Downers Grove Civic Center

The Downers Grove Civic Center is a new 80,000-square-foot municipal campus that brings the Village Hall, Police Department, and School District 58’s Administrative Offices together into one modern facility. Located outside of the building, the Blackburn Civil Rights Pavilion provides gathering spaces for patrons, while highlighting local history. Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) provided civil engineering services for the award winning project, recognized as the 2024 CISCO Project of the Year.

On a tight site with significant elevation change, EEA designed a stepped sub-base system and incorporated permeable pavers and rain gardens to meet stormwater requirements while enhancing the site’s appearance and avoiding a costly underground vault. The team also redesigned the Burlington Avenue and Washington Street intersection, improving access to the building and creating a better connection to the nearby Metra station.

EEA successfully managed complex phasing challenges to keep the existing police station and village hall fully operational during construction of the new building, which was located only nine feet away. The site layout also allowed the Village to prepare a pad-ready second lot, later sold for private development.