Buffalo Grove studying need for expensive building fixes

Buffalo Grove could be headed for a major facelift on its village campus, which includes not only village hall but also the headquarters for police and public works.

The discussions, though serious, are purely preliminary. Several ideas were batted around at last week's committee of the whole meeting, including moving the campus to another location. One thing was clear: A redo will carry a heavy price tag and will likely involve borrowing money.

"Our current strategy of 'pay as you go' isn't supporting what we need to do," said Finance Director Scott Anderson.

He said the village has been working with architect Wold Ruck Pate to identify the village's needs. The work indicates that over the next two years, the village needs to invest about $5.2 million just in repairs - money it doesn't have. Making repairs while also remodeling and/or expanding existing facilities could cost about $22.2 million. Other options include combining facilities, such as the police headquarters and village hall, consolidating two of the fire stations, or moving the fire station in Cook County farther north.

Anderson said that, since the facilities were built, the village's population has grown from 16,000 to 42,000, while the number of village staff members has doubled. He noted the village hall's main floor is overused, while the lower floor is underused. The building also lacks meeting space for the community.

The village's public works facility poses a much bigger problem, he said. The yard space and the garage are woefully undersized, with time spent every day "moving equipment in and out to allow room for maintenance," he said.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said the architect offered ideas for reprogramming the space at village hall and in the public works building, but they are problematic.

"I'm just concerned about throwing good money after bad," Trustee Jeffrey Berman said. "I don't want to make a $5 million investment in these two buildings and have you come back in five years and say … 'We have to build new buildings.'"

Bragg said the biggest challenge is continuing to house public works on its current site. If it moves, "all things being equal, we see a lot of operational advantages to us being together," he said of having various facilities on the same site. That, however, poses a "land availability issue."