Burr Ridge Ready To Sell Village Hall

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge officials are poised to sell the 41-year-old Village Hall, saying they have received plenty of inquiries.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, trustees generally agreed to put the building on County Line Road on the market. They are expected to take a vote on the issue later.

The sale is part of the plan to build an addition to the neighboring police station to house village offices.

The village says it will get $2 million for the old building, which officials say is a conservative estimate. It was appraised at $1.8 million.

Based on the inquiries, Burr Ridge expects to get more than $2 million, Village Administrator Evan Walter said.

"The vast majority of interest in this site is medical offices," he said.

Mayor Gary Grasso supported the idea.

"We could let this building go and get a very good price for it and not have to put the money into this building," he said.

The village would lease the old building from the new owner until it is ready to move into the addition, Walter said.

According to a presentation, the "development" timeline for the new Village Hall is 15 months.

In early June, the village first revealed the idea to expand the 15-year-old police station for village offices.

On Monday, Walter presented a plan that was smaller and less costly. He cut 800 square feet from the addition, saying the village doesn't need as much space anymore because of remote work.

One of the biggest changes, he said, was privatizing the finance department, freeing up office space.

He said he has probably seen Annmarie Mampe, the village's senior finance consultant, just twice in the last couple of months.

"That's a good thing for us because we've found better ways to work that are more nimble and more tech-focused," Walter said.

Because of the changes to the plan, the addition is now estimated to cost $5.8 million, down from $6.9 million in early June.

Trustee Anita Mital was among those who liked the idea.

"Budget-wise, it's the best," she said. "More than that, I like the location. I feel that when you come into Village Hall on County Line Road, it's important to see Village Hall right there. If you have to find Village Hall, that kind of defeats the purpose."

Trustee Guy Franzese said he appreciated the staff's ability to cut the costs. He said he backed putting the old building on the market.

Earlier this year, Pleasantdale School District 107 considered buying Village Hall for an all-day kindergarten.

Meanwhile, the Village Center shopping complex offered free land for a new village building near Starbucks.

In March, though, Pleasantdale took the option of buying Village Hall off the table.

A new Village Hall is expected to come without any debt. The village said the building needs millions of dollars in improvements.

Burr Ridge is a rare debt-free town.