ECC picks site for police, fire training center

Elgin Community College has selected a 98-acre site in Burlington as the home of its Public Safety and Sustainability Center, the last of the college’s projects funded through a 2009 tax increase.

The center will include training facilities for first responders such as firefighters, paramedics and police officers.

ECC officials picked the site after vetting five proposals the college received from towns within its service area. The decision took 11 months, according to a news release.

In the release, ECC officials said the land, north of Burlington Road, east of the railroad line and west of Romke Road, could house a future wind turbine.

The initial design of the center incorporates several environmentally conscious features, including the turbine and a goal of having a zero-carbon footprint.

Tactical Design of Arlington Heights is designing the project. Shales McNutt of Elgin will be the construction manager. The college does not yet have a timeline for the project.

Voters in April 2009 narrowly approved a $178 million bond issue to fund ECC’s master building plan, which includes a new Multipurpose Classroom Building, a Health Careers Center, a new academic library and renovation work at the Student Resource Center.

The Health Careers Center and academic library are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, while the Student Resource Center renovations should be finished by fall 2012.