Glen Ellyn Police Station

Glen Ellyn's Bob Acton, Bill Holmer, Andrew Downey, Phil Norton, and Kurt Vavra and Dewberry's Jonathan Tallman discuss the process of designing and constructing the new Glen Ellyn Police Station.
www.dewberry.com
Bob Acton: I never was thinking at the start of building a new police department. It was more about what could we do to fix the 11,000 square foot that we had.
Bill Holmer: Myriad issues at the old facility, as simple as parking, inadequate parking spaces, prisoner intake that was unsafe. We had a lack of a sally port facility was made more difficult.
Andrew Downey: The biggest change is the way we function on a patrol level and the flow of the officers and the accessibility of whether it be a formal roll call room that is properly equipped, or just an area for the officers to do their work. It's easier as a supervisor to maintain control of who's coming and going, who's doing their work, who needs assistance with things that just the flow of the shift works better than it did before.
Jonathan Tallman: Delivery method actually allowed us our project to be delivered two months ahead of schedule, because of the fast-paced design, the continuous coordination throughout the project from the beginning of schematic design, all the way through and including in construction administration. We were making decisions as the building was getting built that allowed the contractors to actually build the project faster. We made the strategic location with the village to locate the new facility within Panfish Park. We want to make sure that the facility had nature-inspired materials, but also had a longevity and a quality to them such as the neat wood-look, Nichiha panels, and the prairie stone for the masonry around the outside of the building.
Phil Norton: Most important thing I think we learned that was key to the success of this building was keeping an open mind throughout the process. At no point were we locked in to any one location or any one design, because it was constantly, the ball was constantly bouncing.
Kurt Vavra: It's exciting. Every day we come in here, it's exciting, and we've been able to use every room in the PD now, no complaints. It's just, it's great. And you know, I'd say there's a day rarely goes by where someone isn't commenting on how this is so nice that we can do this now.