays, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is moving ahead with a once-controversial plan to construct a fleet management building in Blackwell Forest Preserve near Warrenville.

Commissioners on Tuesday are expected to approve plans to hire Frontier Construction Inc. to build the facility near McKee Marsh off Mack Road. The contract calls for Frontier to be paid roughly $9 million.

Commissioners also are expected to decide if they want to pay Knight E/A Inc. up to $293,850 to provide construction observation, inspection and administration services for the project.

If both contracts are approved, officials said, construction is expected to start in early June and be completed by late June 2018.

The plan calls for the building to be roughly 29,000 square feet and have 16 vehicle bays. It would feature a 5,200-square-foot office and multipurpose training area with restrooms along with a 23,800-square-foot vehicle maintenance and storage area.

"The building will modernize our fleet management capabilities in conjunction with our alternative fuel vehicles while improving our overall operational efficiency and working conditions for staff," said Kevin Horsfall, district planning manager.

It's taken a while for the district to reach this point.

Initial design work for the structure began in 2007 and commissioners voted three years later to build it.

The design commissioners supported in December 2010, however, drew strong opposition from some neighbors.

Construction also was delayed, in part, because the district needed water service to meet fire protection requirements. Eventually, the district got water and sewer service from Warrenville.

Horsfall said the aesthetic of the building has been changed from an industrial look "to more of a barnlike structure to fit the rural character of the site."

The modifications were made after forest preserve President Joseph Cantore invited neighbors to be a part of the design process.

Officials said the end result is a design that will blend into the landscape.

Some of the district's vehicle maintenance work already is handled at Blackwell and the rest is done at Churchill Woods near Lombard.

Officials said Blackwell was selected, in part, because the land has been used for similar purposes for decades and is centrally located.