The new Illinois Environmental Protection Agency headquarters is expected to be completed this month – 18 months behind schedule and with a price per square foot more than double that of other new commercial construction projects in Springfield.
The $80 million price tag for repurposing the 186,000-square-foot former Sears department store at White Oaks Mall has raised the eyebrows of elected officials and area contractors.
“If there's not something on the books where it is a crime, we should make it a crime,” said state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva. “Spending taxpayers’ money in such a way shows lack of responsibility and lack of care for what people are having to pay in Illinois, one of the highest tax states in the nation. We should be overseeing every tax dollar very carefully to make sure we're getting the most out of every dollar that we can.”
The Capital Development Board, which oversees state construction projects, said the state spent $430 per square foot on the EPA building. The general contractor for the project is S.M. Wilson & Co. of St. Louis.
In comparison, typical commercial construction costs in Springfield are less than half that, in the $180 to $200 per-square-foot range, according to Corky Joyner, president of Joyner Construction Services.
Joyner said he uses both union and non-union labor for his work but added even for a government project where prevailing wages must be paid, the amount the state is paying for the EPA building seems high.
CDB spokesperson Lauren Grenlund said there are a number of reasons why the EPA building costs more than private construction in the community.
“State-funded projects are subject to strict quality standards, procurement regulations and rigorous energy-efficiency requirements, which are not typically mandated for private commercial construction,” she said. “Additionally, this project underwent a competitive bidding process and was bid in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to significant supply chain disruptions.”
As for why the project, which was initially slated for completion in July 2023, is so far behind schedule, Grenlund cited unexpected difficulties.
“Several unforeseen conditions were discovered during construction. These included extensive deterioration of concrete slabs, the need to replace the building’s underground storm and sanitary sewer systems, structural steel challenges and the full abatement and replacement of a metal roof deck,” Grenlund said.
“These issues were not identifiable during the initial design and purchase phases. As a result, they caused delays to the project schedule, especially given the long lead times for metal roof decking at that time. Moreover, two recent incidents of vandalism further delayed the project as inspection and remediation efforts are currently ongoing,” she said.
Ward 7 Ald. Brad Carlson, who represents the neighborhood that includes White Oaks Mall, said vandals entered the future EPA building, stopped up the floor drains and set off the building’s sprinkler system.
Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette said the incidents happened Nov. 13 and Nov. 17.
“All indications are that it's juveniles who are committing a senseless crime that they probably don't have an understanding as to the magnitude that this damage can in fact cause,” he said. “There is great security footage from the incident as well as physical evidence that was recovered as a result of our ongoing investigation. I'm confident this will, in fact, lead to those responsible for this.”
The state purchased the Sears building in 2020 for $3.5 million and announced plans to relocate the EPA headquarters from its current location on North Grand Avenue. The majority of the complex now occupied by EPA will be demolished to make room for the expansion of the nearby railroad corridor.
Some have questioned the wisdom of moving 559 EPA employees as well as additional workers with the Illinois Pollution Control Board and Department of Innovation and Technology to the city’s west side rather than to the downtown, which has a great deal of vacant office space.
“There's so many vacant structures in downtown Springfield that they could move into, and maybe they would need some rehab, but at a reasonable rate,” Ugaste said. “I'm not saying we do any favors to any individual, but we have existing property owners (who) I'm sure wouldn't mind having a constant source of rental income – let's take advantage of that. When the government shut down in Springfield during COVID, it decimated the downtown area even worse than what it already was.”
Chris Nickell, who owns a number of downtown properties, said the state could have moved to the downtown and rented office space for less than $14 per square foot. He said he previously reached out to state officials in hopes they would consider the downtown area for the EPA headquarters.
“I didn't reach out because I had a property they could use. I was just reaching out as a downtown advocate, saying, ‘Come on guys. We've got all these empty buildings downtown. Why can't you use one of them?’ … It would have been an unbelievable benefit,” Nickell said.
“One of the main struggles that we have downtown is just the lack of foot traffic and so many empty buildings. (If) you bring all those state jobs back downtown, just think what that does for all the little stores and restaurants (that are) suffering because the state has taken so many jobs away from downtown over the last 15 years,” he said.
