New St. Charles police station may open in early 2020

St. Charles residents learned the former Valley Shopping Center would house the city's new police station a couple of weeks ago. On Monday, they learned it will open in 2020 and how much it will cost.

Aldermen took the first steps toward building a new station in January when they agreed to a $1.44 million contract with an Oak Brook-based architectural firm that specializes in police stations. But the process stalled in the spring after aldermen took an unenthusiastic vote to build a new station on land the city already owns on Red Gate Road. The Valley Shopping Center emerged as the best site after several months of closed-door discussions.

Aldermen agreed to buy a 6.5-acre site off Main Street for about $715,000.

One of the next steps is hiring a construction management firm. The city hopes to attract 10 to 15 proposals and have aldermen lock in a team by November.

The description of what the city seeks in a construction manager shows that staff members now estimate building the station will cost about $17 million.

That total, plus the purchase price of the Valley Shopping Center and any associated demolition work, would seem to put the final price tag in the same ballpark as the $18.6 million cost of building on the Red Gate Road site.

Demolition work is expected to be done in August 2018. Construction of the station would begin right after. That will take 12 to 15 months, putting the opening sometime in January 2020.

Two pieces still have not received much public discussion. The first is how the city will come up with the money to build the station. In February, City Administrator Mark Koenen said the city only had part of the money, akin to a "down payment on a house." He said the city would borrow any cash needed to build the station. Aldermen have not yet debated a proposal publicly.

The second involves the fate of the existing police station. It sits on prime redevelopment property along the Fox River, behind city hall. A market study discussed in February 2016 indicated the property is worth $2.3 million.

A couple of months ago, staff members confirmed they had not yet put the station on the market. All indications are the city will sell the property. But Koenen said in the past leasing or adapting the site for another use are also possibilities.