Schaumburg plans renovation of plaza honoring 1st village attorney
Schaumburg officials expect to finalize plans next month for an extensive renovation of the Jack Siegel Memorial Plaza between the two buildings on the village's municipal campus, a timeline intended to ensure its completion by next Memorial Day weekend.
The project is aimed at not only repairing deteriorating portions of the outdoor space, but also enhancing the 27,000-square-foot plaza's aesthetics and usefulness with amenities such as new lighting, seating, natural landscaping and shade.
Construction is expected to start in the fall and be largely completed by the end of the year, though all the intended amenities may not be installed before next spring.
The village has received two different cost estimates for construction based on the conceptual design. Cordogan, Clark & Associates, which created the design, has estimated its construction at $838,486. But Chicago-based construction firm F.H. Paschen estimated it at $640,000 based on its review of the concept.
The plaza lies between the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center and Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts, facilities named after the village's two longest-serving mayors.
The village board renamed the plaza in 2016 in honor of the town's first attorney, who died in September 2014 after more than 50 years of service. Siegel began his service to the village by defending it against a legal challenge to its 1956 incorporation, and never retired.
"He saved Schaumburg," then-Mayor Al Larson said at the time of the plaza's 2016 dedication. "He was our knight in shining armor. A soft-spoken gentlemen, but when it came to a legal matter in court, that's when the tough Jack Siegel came out."
The plaza named in his honor plays an important role in such annual special events as the Prairie Arts Festival, Septemberfest and the village's holiday tree lighting. The planned enhancements are hoped to improve its day-to-day usefulness for employee breaks and residents' use of the grounds.
Trustees hope to continue and complete the discussion begun last week at their committee meeting on Aug. 17.