Elmhurst Starts Debt For New Police Station

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst alderman on Monday approved the first debt for the new police station.

The City Council voted unanimously for a bond issue of $11 million, $3.5 million of which is going toward the building's engineering.

With the rest of the bond proceeds, Elmhurst is refinancing debt from more than a decade ago. That is saving the city nearly $500,000 over the life of the bonds, its financial adviser told the City Council.

The city's auction attracted 28 bids from nine bidders, with JP Morgan Securities coming in lowest at 2.4 percent.

"We received significant interest from the bond market," Mark Jeretina of Speer Financial said. "Municipal bonds have been trending down over the past few months, so it was a great time for the city to issue bonds."

Jeretina estimated the city will save about $50,000 in interest costs with its superior AAA bond rating.

The city had originally expected an interest rate of 3.2 percent, with the lower 2.4 percent rate meaning big savings for the city, Alderwoman Noel Talluto said.

"It's significantly better than we expected even a couple of months ago," she said.

The demolition and rebuilding of the police station is expected to cost $48 million.

The city plans to pay for the project by raising property and hotel taxes, selling a city building and taking advantage of debt that is rolling off the city's books.

Last year, the city concluded that it wasn't worth renovating the 36-year-old building.

The police station's demolition is expected to start next winter, with groundbreaking set for early next year, according to the city. Construction is expected to last about 20 months.