Libertyville considers approvals to advance new $43 million police station
The Libertyville village board Tuesday will consider approvals setting the stage for construction of a new police station.
In a departure from the standard process, the village represented by FGM Architects is asking the board to accept the report of the advisory plan commission and then approve an ordinance to allow for the new station, estimated at $43 million, to proceed.
Both are on the regular agenda of the meeting beginning at 7 p.m. at village hall, 118 W. Cook Ave. Normally, the plan commission report on a given project would be considered before the village board grants final approvals at a later time.
In this case, simultaneous approval of the concept plan as well as final plan approval was requested due to constraints related to funding and bidding a publicly funded project, according to village materials.
Dual application is permitted by village code but requires that initial plans include the level of detail generally received at the time of final consideration.
The village began evaluating a new police station in 2021 and included it in its capital improvement plan in 2022. FGM was selected in April and the design work began shortly after.
The village board’s fire and police committee reviewed and approved the concept in July and a public open house was held in September. The village’s appearance review commission approved the measure with conditions in October and the advisory plan commission reviewed and approved it Nov. 10.
Tuesday’s agenda includes consideration of zoning approval, according to Village Administrator Kelly Amidei. Once approved, building plans will be refined with bids anticipated in January.
That will set the stage for demolition of the Schertz municipal building, 200 E. Cook Ave., built in 1968.
Regulations, mandates and how police stations function have changed substantially. The current headquarters is considered antiquated and doesn’t meet modern police standards for safety, staffing and service and is ill-suited for modern operations, according to the village.
The new station to be built on the footprint of the old building will be 46,598 square feet compared to the current 26,295 square feet.
A $25 million preliminary estimate was based on a smaller scale project and revised to $43 million after the scope and requirements became more than originally anticipated.