Marseilles looks to move City Hall, police department to Illinois riverfront building

The Marseilles City Council soon will consider moving City Hall and the police department to the Illinois Valley Cellular building along the Illinois riverfront.

The new owners of Illinois Valley Cellular put its facility at 200 Riverfront Drive for sale.

Marseilles officials determined it would fit the city’s needs for City Hall and the police department, Mayor Jim Hollenbeck said in a news release Wednesday. A motion is planned for the Marseilles City Council to move forward with further negotiations, but nothing has been finalized. The City Council can consider land acquisitions in closed sessions, according to state law.

Talks among the city and business have included Illinois Valley Cellular staying within the building until it determines the future of its Marseilles operations. Hollenbeck said in the release he is hopeful the business will remain in town.

According to the release, the city was planning on upgrading City Hall and the police department.

The Illinois Valley Cellular building is 27,315 square feet, occupying 6.4 acres. The 23-year-old structure has been appraised for $1.6 million and was listed by the realtor for $2 million.

The new owners of Illinois Valley Cellular have said they would sell the building to the city for $1.45 million, according to the release. This calculates $53 per square foot. Remodeling present City Hall was estimated to cost about $343,200 to $514,800, which calculates to $80 to $120 a square foot, according to the news release.

If the city were to move to the riverfront complex, it would have the option to sell some of the real estate for other construction or business purposes, according to the release.

“The location is adequate for both the City Hall and police department and a larger council chamber for meetings compared to our present council room, which at times is above capacity as dictated by the fire chief and state fire marshal,” according to the release. “The police department has a need for a garage. Acquisition of this building would give it the garage space that is needed for equipment.”

The police department can’t host or sponsor any training classes because it does not have a training room, according to the release.

Marseilles City Hall is 100 years old and was a car dealership and a garage prior to becoming the city’s headquarters. The facility needs upgrading, according to the news release. City Hall has four furnaces and air conditioning units, along with 11 different electrical panels. The windows are in poor condition and there isn’t any insulation.

“We are not ADA compliant,” according to the release. “Consideration has been given to updating as we just can’t continue to let it go with updating forever and construction costs will only consistently go up. If we did that, we would still have an old building.”

Marseilles is exploring financing options from conventional loans to bonds or a USDA Loan, with the possibility of paying off the facility in 15 years. Alternate revenue bonds will be about 4.5% interest, according to the news release. Payments can be made with current income and there would be no tax increase.

City Hall and the police department buildings are being appraised and the city will be taking bids for their sale, according to the news release.

The Middle East Conflicts Wall museum also will be able to stay put inside the Illinois Valley Cellular building if the city were to purchase it, according to the release.