‘An ideal location’: Buffalo Grove nears closing on new village hall, police headquarters
Buffalo Grove trustees voted Monday to authorize closing on an office building designated for a new village hall, police headquarters and a possible satellite location for the Indian Trails Public Library.
Village Manager Dane Bragg said the closing could occur within two to three weeks.
The vote came nearly a year after the board entered into a purchase and sale agreement with an affiliate of Hamilton Partners to acquire the property at 1100 W. Lake-Cook Road in the Buffalo Grove Business Park for $6.25 million.
The board also approved changes to the December deal that secured the business park owners association’s sign-off on village plans. The amendment sets aside $150,000 to cover future association fees and shortens Hamilton Partners’ contract to manage the building during design to two years for up to $191,000.
The decision to close culminated 11 months of due diligence. Deputy Village Manager Chris Stilling told the board Monday that the building is clean, structurally sound and meets the village’s long-term needs.
Two independent cost reviews support a $52 million construction budget with work to begin in 2028.
Nearly half the funding has been identified, Stilling said.
About $7 million would come from the sale of the existing municipal campus on Raupp Boulevard and $18.5 million from capital reserves, Stilling wrote in a memo.
Trustees Joanne Johnson, Frank Cesario, Kevin Richards and Lester Ottenheimer III voted in favor of the closing. Trustee David Weidenfeld cast the only no vote. Trustee Denice Bocek was absent.
Johnson said the 8.31-acre site and almost 97,000-square-foot office building represent a significant upgrade in quality and capacity over the current aging campus.
“In my opinion, this is the ideal location for a modern municipal building,” Johnson said.
Cesario said the village has a proven track record when it comes to adaptive reuse, citing the public works facility at 1650 Leider Lane.
Weidenfeld said it is logical to look for a new village hall but this is not the right time, when people living in Buffalo Grove are facing high gas prices, housing costs and property taxes for schools.
Resident Craig Horwitz engaged in a tense exchange with Village President Eric Smith after urging trustees to delay the vote. He said the building is too big and accused the village of not being transparent about the process.
Horwitz said Smith had promised a vigorous public hearing, but Smith countered what he actually promised was a vigorous debate.
szalusky@dailyherald.com