Carol Stream rec center will come in under budget

A new recreation center remains on target financially and the district will pursue a state grant hoping to offset the final price tag, Executive Director Arnie Biondo said Tuesday.

Although some projections place the building's final cost above the district's repeatedly stated $18 million limit, park district officials will cut corners in cost if they must to ensure that they meet that goal.

Any changes made, he said, will not reduce the facility's roughly 85,000-square-foot footprint.

“There are some things that we know cost more to build,” he said. “We are pretty confident we can do the whole thing within our budget.”

The district will also pursue a $2 million construction grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Biondo said he expects a response within three months. On Monday, village officials signed on as grant co-applicants because they still technically own the land where the park district will build the recreation center.

In August, the park district bought the six-acre site, just south of Town Center on the corner of Lies Road and Gary Avenue, for $1.6 million.

If the grant application is approved, Biondo said it would free up money to go toward other referendum projects.

Voters handily approved a $37 million referendum on Feb. 2 after a publicity push from officials and neighbors highlighted the recreation center. The park district has insisted that the $18 million target used during the lead up to the referendum will be met.

Biondo said even if the grant is rejected, officials would look into less expensive building materials or furnishings. He stressed that the financial projections were an obstacle the district can overcome.

“You can't undertake a project like this without running into obstacles,” he said. “But it's finding out what is and what is not going to work for this budget.”