Burr Ridge Decries Architect In Village Hall Bid Fiasco

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge officials on Monday terminated their relationship with the Village Hall project's architectural firm.

They accused Oak Brook-based Legat Architects of misleading the village.

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Legat has not returned a message from last week.

The firm estimated the project at $8.5 million, but the low bid came in at $13.8 million.

Of the dozen bids, most were millions over the low bid. The highest was $17.2 million.

"While I understand that projects do, in some cases, come higher than you expect, it is clear that the market's expectations diverged sharply from Legat's," Mayor Gary Grasso said at Monday's Village Board meeting.

"We did tell Legat to design a great-looking building, and they did," the mayor said. "But they never communicated the business case alongside those designs, and that's where the disconnect came up on this project."

Given the divergence between the estimate and the bids, Grasso said, "I find it hard to believe that they didn't see it coming."

Trustee Anita Mital said the village based its decision on Legat's estimate.

"I really feel that they misled us," Mital said.

Trustee Tony Schiappa blamed the situation on "some unprofessionalism."

"We're stuck," Schiappa said. "We're pivoting to create a solution for the board and for the staff."

The Village Board voted unanimously to reject all the bids and end the relationship with Legat.

The path forward is unclear.

Nearly five months ago, Village Hall employees moved into the public works office on Commerce Street. The board and its committees started meeting at Gower Middle School.

By year's end, Burr Ridge is expected to close on the $2.7 million sale of the 41-year-old Village Hall to the Goddard preschool chain.

Legat designed Village Hall to be attached to the 16-year-old next-door police station.

From Monday's discussion, the police station project no longer seemed an option.

Village Administrator Evan Walter suggested staying in the public works office as a possibility.

"The staff is excited to stay in the building for the long term," he said.

He also said the village should look at other properties in town.

"We simply haven't done the work on what the market offers," Walter said. "Are there locations that are more suitable?"

Trustees generally agreed that the village should spend $75,000 to create a lobby in the public works building.

They also said the Village Board should start convening in the police station's training room with its Nov. 9 meeting. It is bigger than the Village Board's chambers at Village Hall.

Walter said he would provide the board with options for village offices at a later meeting.

Signs outside the old Burr Ridge Village Hall on County Line Road inform the public about the village's move to its public works department on Commerce Street. (David Giuliani/Patch)