Architects hired for Boulder Point expansion, renovation project

Oswegoland Park District commissioners voted Thursday, Jan. 16 in favor of a $170,600 agreement with Cordogan Clark & Associates, Inc., to provide architectural and engineering services for the expansion and renovation of Boulder Point Recreation Center in Boulder Hill over the next two years.

The commissioners also voted to approve a $24,800 agreement with Engineering Enterprises Inc. (EEI) for civil engineering services for the Boulder Point project.

Both votes were unanimous.

The District was awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in October to assist in the renovation of the facility at Route 25 and Boulder Hill Pass. The cost of the expansion and renovation is expected to be $2.5 million.

The Boulder Point project was one of eight projects funded by the Park and Recreational Facility Construction Act (PARC) grant program in 2019. The program provides up to 90 percent of project costs to help build, renovate and improve recreational buildings used by the public or purchase land to be used for public access and recreational purposes, with local governments matching the value of the grants awarded.

“Cordogan Clark Associates (CCA) has been instrumental in the development of the conceptual floor plans and budget aspects of the grant application submitted to IDNR as far back as 2014 when the Park District first applied for the PARC Grant,” according to a memo sent to Park Board members by Chad Feldotto, director of planning for the district.

The Park District worked with CCA on the $3.1 million renovation of Winrock Pool, also in Boulder Hill, and the original Boulder Point renovation where single-pane windows were replaced with walls and energy-efficient transom windows.

“It should be noted that CCA has agreed to keep the same fees as originally proposed with the first PARC grant application in 2014,” Feldotto said in the memo.

EEI will provide services for the design of a possible parking lot expansion as well as assistance with rezoning the property from B-3 to a Special Use. The addition will include a community room, which calls for rezoning, Feldotto said. EEI also will assist in developing a new pedestrian crossing of Route 25 to improve pedestrian access between Boulder Point and the Fox River Trail.

Boulder Point is a multipurpose facility for gymnastics, preschool, dance, fitness, Limelight Theatre classes, and other Park District programming.

Plans for the center include construction of a 5,600-square-foot addition. Interior improvements include a new lobby and community room, new parent viewing area, new gymnasium with additional storage, new office addition, a kitchenette, and remodeling of the restrooms to provide accessibility and meet ADA requirements. Exterior items include new windows and vestibule and a reflective roof on the new and existing facility. Further improvements include a new high efficiency HVAC unit and new/improved fire suppression systems.

Park District Executive Director Richard Zielke said the center, which is located in the former 15,000-square-foot Jim Detzler Pontiac car dealership at 0 Boulder Hill Pass, is one of the most-used facilities in the district. The building dates to 1967 when it opened as Zentmyer Ford.

“It sees a lot of traffic,” he said when the district received news of the PARC grant.

“We’ve made do with the space for several years,” Zielke said. “Part of the reason we initiated the grant application was for energy efficiency to lower heating and cooling bills.”

The district began leasing space at the facility in 2004 and purchased the building in 2009.