Why Not Just Renovate Elmhurst Police Station?

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst residents keep asking the same question about the proposal to raise property taxes for a new police station: Why not just renovate the current one?

Even aldermen are inquiring.

The city estimates tearing down the station at 125 E. First St. and building anew would cost $48 million.

A renovation and addition would amount to about $40 million, according to the city.

Ray Lee, an architect with FGM Architects, has provided the city with concepts and numbers for both renovating and building anew. The city hasn't done designs yet.

At a City Council committee meeting Monday, Lee said a renovation would cost more per square foot.

"We're essentially stripping down the building and rebuilding," said Lee, whose firm has designed many police stations. "During design, we may have an issue here or there that is bigger than we initially think."

He said an architect has to plan a renovation around walls that are critical to a structure's integrity. Such walls at the local station limit what the city can do, he said.

Architect Ray Lee tells an Elmhurst City Council committee Monday why he believed building a new police station was a better option than a renovation and addition. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Rob Martinelli, an Elmhurst resident who is an executive at a major contractor, was called in by Alderman Guido Nardini to look at the city's options. Nardini said he wanted to know for sure that the numbers were solid.

Martinelli, who has advised the Elmhurst school board on projects, told the committee that he believed at first that FGM's renovation number was too high.

But after researching it, Martinelli, a senior vice president at Pepper Construction, said he determined a renovation was not worth it.

A renovation, he said, would require taking off much of the original building's "skin" and removing the roof.

"Is the juice worth the squeeze?" Martinelli said. "I would knock it down and start it again."

He said his initial skepticism was that the station, built in 1990, was not that old. But the renovation cost would only grow once the building is picked apart, he said.

"The devil is in the details," he said.

The public safety committee did not vote on the matter. But Alderman Michael Brennan said it may do so soon.

Brennan described himself as strongly in support of a new police station. He rejected the option of renovating.

"Spending really good money and falling short of being a top operational department in the state is problematic," he said.

During public comments, resident Brad Spaulding questioned tearing down a building that's only 35 years old. He labeled some of the city's photos of the building's problems as "propaganda."

He said the police undoubtedly needed more space, but he said the city has not sincerely addressed all the options, including looking at other sites.

Spaulding suggested a nonbinding referendum to gauge the public's views.

Resident Irene Dinning, an engineer, also supported such a public vote. The police station's maintenance, she said, has been "deplorable."

"How did it get to this point? Who is accountable for that?" she said.

Another resident, Michael LoCicero, a former school board member, said he was for building anew. Years ago, the board decided to rebuild York because it was in bad shape. Then-Superintendent Joel Morris, who died earlier this month, championed the cause, LoCicero said.

"The community again faces a similar situation," he said. "We ask our police to do their best to protect us, despite not providing them the proper environment or tools to do so."