Today is move-in day at new $10.5M Yorkville City Hall

YORKVILLE – The city of Yorkville is closed today as employees make the big move into the shiny new City Hall and police headquarters on the northeast side of the community.

Yorkville City Hall, 651 Prairie Pointe Drive, will open to the public for business on Monday, April 24. The building replaces the overcrowded and badly outdated city hall and police station at 800 Game Farm Road.

Formerly a professional office building, the structure was last used as Kendall County’s COVID-19 vaccination center. The structure is clearly visible in the distance to motorists on East Veterans Parkway (Route 34) and is located near the Yorkville Post Office.

The three-story, 44,000-square-foot building was purchased by the city for $1.9 million and work has been underway for more than a year to renovate the space.

The total cost, including the purchase price, will come in at $10.5 million, City Administrator Bart Olson said, half what it would have cost to construct an entirely new building.

“It was the mayor’s idea,” Olson said of Mayor John Purcell, who had advocated for the purchase and renovation of the building.

With plenty of offices, work areas, conference rooms and storage areas, the new building will give city employees a better place to work.

“Everything is better organized,” Olson said. “That creates operational efficiencies for our employees, who won’t be on top of each other.”

Olson said a survey of city employees found that the biggest complaint was lack of private restrooms at the old city hall building. The renovated space will offer employees plenty of creature comforts, bathrooms included.

Initially, city officials had hoped to occupy their new home before the end of 2022, but work on the building was frequently slowed by the supply chain problems plaguing construction projects everywhere.

The holdups were most frequently caused by the delayed delivery of computers, information technology and security systems equipment.

“Anything with a chip in it,” Yorkville Facilities Manager Steve Raasch said.

Now, with the project essentially complete and the move underway, city officials and employees will be able to get settled into their new digs.

Visitors entering the main lobby will be greeted by two reception areas, one for the Yorkville Police Department and the other for city services such as utility billing.

The police headquarters occupies the lion’s share of the first floor and most of the second floor as well, which also will include spaces for offices and work areas for the Community Development Department.

The Yorkville City Council Chambers is on the third floor, along with offices for the mayor, city clerk, city administrator and the Parks and Recreation Department.

Outside to the rear of the building is a large, secure parking area for employees and police vehicles.

The 800 Game Farm Road building will host one last City Council meeting on April 25. The first council meeting in the new chambers will be May 9, when Purcell and four aldermen who were elected or reelected in the April 4 voting will take their oaths of office.