North Cook News

At their April 11 meeting, the Morton Grove Village Board of Trustees discussed plans for a new police department building. 

Village administrator Ralph Czerwinski told the board the village and its police department operate in a building built in 1895, and that it's "grossly inadequate" for their needs.

He further explained that the Fifth Third Bank building, located on 1.76 acres at 6201 Dempster St., is 26,000 square feet and much larger than the bank needs for its operations, but would be perfect for the village’s needs. 

Czerwinski told the board that the Park District owns half an acre directly across the street from the Fifth Third, which the bank says would be perfect for its needs. The village was able to land swap with the Park District, trading that parcel for a piece of village owned land abutting a park just down the street. Now the village is able to sell 6210 Dempster St. to the bank, and purchase 6201 Dempster from the bank to relocate village hall and the police department.

The city will sell the 6210 Dempster property to Fifth Third for $700,000. The bank would receive a special use permit for that location to be able to operate its drive- thru windows. The bank would also have a diligence period of 120 days after the sale, with the option to extend 30 days, to ensure that the changes are in the best interest of all parties moving forward. 

The village will purchase the land and building at 6201 Dempster for $2.1 million and make renovations to suit its needs. 

The council approved both items and waived second readings for them to keep the process moving quickly. There is no set timeline for the transition yet, as construction plans will not be finalized until after the sale is complete.

“Part of these actions that are taken but included some work with the park district,” Czerwinski said. “So this wasn't just a simple transaction. This is a transaction that brought many agencies in the village together to talk about the village’s future and to understand where we will be in our future. So we made a transaction with some past resolutions and ordinances, specifically Resolution 2247 and Ordinance 2226, where if these parcels were transitioned, the village would take over the forward portion or 6210 Dempster St. and that grassy area and the annex building would become part of the Park District property. And that all is contingent upon this coming together as having the village hall moved to 6201 Dempster Street, which is part of this transaction.”

The board also discussed an amendment for establishing regulations for businesses for tattoos, body art, and permanent cosmetics services.

Trustee Saba Khan was absent from the meeting.

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Flickinger Municipal Center at 6101 Capulina Ave.