Crystal Lake Depot Park redo costs balloon to over $6.6M: ‘Tough pill to swallow’

Crystal Lake City Council members got a shock when they received bid estimates that were more than $1.5 million higher than engineers originally estimated for the downtown Depot Park reconstruction.

The space, located by North Main Street and East Woodstock Street and near the Crystal Lake Metra station, will feature a covered pergola with metal swings, two fountains, added seating, a performance space, landscaping and increased pedestrian access to “promote community gathering,” according to city documents.

Developers have estimated at previous City Council meetings that the project would cost about $5 million. The city received bid from five construction companies, all within close range of each other, Crystal Lake Public Works Director Michael Magnuson said. The lowest and most responsible bidder was Copenhaver Construction at almost $6.7 million.

“There were things that we were surprised and disappointed with ... as to what the engineer estimated this would cost versus what the bids came in at,” Magnuson said.

Council member Cameron Hubbard said he was “shocked” the bid come in that much over budget.

“We’re talking over 30% of our estimate,” he said. “This is really a tough pill to swallow at this point.”

Council members expressed disappointment about the significant underestimation of the project costs, but ended up unanimously approving the $6.6 million bid, conscious of the fact that project likely would get more expensive over time if they held off on it.

“Who knows what the tariffs are going to be in two or three years,” council member Ian Philpot said. “We don’t know what they are going to be in two or three days. If anything, lock it in now because if it suddenly gets more expensive, we have a cap. It can’t get more expensive than that.”

Approving the bid does lock the city in with a 10% contingency in case unforeseen circumstances arise, but not for increased prices or tariffs, Magnuson said.

The city plans to make up the difference by postponing the beautification project of the Main Street and Route 14 intersection, City Manager Eric Helm said.

Philpot said: “Something that would directly impact the traffic downtown is always more important. Those are people who live here, people that work here, people that are coming here to spend money.”

Mayor Haig Haleblian said it’s an investment to the community that will benefit businesses and residents.

“This is not going to get any cheaper down the road,” he said. “You just got to rip the Band-Aid off and do it. And I think once it’s done, we are going to forget about that $1.5 million, and we’re going to have just a magnificent feature for our downtown area.”

Features that will remain at Depot Park are the PACE bus stop, Pop’s Corn Crib and the number of parking spaces. The veterans memorial will be moved from its current location, but it will still be within the park and will be more visible from Woodstock Street, Community Development Director Kathryn Cowlin said.

Tree removal started in March with construction preparations planned for this month. Once construction starts, the area will be inaccessible to the public. New native trees will be planted, along with expanded landscaped and lawn areas.

The construction timeline plans are to complete the parking lot first by the end of August. Then crews will aim to complete hardscape and underground work by mid-November and electrical work and final plantings by the end of spring, Cowlin said.

Developers from Teska Associates, Woodhouse Tinucci Architects and Gewalt Hamilton Associates had proposed options of a theater-in-the-round in historic heritage themes of ice harvesting or terra cotta. Ultimately, the city landed on a final design that incorporated both clay and glass bricks with a sign that reads, “Crystal Lake: A good place to live.” A backlit wall with LED lights will illuminate the wall at night.

Council members opted out of more pricey add-ons like a larger fountain and a more involved theater-in-the-round when deciding the design. Those money-saving decisions ended up getting canceled out with the new estimate increase.

“It seems like what we have, ended up being $2 million more anyway,” Philpot said.

In total, the new park will have seating for more than 400 people with fixed seating for 152 people and room for temporary seating of blankets and chairs for 271 people, according to city documents.

The idea has been on the city’s wish list since 2021 to further promote social gatherings downtown, Cowlin said.

“Depot Park could now be a shining star and really bring that whole community together, which is what was desired during those public poll back in 2021 and previously to that,” she said.