Vernon Hills Park District considers Sullivan Center expansion
A major component in what could become an enhanced collection of public facilities along Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills is set to move off the drawing board.
Vernon Hills Park District officials this week will consider borrowing up to $6 million in the form of bonds bought by investors mainly to expand and remodel the Sullivan Community Center on Aspen Drive.
The proposed work involves creating a new central entrance/lobby area and building four preschool classrooms, an administrative wing and a second gym. When complete, the facility, which was built in 1992, would be enlarged from 33,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.
It also would represent the first big building expansion in the area that already is a hub of public activity, with the Aspen Drive Library just to the north and three Hawthorn Elementary District 73 schools across the street to the west.
Those other entities also are considering options for the area, and the village has been working with the library and park district to create a unified plan.
The intent is to try to accommodate the needs and plans of each by working on common issues, such as traffic flow, stormwater detention and parking, Village Manager John Kalmar said.
The three agencies already have an agreement that allowed the library to expand its parking onto village-owned land and calls for coordination in the area.
Necessitated by demand, the library last Wednesday opened a $375,000, 50-space parking lot to bring the total to 119 parking spaces.
The library building opened in 2010, and officials already are considering an expansion.
With the school district studying its options, it makes sense to consider the area as a whole, Kalmar said.
"It's becoming a campus feel, and that's the way we want to address it with all the government bodies," said Jeff Fougerousse, park district executive director. "We don't want to see a big concrete blotch."
Sullivan Center planning began after it was determined that hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements would be needed within three to five years at the current administrative building, known as the Larry Laschen Community Center, Fougerousse said.
Public sessions regarding the Sullivan Center plans were held in July, August and September. At its Dec. 17 regular meeting, the park board will decide whether to approve architectural plans and proceed with a bond issue not to exceed $6 million.
The exact amount will be determined in January, with work expected to begin in April and last 18 months.
Voter approval will not be necessary for the bond issue.
Fougerousse said only about 10 percent of visitors use the designated main entrance, which borders the entry road between the Sullivan Center and the district's Family Aquatic Center.
Most visitors use an entrance on the east side of the building off the parking lot. Once inside, visitors need to walk about 200 feet past the preschool wing to reach the front desk, a layout that presents a security concern, he added.
Expanding the building also would allow the district to consolidate the staff and move from the Laschen center in summer 2017. Much of the added space - about 7,500 square feet - would be for a second gym.
"Our gym is at capacity," Fougerousse said.
"We know the new gym is going to offer an opportunity for programming."
That could lead to a partnership with District 73, where the number of students continues to increase. The district is in the process of evaluating it space needs and enrollment patterns.
The Aspen Drive area would be a "natural location" for a new school facility, but it's too soon to tell if that will be needed and/or where it might be located, Superintendent Nick Brown said.
"We're just looking at every option right now," Brown said.
Fougerousse said the goal is a unified plan.
"The good thing is all four (government) bodies are talking to one another," he said.