Hoffman Estates begins design phase for first of two new fire stations

With funding and site selection already settled, Hoffman Estates officials began the new year Tuesday by embarking on the design phase for the first of two replacement fire stations.

Village board members authorized staff to negotiate a contract with FGM Architects of Oak Brook to engineer a state-of-the-art facility to replace the more than half-century-old Fire Station 21 at 225 Flagstaff Lane.

The firm was among 11 to submit a proposal, asking for 6.8% of the construction cost. By current estimates that would bring FGM about $594,000, but its fee will be determined by the actual cost and not the current estimate.

Deputy Village Manager Dan O’Malley said the average bid among the 11 firms was about 6.5% of the construction cost. But FGM is familiar with the village’s facility needs from its work on an earlier study, as well as being known for the quality of its work in other communities, he added.

“Their experience is what put them over the top for us,” O’Malley said.

Construction is expected to begin by August at village-owned Chino Park, next to the current fire station, and be completed in the autumn of 2025.

Approximately the same amount of recreation space is expected to exist at Chino Park once the transition is completed.

“It shouldn’t impact much differently than what’s there now,” O’Malley said of the new station.

The same process is hoped to repeat two years from now when replacement of the equally outdated Fire Station 22 at 1700 Moon Lake Blvd. would begin. The new station is planned on the site of the single-story office complex at 2170, 2180 and 2190 W. Higgins Road, which the village bought in October for $2.05 million.

The cost to replace both fire stations has been estimated at $25 million.

Last summer, the village board approved a pair of funding sources.

One is an increase in the village's electricity tax rate targeting only businesses like data canters that use significant amounts of power.

The other source is an increase in the portion of ambulance fees covered by insurance. Residents would see any fees not covered by their insurance waived by the village.