The Sangamon County Board has approved $7.5 million for the first phase of renovations at the Sangamon County Department of Public Health building on South Grand Avenue East.
The County Board passed the ordinance unanimously at its Sept. 8 monthly meeting. After the vote, Sangamon County Board Chair Andy Van Meter invited board members to listen to Chuck Pell, owner of CJP Architects, discuss his design for the multi-million-dollar renovation.
“The Building and Grounds (committee) is well-informed about this, but I think the whole board needs to know about this project,” Van Meter said.
District 10 Board Member Paul Truax, a member of the committee, said one of the aims of renovation is improving how the public navigates through the building at 2833 South Grand Ave. E.
“We should have a more efficient way inside that building than just to have a spiderweb of offices and hallways,” Truax said.
The building’s interior will be demolished in the first phase.
“Once we have all the authorizations, I would hope that we start making some actual moves by Oct. 1,” Truax said.
The second phase will entail construction for the interior and a building addition to house the Veterans Affairs Commission, which is currently located in the Sangamon County South Building on Ninth Street and Capitol Avenue.
The Lincoln Land Workforce Alliance will also be housed there. It is currently located at 1300 S. Ninth St.
“The goal is to have like-services here so people can enjoy coming here and getting multiple things done in one location,” said Sangamon County Public Health Department Director John Ridley.
The building, a former grocery store located off of South Grand Avenue west of the JCPenney on South Dirksen Parkway, was renovated in 2009 as county offices.
Currently, it houses the Township Office, the Sangamon County Public Health Department, the SIU Medicine – Center for Family Medicine, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Community Resources.
Plans include redoing the building entrance, lobby and constructing a new community room at the front of the facility to replace the existing space located in the rear. Once completed, the room will be able to hold 100 people versus 60 people, Ridley said.
Sangamon County Administrator Brian McFadden said the total project cost estimate is $16.2 million.
The cost will be covered by $2.6 million in state grants, $4.9 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the other $8.7 million will be paid for through the county’s capital reserve funds, McFadden said.
“No new taxes, no new bonds, no new borrowing,” he said.
McFadden said talks began after the pandemic for a renovation that would restructure the building to be more customer-friendly.
Support for the project from the various local and state agencies stems from their buy-in of the concept of a “one-stop shop,” he said.
“So, if you’re there for public health services, you could also, if you’re a veteran, access the Veterans Assistance Commission,” McFadden said.
The building and the offices it houses will continue to be open during the construction, Ridley said.
