Improved Elmhurst Police Station On Table

ELMHURST, IL – Four years ago, Elmhurst officials discussed renovating or replacing the police station.

Then the pandemic happened, so the issue was pushed to the back burner.

Now, the city staff is proposing to budget $1.5 million in engineering for the project. Officials said the item was a placeholder to get the discussion going again.

Built in the 1980s, the station, 125 E. First St., has a number of identified problems. Among them is that the building has no air conditioning. From spring through fall, the city rents a chiller and connects it to the station's pipes.

The station also needs a new boiler and its front pillars fixed, officials said.

In a budget presentation Monday, Police Chief Michael McLean said a consultant in 2018 reported that the police department needed 20,000 square feet of space. The chief didn't say how much the department has now. (Patch has emailed the city for that information.)

In 2018, the consultant provided the city with three options for the station – fix the basic issues, renovate and add space, or build a new police station, either on the existing site or somewhere else.

Mayor Scott Levin told the City Council that the building wasn't designed by an architect who specialized in police stations. A police station, he said, was different from other kinds of buildings.

Because of the design, officers have difficulties in removing suspects in the sally port and juveniles are processed next to adult suspects, Levin said.

"If you are a newer alderman, take a tour of the police station and see what the status of it is and what the issues are there," the mayor said.

According to the budget proposal, the project could cost $15.5 million.

The council has made no decisions.