Work begins on new neighborhood, environmentally friendly Public Works facility

Demolition is scheduled to begin this month on the old Public Works Department facility, the first major step in the plan to build a structure that will bring a new look to South Boulevard near Lombard Avenue, while also improving operations, reducing impact on the neighborhood and embracing an overall environmentally sustainable approach through design, materials and construction techniques.

Once completed, the new 150,000-square-foot facility will be the community’s first certified green building, and likely will become a model for future projects in Oak Park. The environmentally friendly elements to be incorporated into the new facility earned the Village a $100,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. The grant requires energy use in the new facility to be reduced by 20 percent from what would normally be consumed. Among the green features planned for the new building are a living roof, water efficient landscaping, low-emitting carpets, paints and adhesives and 5 percent recycled construction materials.

The design calls for light colored brick, bluegreen tinted glass windows and metal accents near the front entry. A grass parkway, crosswalks, trees and setbacks and buffers from the single-family residential area to the south are part of the plan. The public sidewalk on South Boulevard also will be moved further from the buildings and the number of site entries and exits reduced to improve pedestrian use of the block.

One level of the new facility will be underground. Passers by won’t likely see the steel for the upper floors rise above grade until late summer, with completion expected by Spring 2007. The building’s height will vary to avoid monotony and a canyon effect along South Boulevard, the two-story structure’s height in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood. All utility lines leading to the facility will be underground.

Public Works operations have been moved to temporary quarters, the utilities that passed under the site disconnected and concrete construction barriers and a security fence erected to help protect neighbors from the construction activity. Vibration monitors also will be placed in specific locations in the neighborhood to ensure work does not impact nearby properties.

For more information on the project, call 358.5700 or email publicworks@oak-park.us. Periodic updates also will be posted at www.oak-park.us.

Village Manager accepts Arizona post

Village Manager Carl Swenson will be leaving Oak Park to assume a senior management position with the City of Peoria, Arizona, a fast-growing community of 150,000 residents near Phoenix. Swenson, who has been Village Manager of Oak Park since 1996, will become Peoria’s Deputy City Manager for Development and Community Services. In his new role he will oversee the future growth and development of Peoria’s 178 square miles. His last day in Oak Park will be April 7. Oak Park operates under the village manager form of government, in which an elected legislative body — the Village President and a Board of six Trustees — hires a professional manager to oversee the day-to-day operation of government services and programs. The Village Board will select candidates to consider as a replacement to Swenson. For more information, call 358.5784 or email board@oak-park.us.