YORKVILLE – Construction of a new building for the Kendall County Clerk and Recorder offices is expected to get underway in May, part of a $10 million expansion of the county’s downtown Yorkville campus.

The new structure will sit between the Historic Kendall County Courthouse and the Kendall County Office Building, overlooking South Bridge Street (Route 47).

Much of the main floor, which covers about 14,000 square feet, will provide space for the county clerk’s Elections Office, along with the clerk and recorder functions.

The 4,500-square-foot lower level, with outdoor access to the east on the sloping property, will be used for storage.

Plans for the new building were presented to the Kendall County Board on March 7 by Brian Kronewitter of architectural and engineering firm Cordogan Clark & Associates of Aurora.

The building’s brick and stone materials with light brown and white colors are intended to match the old courthouse building next door, Kronewitter said.

“We’re trying to pay homage to that,” Kronewitter said. “We wanted to make it look handsome without spending a lot of money,” Kronewitter said.

The barrel vault over the main entryway to the building also is a nod to the old courthouse building “without being literal,” Kronewitter said.

County Board Finance Committee Chairman Scott Gengler said the cost estimate for the building project is about $8.3 million, which includes construction as well as “soft costs,” such as architect’s fees and technical surveys.

The expansion project, which county officials hope to bring in under the current $10 million estimate, includes demolition of an annex building next to the main county office building and reconfiguration of the campus parking lot and walkways.

County Administrator Scott Koeppel said the project is to be financed with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The county is in the process of purchasing the former Bristol-Kendall Fire Protection District station building at 101 W. Fox St.

Located at the northwest corner of Fox Street and South Bridge Street, the five-bay garage will be renovated for the county’s Facilities Management Department.

The county is paying $800,000 for the building and expects to close the sale on May 1, Koeppel said.

Sitting between the former fire house and the Kendall County Office Building at 111 W. Fox St. is the building that will be demolished.

The new clerk’s building will be constructed immediately to the north of the former fire station.

Kronewitter outlined a timetable that includes demolishing the annex next month and starting construction of the new clerk’s building on May 17.

Substantial completion is expected by February of 2024, with the first day of operations for the new structure pegged at March 6, just in time for the March 19 primary election.

The parking lot, with access from South Main Street, forms the western boundary of the campus. The lot will be expanded and reconfigured, along with walkways connecting all of the county buildings.

With the county’s Facilities Management Department taking over the former fire house, it will leave its headquarters at the county’s other main campus on West John Street in Yorkville.

As a result, space will be created for the expansion of the Kendall County Coroner’s Office.

Once County Clerk Debbie Gillette has vacated her offices on the second floor of the county building along with the elections office on the first floor, the county will be in a position to renovate those spaces for other uses, Koeppel said.

Renovations for the former fire station would take place during 2024, Koeppel said, after which expansion of the coroner’s office could get underway.