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Darien ponders costs for new village hall

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

These building north or Darien City Hall at 24 N. Wisconsin St. in downtown Delavan are could be demolished and the Police Department remodeled.

DARIEN — At $1.57 million and $1.9 million, the village of Darien probably is looking at the top and bottom estimates for demolition and construction of a new village hall downtown.

McCormack and Etten Architects of Lake Geneva on Wednesday presented the parks, recreation and facilities committee with estimates from two contractors.

Two other contractors are interested, he said.

The two estimates came from Magill Construction of Elkhorn and Scherrer Construction of Burlington.

Committee Chairman Kurt Zipp said he wants the village board at its regular meeting Monday, June 20, to consider the estimates and suggest a next step.

While nothing has been decided, the village is researching the possibility of tearing down the village-owned Protect-all building, which is located on two blocks in downtown Darien next to the Darien Police Department, 24 N. Wisconsin St.

The project could include remodeling the police department and building a new hall in part of the space vacated by the Protect-all building. The remaining space could become a park at the corner of Wisconsin and Fremont streets.

The project would allow the village to move its administrative offices out of rented space at 20 N. Wisconsin St., improve the function of the police department and have a better meeting space, Village Administrator Diana Dykstra has said.

It also could spark downtown renovation, she said.

Getting cost estimates gives the village the information it needs to seek grants and other money to pay for the project, Dykstra said.

"Once we get this part done, it opens the way to other funding opportunities," Dykstra said.