The Park Ridge City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 11, approved a $38,500 contract with Cordogan, Clark & Associates to study whether the police station should expand within City Hall or move to a new location.

The decision sets the stage for what could become a major capital project for Park Ridge taxpayers, though no construction timeline or cost estimate exists yet.

Police Chief Bob Kampwirth told the Public Safety Committee of the Whole on Monday, Aug. 3, when the contract first advanced, that the firm will examine the current City Hall footprint and scout other properties around the community, including existing buildings that could be repurposed. He stressed the study will present options, not a mandate.

"They won't say 'this is what you have to do,'" Kampwirth said at the committee meeting.

The city budgeted $100,000 for the study in its 2026 budget and put it out to bid April 23. Eight firms submitted proposals. A committee of police department staff recommended Cordogan Clark, the second-lowest bidder, over the lowest bidder, BKV Group, based on higher scores for qualifications, experience and project approach. The $38,500 price tag saves the city more than $61,000 against what was budgeted.

Cordogan Clark, an Aurora-based architectural and engineering firm founded in 1951, has prior Park Ridge experience: the firm worked on the Fire Station 35 project and has designed other police facilities in Illinois, according to the Journal & Topics and the firm's own website.

Renovations in 2019 addressed urgent needs at the station, including adding a women's locker room, but did not resolve long-term space problems, Kampwirth said. Remaining gaps include more private spaces and a dedicated community meeting room.

The space issue is not new. Ald. John Moran (1st), the oldest-serving alderperson on the current council, raised a pointed question at the committee meeting: Park Ridge completed a similar feasibility study about 15 years ago and never acted on it because funding wasn't available. With Fire Station 35 renovations recently finished and Fire Station 36 work on the horizon, he asked whether the city would have money to follow through this time.

City Manager Joe Gilmore responded that the city tries to "queue up the plans" ahead of available funding and that the study's findings would remain useful for a few years even if construction doesn't begin immediately.

Ald. Joe Steinfels, a Cook County assistant state's attorney who said his day job has taken him inside many police stations, agreed the department could use more space while praising officers' efficiency with what they have.

No timeline for when Cordogan Clark will deliver its findings has been announced. Park Ridge City Council meetings are open to the public at City Hall, 505 Butler Place.