Construction Kicks Off On Civic Center Project In Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Officials broke ground Tuesday on the Civic Center project in Downers Grove. The new civic center will be used to house village hall, the police station and administrative offices for Downers Grove Grade School District 58.

Village trustees, Mayor Bob Barnett and other representatives donned hard hats and grabbed shovels to perform the ceremonious groundbreaking.

"After years of hard work and planning, I'm thrilled to be here at this momentous groundbreaking," Barnett said.

He added, "This building, the shining example of our downtown design guidelines, will include distinct spaces for each entity."

Darren Hughes, president of District 58's Board of Education, said, "Finding a way to share this space and work together, we are able to be more efficient. We are going to be more fiscally responsible and therefore a better steward of taxpayer dollars."

In Aug. 2021, Deputy Village Manager Mike Baker announced at a village council meeting that the village proposed to move its police station into a facility that would be shared with District 58. The district's administrative offices had previously been located at the 93-year-old Longfellow Center.

“The village plans on replacing the 42-year-old police station and 92-year-old village hall with a combined new building," Baker said at the Aug. 2021 meeting.

Downers Grove is coordinating the civic center design and construction and will own the building, leasing space to District 58. Each entity will occupy its own space, along with shared spaces that will include conference rooms and council chambers.

The exterior of the civic center will feature landscaping, pedestrian walkways and plazas. The project has a budget of $60 million.

At Tuesday's groundbreaking, Barnett concluded, "We're looking forward to providing outstanding services from this new building beginning in 2024. May it serve the Downers Grove community well in years to come."