Civic Center Plaza in Elgin will get a major facelift
Civic Center Plaza in Elgin will get a major upgrade with new concrete and sidewalks, upgraded lighting and landscaping, and a bike station - and possibly more, such as an outdoor performance space, depending on what the city council decides.
The work is expected to start early next year and finish before 2021, if all goes smoothly, Assistant City Manager Laura Valdez said. Meanwhile, it's unclear where the ice rink set up in winter at the plaza might relocate, or if it will relocate at all. "We will evaluate viable locations," Valdez said.
City council members discussed Wednesday night the improvements to the plaza, which dates back to the late 1960s and is between city hall and the Hemmens Cultural Center. The project has been on the city's "to-do list" for a few years.
Most of the plaza's concrete - 46,000 square feet in all - lighting and drainage are original and have deteriorated, and the underground electric short-circuits when water infiltrates. The city has done patching work to the concrete to try to eliminate hazards to pedestrians.
The city's 2019 budget includes $2 million in tax-increment financing money for the project. About $1.8 million is left after a contract for engineering services with Dewberry Engineers Inc. of Elgin, Valdez said. That is property tax money above a certain point that was set aside for development rather than for local governments.
City Manager Rick Kozal said the city should be receiving an additional $385,000 in state capital funds thanks to efforts by state Sen. Cristina Castro and state Rep. Anna Moller, both Democrats.
Simply replacing the plaza's concrete and adding accessibility improvements required by the Americans with Disabilities would cost $830,000, Michael Lehman, the city's director of golf operations, told the city council.
But the council said the plaza needs a bigger spruce-up and gave the initial OK to spending $1.7 million for landscaping, lighting, and furnishings and amenities.
Next, council members will have to choose among a smorgasbord of additional improvements - "big, fluffy ideas," as Lehman put it - totaling $2.5 million. The total price tag for all of it would be $4.3 million, but council members made it clear it would spend nowhere near that.
"I would love to have all this ... but realistically, we're not going to be able to do all this," Councilman Corey Dixon said.
Options include a $132,000 outdoor performance space seating 100 to 120 people, whose roof would cost an additional $360,000; a multi-stall, enclosed restroom that would serve those attending outdoor performances at $360,000; an "event lawn" at $420,000; an upgraded garden area at $1 million; interactive public art at $90,000; and upgraded gateway and wayfinding signs at $138,000.
Councilwoman Tish Powell pointed out the plaza is hidden from view because it is surrounded by buildings. "I would be hesitant to put a whole lot of money back here," she said.
"All these things sound really good," Mayor David Kaptain said. "Whether they draw people here, that's another thing."
Council members decided Wednesday that they will email their preferences to Kozal, who will determine what the majority wants. The final design plan will need final approval by the council before the project goes to bid.
The project also includes a new water main, whose $450,000 expense will come out of the utility fund, Lehman said.