Low bid means Gelatin Factory Park could cost village $600,000 less than expected
The work to turn the site of the former Grayslake Gelatin Co. into a community park will begin any day and is expected to cost around $600,000 less than anticipated, according to village officials.
Assistant Village Manager Brett Kryska said officials originally thought the project would cost around $2.5 million but a favorable bid has put the new total cost estimate at around $1.9 million.
Starting soon will be work to remove and replace trees, sidewalks and fences, add storm sewers and other underground utilities and move a substantial amount of earth around the site. This month, the village board accepted a $1.2 million bid from a contractor to do that site work. Kryska said they didn't expect to receive such a low bid.
The park will be built on the 10-acre site the village bought for $30,000 in 2015 - 33 years after the factory closed. Officials determined the iconic smokestack was the only structure worth salvaging. The other buildings were demolished by the village in 2016 at a cost of $543,800.
Because of the park's location between the village's downtown and Central Park, the plan calls for a 1,000-foot road to wind through the site to connect those two important features. The road will curve around what the plan calls the Smokestack Green and Garden, an oval-shaped area of grass and plants that will surround the smokestack.
The park also will have a half-mile walking or jogging path, and more parking on Central Park Drive. Construction of a 12- to 15-foot-tall hill that could be used for sledding also is planned.
Kryska said the construction can begin after the village executes the $1.2 million contract, which could happen any day now. He said the village expects the site work portion of the project to be done in late July.
The other parts of the project include rehabbing the smokestack and improving Railroad Avenue.
The village posted the bid documents for the road improvements April 11, and Kryska said officials are working to prepare the bid documents for the smokestack work. He said the smokestack documents should be posted in the next month or so.
The village board will consider the 2018-19 capital budget, which calls for more than $8.3 million in spending, at its meeting Tuesday night. The Gelatin Factor Park work would make up around 22.8 percent of the capital budget.