Our talented Public Works Department once again repurposed a flagpole that was located at the former Aspire Bakery Facility on Northwest Avenue, moving it to Creekside Park. The Public Works Department was also able to reclaim office furniture, guardrails, parking blocks, ladders, maps, buckets and various other useful items from the building which is slated for demolition later this year.
One of the advantages of today’s electronic world is that I get to follow what’s happening in other communities. One trend I have noted is the construction of new Village Halls, Police Stations, Fire Stations and other facilities at price tags of $50 million or more, often replacing buildings that are only 50 years old or less.
The cost of new furniture often runs into the millions. While I can’t pass judgment on the need for these new facilities, I can tell you that older buildings, when properly maintained throughout their lifetime, can serve the community for 100 years or more.
Our City Hall dates from 1960, and has been continually upgraded and maintained over the years and is in good condition. It should continue to serve our community well into the foreseeable future. Seventy five percent of the furnishings in City Hall have been reclaimed from other businesses over the years. We are still using desks from Automatic Electric dated from the 1950’s, making them older than City Hall. Those steel desks from that era are built like tanks and will probably still be used 50 years from now.
The fire station maintained by the Northlake Fire Protection District, dates from 1953 and through the years additions and updates have been made, keeping the building relevant in 2025.
West Leyden High School was built in 1959, and School District 212 has maintained and updated the building over the years and it is a fully functional building meeting the needs of students in 2025.
Roy School dates from 1946 and Westdale School dates from 1953 and District 83 has meticulously maintained, enlarged and enhanced these buildings over the years so that they meet today’s needs.
The Northlake Middle School and Riley School date from the early 1970’s and recently received an update from District 87.
The City’s Public Works building dates from 1971 and was rebuilt after the 1975 tornado. Again, this facility has been maintained over the years and will continue to serve our community for many years to come.
I am not against new construction. There are times when a new building makes the most sense. The City built a new police station in 2009, allowing City Hall to expand into the space formerly occupied by the old police station. The new station was designed to accommodate future growth. Veteran’s Park District built a new fieldhouse at Grant Park in 2006, which replaced an undersized and non functional building. The library built new additions to its original building which dates back to 1964 in order to keep up with today’s requirements.
Maybe it’s my Northlake upbringing in that I think you should take care of what you have, re-use or re-purpose where possible before tearing down and replacing.
With proper maintenance and thoughtful updates, there is no reason a building like our City Hall, which cost $200,000 to build in 1960, would need to be replaced by a $25 million building in the foreseeable future.
I commend our other taxing bodies for following the same philosophy.
