Elk Grove Township fire station renovation on time, under budget

Mount Prospect officials said the renovation of the former Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District headquarters is coming in on time and under budget.

The village has taken over fire and emergency medical services from the fire district. Due to financial difficulties, the district ceased operations in October. Mount Prospect currently is rehabbing the fire station headquarters, Fire Station 11 at 1415 E. Algonquin Road.

Public Works Director Sean Dorsey said the project is expected to be finished by the end of June.

Dorsey told the village board last week that the village is expected to save about $200,000 from the initial estimate of more than $1.7 million.

Those savings are over and above those achieved by having much of the work done in house by staff from the public works department. Without those savings, village staff said, the project would have cost $2.7 million.

“I personally think we have an incredible internal team working on this,” Mayor Paul Hoefert said. “I think it’s going to be an incredible end product because of their efforts.”

Initially, the conditions at Station 11 were “kind of a mess,” Dorsey said.

“It was kind of cluttered, chaotic, very tight, a lot of rooms, little nooks and crannies all over the place,” he said. “The kitchen had kind of a ‘That ‘70s Show’ vibe.”

He said the entire inside has been gutted and the HVAC has been replaced. The lighting, plumbing and sprinklers are all new, he added.

Dorsey said work is underway to button up the project.

Last week, the village board approved spending up to more than $65,000 from the capital improvements fund to have ConCare Protection and Restoration Co., refinish the floor where fire vehicles are parked.

ConCare installed and maintained the floor at public works headquarters at 1700 W. Central Road, and Dorsey said the look of the floor at Fire Station 11 will be similar to the Central Road facility.