Hanover Park police station on track

Hanover Park trustees took a risk earlier this month by demanding an architectural firm lower its fee to design the new police station.

Turns out, the board's frugality worked.

The contract unanimously approved Thursday night with PSA-Dewberry totals a base fee of $1.05 million, or $250,000 less than the original proposal. Following months of negotiations and warnings that other capable architects may charge significantly more, the firm agreed to lower its rate to 7 percent of the estimated $15 million construction cost.

"The people of Hanover Park really appreciate this," Trustee Toni Carter said, thanking village staff and the architects.

The board's decision to reject the contract proved risky because the construction schedule is already so tight. If work on the 52,000-square-foot station on Lake Street doesn't progress enough by next winter, the cost to heat the building would more than wipe out any savings trustees sought.

"We are on a very compressed, very aggressive schedule to put it lightly," Public Works Director Howard Killian said.

As a result of the accelerated timetable and lowered fees, the village will not have the luxury of exploring multiple other design schemes. And finalizing blueprints for a parking structure, indoor firing range and other amenities will have to be done quickly. Trustees can't come back in July and question the parking lot configuration, for example.

The village will also have to decide whether to go for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which would add about $120,000 in design costs and likely another 2.5 percent to the total price tag. Killian is wary of the additional expense, saying the construction industry has made great strides in the areas of green technology.

Next month, Killian hopes the board will approve hiring a construction manager and the village will begin going out for bids. He expects the existing Mid-America building and salt dome located on the construction site to be demolished around July 1, with earthwork and the foundation being laid in early August.