‘Significant’ design changes in the works for proposed police station

An update that village officials are calling a “significant change” is on the way for Wilmette’s highest-profile project this year.

Planning for Wilmette’s multi-million-dollar police station crossed its first formal check-in Tuesday, July 22, reaching a stage in the process where village trustees echoed the design hesitations previously expressed by one of their advisory boards.

Wilmette Appearance Review Commission earlier this month — in its third nonbinding advisory analysis of designs for the village’s police station — detailed multiple objections about the facility’s current site plan, The Record previously reported.

Those concerns included perceptions that the building lacks an aesthetic fit within its neighborhood and the overall community and a hesitation with the design materials used, the structure’s massing and a perceived lack of landscaping.

Wilmette Village Manager Michael Braiman opened the July 22 session by saying project planners will be presenting a “pretty significant change” to the Appearance Review Commission in early August when they showcase updated designs for the large-scale public facility.

Before trustees offered specific feedback, Braiman described the goal of the session as “an interactive dialogue used as a visioning session” with the aim of providing the project’s architectural firm, FGMA, with clear design direction before they return to the Appearance Review Commission.

Trustees quickly reached a consensus in expressing their hopes for the future of the project’s design. The key, nearly every member of the board said, is making the building feel like it is a part of the community.

Trustee Gerry Smith said he was initially struck by the dark, stark appearance of the original design. He challenged planners to take the typical industrial feel of such a building and make it feel as though it’s residential.

Similarly, Trustee Justin Sheperd said that ensuring the new building fits in the neighborhood should be planners top priority, then making it “interesting” should be a subsequent goal.

Village President Senta Plunkett applauded appearance review commissioners for what she described as the noticeable improvements that have already been made. Village trustees, Plunkett said, through their interactions with neighbors and the community, are uniquely positioned to express what they believe “a police station in our community, on Ridge Road, facing Howard Park, should be.”

“Even though this is a new building, the police station has been there for over 65 years so this is something that is familiar to the neighbors and to our community,” she said. “I just think that’s a perspective that we as a board can interject into this process right now.”

Appearance review commissioners are next slated to review the project’s design during their Monday, Aug. 4 meeting. From there, the project is scheduled to return to Wilmette’s Village Board on Aug. 26, Braiman said.

Village staff will look to finalize the station’s site and floor plans as well as sustainability components during that session.

“We understand that we might not be ready to approve the exterior design but we’ll see where our progress is with the ARC and we’ll be sharing updates with the board over the next several weeks,” Braiman said.

Wilmette officials in August plan to issue a formal request for qualifications in an attempt to narrow the list of eligible general contractors that can bid for the project. Rezoning work required for the police station to advance will begin in September, Braiman noted.

Another key goal during September, per Braiman, will be finalizing any exterior planning work by Sept. 9, which is the board’s first meeting of the month. Doing so will give FGMA time to prepare construction schedules and keep in line with the goal of a spring of 2026 groundbreaking.

Tuesday’s meeting marked what planners had previously tabbed as the first of four formal checkpoints for the project. The initial checkpoint was intended to provide an updated cost estimate but officials noted that will need to be tabled until further design work takes place.

The second and third checkpoints will be crossed during the development of construction documents, with officials slated to conduct one each at 50% and 95% completion, as The Record has previously reported. A final checkpoint will come in December of this year or January of next right before the targeted goal of awarding the project’s construction contract.

In late April of this year, Wilmette officials updated the new estimated cost of the project to $50.5 million and said the target approximate size for the facility will be 53,000 square feet.

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