Cutting a yellow police tape, Will County officials dedicated the new Public Safety Complex in Joliet.
The $33 million, 87,000 square foot center at Laraway Road and US Route 52 combined several sites that housed the sheriff’s department, and consolidated three 911 dispatch centers into one – the Laraway Communications Center. It also houses the administrative offices of the county’s Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB), which oversees all 911 operations.
The building is the first to be completed as the county launched the largest capital campaign in its history, according to County Executive Larry Walsh, who hailed it Tuesday as a “great day for Will County.”
The project was on the fast track to be completed by Dec. 27 and was completed a few weeks ahead of schedule. A separate storage facility for the sheriff’s specialized vehicles was completed recently.
The new complex – which brings all the sheriff’s operations under one roof – “insures the safety of all residents of Will County,” Walsh said.
It replaces the aging sheriff’s office, built on the same site in 1973 that was plagued with plumbing and odor problems.
Sheriff Mike Kelley thanked the county board for realizing that his department was in “desperate need” of a new facility.
“When I was 21 years old and got hired here, I thought that (former) building was the best thing since sliced bread,” he said, noting how much the department has grown since 1988 and was scattered over six sites in recent years.
The old office has been demolished.
The new complex has improved communications within the department, featured the latest technology, increased security, and provided space for evidence storage and all specialized vehicles, which were previously stored off site, Kelley said.
“I could go on and on. You have the best amenities that a public safety complex could have,” he said, calling it “one of the best sheriff’s offices in the state.”
“This has been a long time coming. This is an historic occasion,” Kelley said.
“It only took us 20 years,” said county board Speaker Jim Moustis, R-Frankfort Township, noting that the building plan evolved over time and eventually included the new consolidated 911 dispatch center to comply with a new state mandate.
While it is “never easy” spending taxpayers’ money, “it all comes down to public safety,” he said.
“Facilities like this will keep our citizens safe. Now, on to the courthouse,” Moustis said, referring to the county’s next building project, which is already underway in downtown Joliet.
The county also plans to build new facilities for its health department and animal control.
Construction on the Public Safety Complex began in October 2016, and was originally slated to be done in the spring of 2018. County officials accelerated the project, agreed to pay overtime for weekend work, and crews had mild winter weather.
Officials acknowledged the efforts of Dave Tkac, Walsh’s deputy chief of staff, who lead the construction team that included Leopardo Group as construction manager, and DLR Group as architect.
The county also had a project labor agreement with the Three Rivers Construction Alliance to guarantee that all contractors would be union members, pay union wages and would not strike or slow the project.
“Labor has built one heck of a building,” said board member Ray Tuminello, R-New Lenox, who chairs the capital improvements committee. “Will County has never been more prepared.”
