Palatine prepares for year away from village hall
The plan for how the village of Palatine will continue to operate during the yearlong, $12.7 million renovation project at village hall is clearer after action by the village council Monday night.
The council voted unanimously to renovate the village-owned building at 150 W. Wilson St. so it can be used as a temporary village hall. The renovations will cost $150,000.
Village Manager Reid Ottesen said he hopes to have all village departments operating out of the two-story white building near the Palatine Metra station starting Sept. 1.
Ottesen said the village acquired the building and two nearby parking lots from BMO Harris Bank five years ago in exchange for two village-owned parking lots near the bank's downtown facility and cash.
Ottesen said the building is less than a third of the size of the current village hall.
“It will be cozy,” Ottesen said. “But we are going to make the best out of the situation.”
Public Works Director Matt Barry said work needs to be done to the temporary village hall on Wilson Street before the village government can be run there.
“There is really no space there to go apply for a building permit or a cashier window to pay your water bill,” Barry said.
He said the building lacked other features that the village will need, such as a conference room.
Barry said the work will begin in less than two weeks.
He said while most of the work will happen inside the building and be practically invisible to the public, the work might affect the nearby village-owned commuter parking lot.
“Our intention is to keep commuters parking there as much or as long as possible,” Barry said.
Ottesen said the year spent in the temporary building will be worth the effort in the long run. “We'll be coming back into something that will better serve the public, our customers and staff,” Ottesen said.
The planned renovations to the current village hall, at 200 E. Wood St., include aesthetic changes like improvements to the roof to let in more light and practical changes such as adding more public meeting space.
The current building was built in 1952 to be Palatine High School. The renovations would do away with holdovers from the building's past, such as hallways lined with lockers.