Strip mall likely to be demolished for St. Charles' new police station

A new St. Charles police station is one step closer to becoming a reality after aldermen gave an early thumbs-up to tearing down a vacant strip mall on the site.

The project's first construction phase includes razing the former Valley Shopping Center off Main Street to make way for the multimillion-dollar police facility. Aldermen acting as the government services committee Monday unanimously approved hiring Barrington-based Langos Corporation to complete the work for $468,050 - just under the city's budgeted amount.

If the full city council ratifies that vote, the demolition and site preparations could begin as early as next month, Public Works Director Peter Suhr said. That would allow for a mid- to late-summer groundbreaking on the police station, he said.

Suhr said the city will seek bids for two more project phases between now and October: one for constructing the police station's structure and shell, and another for the building finishes and interior build out. The goal is for police to move into the new station by fall of 2019.

Discussions surrounding a new police station had been ongoing for years before aldermen decided last September to purchase the Valley Shopping Center property for about $715,000. Officials said the 6.5-acre site is more centrally located and has better visibility than the city-owned land along Red Gate Road that was previously under consideration.

The city has since hired a construction manager and architect to develop and execute plans for the new station, which Police Chief James Keegan said will be more operationally efficient than the existing facility in downtown St. Charles.

The city budgeted roughly $24.6 million for the project, though initial cost estimates came in about $2.3 million higher than anticipated, Suhr said. Project leaders have been able to shave about $1 million off those projections so far without significantly changing the schematic designs or floor plans presented to aldermen several weeks ago, he said.

He expects the project to be within "reasonable range" of the original budget by the time aldermen see updated design plans next month.