Chatham IL's New Village Hall: What's Changing Downtown

"It's 2026, and the facilities we're operating out of right now are from the 80s." Village President Dave Kimsey said that to WAND News in March, the day after Chatham broke ground on its new municipal center. If you've driven North Market Street since spring, you've watched the site change. Most coverage stopped after the ceremony, though. The project is more than a new building. Chatham is pulling Village Hall, utility billing and the Chatham Police Department out of three separate buildings and putting them under one roof at 113 North Market Street.

Once the building opens, the village's next downtown question is what happens to the three buildings it leaves behind. As of early October 2026, nothing in the public record answers that.

Why three buildings are being folded into one

The WAND report says the new center "will replace three current buildings." Police Chief Vernon Foli confirmed the department is moving in along with village administration, staff and utility billing. At the groundbreaking, Kimsey told WCIA the current facility is more than 40 years old. He said the village's growth over those four decades has brought an "accelerated demand" for new technology and new services.

According to the Village's bid description, the building on North Market will hold all of these under one roof:

• An emergency operations center
• Emergency dispatch
• Police offices and police support spaces
• Village offices
• Council chambers
• A fitness center

Half of that list is public safety. So the building is also a police and dispatch facility, not only a place to pay a water bill. That helps explain why the Village called the project "Public Safety & Village Hall" in its bid documents. Kimsey described the goal as being "a centerpiece of a very proud community."

Who is building it, and what the contract covers

Bids were opened publicly on February 5, 2026, at 2 p.m. At a special board meeting on February 17, trustees took up Ordinance 26-05. It approves a guaranteed maximum price of $17,696,258 with CORE Construction Services of Illinois as construction manager.

That figure sits inside a larger one. Kimsey put the total at about $22 million, "for everything from acquisition to site readiness, design." Construction makes up roughly four-fifths of the project. The rest covers buying the land, preparing the site and designing the building.

The guaranteed-maximum-price document lists the trade packages one by one. Many of the firms are familiar central Illinois names:

Electrical work is the largest package after general trades. That fits a building expected to run dispatch, an emergency operations center and a police department around the clock. In September the Village added another layer of that wiring, separate from CORE's contract.

How the Village is paying for it

Kimsey told WCIA that village leaders worked with state and congressional representatives to secure funding. The amounts and grants weren't specified in that coverage. The borrowing shows up more clearly in the board packets.

The March 24 board packet includes an ordinance approving up to $17 million in construction financing from Bank of Springfield. The terms call for $10 million in 2026 and $7 million in 2027, at a fixed 4.24% for seven years, secured by the Village's general fund revenues. A later ordinance authorizes a $9 million Bank of Springfield promissory note for initial construction costs. That note is dated May 21, 2026, also at 4.24%. The documents don't say whether the $9 million note is a first draw on the $17 million or a separate loan. Treat the two as possibly overlapping, not as $26 million in debt.

The useful takeaway is that this building is being paid for over years, not out of savings. Repayment comes from the same general fund that pays for the Village's other day-to-day work.

Where things stand in October 2026

About six and a half months have passed since the March 23 groundbreaking. The public updates since then have been short.

1. July 13, 2026. At the Public Properties & Recreation meeting, the "Village Complex Update" said things were "progressing nicely." It also noted that spring rains had left water collecting where the new building's elevator shaft will go.
2. September 22, 2026. The board approved Resolution 41-26, $365,766.64 for access control, security cameras, technology and installation. The vendor's proposal, from Utilitra and dated August 12, labels the work for the "Chatham City Hall and PD Build." It notes that the locking hardware itself is not included and will come from another contractor on the project. Citizen Portal's summary of the meeting notes that trustees described the vendor as responsive.

The security purchase is a separate contract, not a change order to CORE's price. Board records through September 22 show no change orders and no revised schedule.

The schedule still on record is the one from the groundbreaking. It calls for 14 to 16 months of construction, with Kimsey hoping to move in "either late summer or early fall of 2027." Counting from March 23, that construction window ends around May to July 2027. Remember that this is a March forecast, not a confirmed opening date.

One more thing if you check the Village website: the homepage still says Chatham "will be accepting bid packages" for the building, next to a link to the bid results. Bidding closed in February.

The open question is the buildings left behind

This is where the project matters most for downtown. Three buildings are being replaced. The Village's bid notice gives the current Village Hall's address as 117 E. Mulberry Street. We found no board discussion through September that names the other two addresses or sets a plan for any of the three. They could be sold, reused or kept for village needs. The records don't say yet.

If you want to follow the disposition question as it comes up, Public Properties & Recreation agendas and board packets on the Village's meeting portal are where it's most likely to appear first.

Village services this fall, still from the current offices

The current offices are still the ones running this season's calendar:

• Chatham Chamber and Chatham Jaycees fall cleanup: Saturday, October 10, 9 to 11 a.m., meeting at Veterans Memorial Square. Volunteers will help clear village streets and green spaces.
• Junk Day: Saturday, October 17, 7 a.m. to noon, at Chatham Community Park. Enter from Park Street and exit to South Main. Hazardous waste, liquids, electronics and appliances, automotive items and tires, and medical waste are prohibited.
• Trick-or-treat: Trustees approved Saturday, October 31. Hours weren't in the meeting summary we reviewed.
• Leaf bags and yard waste pickup: Monday, November 2, and Monday, December 7. Branch pickup continues the first Monday of each month.
• Light Up the Park: November 27 through December 27, 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, at Chatham Community Park, 698 S. Park Ave. It's organized by Chatham Friends of the Parks, with a suggested donation of $5 per car.

If you own a home near downtown Chatham and wonder how the move to North Market Street and the future of the old village buildings could affect your plans, the team at Cindy Grady Bunch follows these board decisions as they happen and is glad to talk through what they mean for your street. Request a Free Consultation & Home Valuation, and we'll keep you posted as the 2027 opening gets closer.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.