Chicago is moving ahead with its plan to develop a new, state-of-the-art Joint Public Safety Training Academy at 4301 W. Chicago Ave. in West Garfield Park.
The city will be entering into negotiations with a joint venture led by AECOM for the design and construction of a 30-acre campus. City Council approval will be required for the contract to be finalized.
Over the past year, the city has been working with the Chicago Infrastructure Trust to select a developer ideally suited to design, build and finance the project.
The multi-stage procurement began with a request for qualifications issued in October 2017 followed by a request for proposals in May 2018 to identify highly qualified design-build teams with the requisite experience, capacity, and capabilities to work with the city to ultimately deliver the comprehensive training academy campus.
After the RFP evaluation process, the AECOM team was selected to advance to the final stage of the procurement. AECOM will be responsible for leading a collaborative design process with city stakeholders, neighborhood residents and first responders in the development of the Joint Public Safety Training Academy.
AECOM is required to meet the city’s strict Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) participation and workforce development goals. For this project, the goal is to include at least 28% MBEs and at least 8 percent WBEs. For all construction work, a minimum of 50% of total work hours must be performed by city residents with 15 percent performed by local West Side community residents.
Additionally, the AECOM team includes 14 sub-consultants, including nine registered as MBEs and three registered as a WBEs. The team also includes police and fire subject matter experts to advise in the tactical design and interior architecture. Community outreach, workforce development and diversity will be key pillars throughout the design and construction process.
The CPD Police Academy at 1300 W. Jackson was built in 1976, the Fire Prevention training facility 1010 S. Clinton was constructed in 1950. The Fire Academy South, located at 1338 S. Clinton, was developed in 1965.
Construction is planned to begin in 2019, estimated to continue for 24 to 36 months and bring nearly 100 construction jobs to the area.
