Lake County to borrow up to $40 million

Lake County officials are set to borrow up to $40 million to help fund three building projects, one of which already is nearly complete.

During a rare night meeting in Waukegan, the county board on Tuesday agreed to seek funding for the construction of a new branch courthouse in Waukegan, a new health department headquarters in Waukegan and a central permit facility in Libertyville.

The financing won't result in a tax-rate increase, county finance and administration director Gary Gordon said. Existing cash, savings from soon-to-be-ending leases and new revenue sources will be used to pay back the loan, he said.

One of the three projects - the courthouse - already is under construction. Work on the other two should start later this year.

The $6.6 million courthouse is being built on the 300 block of South Greenleaf Street. It will replace a facility being leased on what used to be the Lakehurst Mall property in Waukegan.

With two courtrooms and a total of 13,500 square feet of space, it should be ready for cases next month, Gordon said.

The entire project will be paid for with money from the newly approved loan.

The $23.2 million central permit facility will put the planning, building and development department under the same roof with the stormwater management commission and environmental health service so customers can take care of permits and other business in one stop. Those offices are scattered throughout the county now.

The two-story, 65,000-square-foot building will be built on the county's Winchester Road campus in Libertyville, already the site of the transportation headquarters, the Winchester House nursing home and a sheriff's substation.

Only about $7 million of the necessary funding will come from the loan, Gordon said.

The rest of the tab will be covered by existing cash and other revenue.

Work could begin in September. The project should be completed in early 2010.

Finally, the $29 million health department headquarters will be built on the agency's campus on Grand Avenue in Waukegan.

The existing administrative center, a former hospital, will be torn down and replaced by the roughly 85,000-square-foot building.

Construction should start next month. The building is scheduled to open in December 2009, Gordon said.

Although the county board's action Tuesday allows them to borrow up to $40 million, officials expect the amount actually will be closer to $36 million.