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Almost nine months after initial plans for a new
headquarters for the Sangamon County Department of Public Health fell
through, county officials expect to issue a third request for proposals by
early June. The project’s new RFP will have two parts: the
first for vacant property and the second for the facility’s
construction. County Administrator Ryan McCrady says the County
Board’s Public Health Facility Committee may also consider leasing
office space. Although he says “no one has even mentioned
it,” McCrady says the building that houses the Illinois Department of
Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety, 2300 S. Dirksen Pkwy.,
would be eligible because it is located in a medically underserved area.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has proposed relocating operations for the agency,
which employs close to 150 workers, to Benton, in southern Illinois. A new site would enable the county health department
to merge its operations at 3130 Chatham Rd., 1415 E. Jefferson St., and
2501 N. Dirksen Pkwy., the current headquarters, and reduce costs. In addition to accommodating the department’s
business offices, core health services such as screenings, immunizations,
health education, and veterinary services could all be performed on-site. In October 2007 the Sangamon County Board canceled
all bids after the winning developer, Springfield East Venture, couldn’t honor its bid of $6.2 million. Two
other firms — South Grand & Associates and Pittman Enterprises
— entered bids of $10.2 million and $9.7 million, respectively. County officials had originally anticipated the
project to be completed by the end of 2008, but because of the setbacks,
McCrady says, “We no longer have that expectation.”
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in May 8-14, 2008.
