Grounds and Natural Resources Management and Maintenance Campus
Studies completed in 2001, 2007, and 2022 have identified the need for an overhaul of the District’s management and maintenance campus at Blackwell Forest Preserve. The existing campus is a collection of various buildings that have been retrofitted in attempt to meet the demands of the District over the past 60 years. These buildings are in various levels of deterioration and lack sufficient space for vehicle and equipment storage, locker spaces and bathrooms, and storage needs, nor do they meet the latest standards for occupational safety.
The existing campus is home to approximately 25% of the headcount of District employees and is home to the following District crews: Forestry, Landscape, Trails & Streams, Roads, Natural Resources Management, and Natural Resources Management Stewardship Coordinator Operations crews. There are seven buildings that have a total square footage of approximately 30,000 square feet.
During the schematic and conceptual design phases of the project, the District’s consultant will be evaluating the needs, equipment, and operations of the Grounds and Natural Resources Management crews to determine a design program, spatial requirements, construction phasing, permit requirements, and budget required to complete the project. All these deliverables will be considered and formed into a development plan for the campus that will become the basis for construction documents.
A key component of the project will be identifying opportunities to develop a campus that is sustainable and efficient in terms of energy, environment, and operations. The District and consultant are exploring options including energy generation through solar panels, capturing rainwater for use as facility gray water and campus water needs, and reduced mobilization times through thoughtful layout of the facility. In addition, the District will continue to protect the existing oak savanna centralized in the management campus and incorporate native vegetated stormwater systems including bio-swales and basins to mitigate and eliminate stormwater runoff.
Project FAQs
The District’s Grounds and Natural Resources Department currently operates out of buildings constructed between the 1930s to 1990s. The majority of these buildings have deteriorated, are undersized for the District’s current operations, and are not up to current codes or standards. The administration offices, locker rooms, and bathrooms are also undersized and do not provide adequate facilities for the GNR staff and crew. The undersized garages require equipment to be stored outside which significantly decreases their lifespan. Overall, the majority of these buildings have exceeded their useful life.
This location was chosen because of the proximity to the District’s fuel island, Fleet Management, Nursery Complex, and the determination that 22% of Grounds and Natural Resources crews work occurs within 9 miles of this location. Ultimately, drive times would be increased if it were moved to a different location. The Blackwell Maintenance Campus also houses the District’s West Sector Rangers and Facilities Management Departments. Additional factors included availability of utility resources, open land availability, adequate buffer space to single family residence and low environmental impact. See the 2022 Grounds and Natural Resource Management Operational Assessment and Logistic Plan Evaluation Report for additional information about the selection of this location.
The Grounds and Natural Resources Department are made up of the Forestry, Landscape, Trails & Streams, Roads, Natural Resources Management and Natural Resources Management Stewardship Coordinator Operations crews. This accounts for sixty-two full time employees and thirteen seasonal employees, approximately 25% of the total headcount of the District. All of these employees and crews play a critical role in managing, maintaining, and restoring natural areas, recreational sites, and support infrastructure across the District’s 26,000 acres. This includes all trails; lakes & ponds; asphalt paving & other pavements; stormwater utilities; picnic area; lawn areas; and a 20-acre native tree and shrub nursery. These crews are responsible for creating the first impressions for visitors when they come to utilize the preserves.
This project will have little to no impact to traffic as all Grounds and Natural Resource crews already operate out of this location and traffic patterns are already established. No additional traffic is planned or anticipated on Mack Road.
The project is anticipated to cost between $35,000,000 to $40,000,000. All funding is expected to come from the sale of bond proceeds within the District existing levy authority and will not cause personal property taxes to increase.
Aug
2024
Status: In Progress
Jul
2024
Jan
2024
Woodhouse Tinucci Architects completed work on the schematic design phase of the project and provided a report to the District of their findings (see Documents).
Jan
2024
Woodhouse Tinucci Architects completed work on the schematic design phase of the project and provided a report to the District of their findings (see Documents).
Jun
2023
Woodhouse Tinucci Architect began work on the schematic design and design development phases of this project.
May
2022
Knight E/A, presented their findings to the District’s Board of Commissioners for the Grounds and Natural Resource Management Operation Assessment and Logistics Plan. The study concluded that one centralized location would be the most desirable approach and that Blackwell Forest Preserve would be the ideal location for the campus. This was determined since nearly 22% of the work performed by District crews are done within a 9-mile radius of Blackwell and is adjacent to existing District facilities including the Fleet Management Building, Fuel Island, Nursery Complex and Facilities Management.
Feb
2022
District advertised for Statement of Interest/Qualification and received 10 statements from qualified consultant groups.
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History
In 1965, the District acquired the property and original barn that still exist on the Grounds & Natural Resource Campus. In 1966, the District built an irrigation pond and started a nursery on the south side of Mack Road. Finally, in 1968, see picture below, the first Grounds complex was established using the existing barn and a new administrative building. Since 1968, this site has been home to the District’s Grounds Management and Natural Resource Management operations.
Funding
In June 2023, the Forest Preserve District board of commissioners approved a contract for schematic design and design development for the Grounds and Natural Resources Management Maintenance Campus. This contract is for $800,000 and will develop preliminary design and construction documents for the campus and the consultant will develop an opinion of the probable cost for the construction of the project. The project will be re-evaluated at the conclusion of this stage.
In August 2024, the board of commissioners approved a second contract for the development plans and specifications for Construction Documents, Permitting and Bidding for the project. This contract is for $1,038,500.
Schematic Design and Design Development Conclusion
Between June 2023 and July 2024, the District and their consultant Woodhouse Tinucci Architects (WTA) worked closely together to develop goals for the project; evaluate the operational needs of the District’s Grounds, Natural Resources Management, and Natural Resources Stewardship crews; and develop plans for the campus that were safe, efficient and meet the needs of the District and external stakeholders. After compiling all of the baseline information and visiting similar agencies operation campuses, WTA developed a campus plan that includes 120,000 SF of buildings, including the main garage; administration building; tandem pull-through garage; nursery operation building and greenhouse; a canopy for trailer storage; and renovations to the District’s existing washbay. The new campus will improve safety by having pull through spaces to reduce the amount of backing up, increased staff efficiency by having dedicated parking stalls where trucks and trailers can remain loaded with equipment, anticipated saving 45 minutes per day per staff member; and extend the life of vehicles by having all vehicles and equipment under roof in a tempered building.
The plans that were developed for this phase of the project will act as the basis of design for the construction documents as WTA will continue to refine the plans, develop details and building systems for permitting, bidding and ultimately construction.
September 2023 Presentation
