The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Ill., is moving forward with a $9 million fleet facility after years of delays.

Initial design work began in 2007, but opposition from neighbors delayed the project, mostly due to the original industrial look of the building exterior. The building exterior has been changed to fit its surroundings, and it was approved in June.

“I showed our senior staff examples of local agencies’ buildings that resembled agricultural buildings to better fit the surroundings. This concept was drawn up by our engineering consultants to fit our needs and shown to the local residents,” said Mike Webster, CAFM, fleet manager for the Forest Preserve District. “We sought the input of the nearby residents on the exterior color scheme as well.”

The 29,000-square-foot facility will mark the consolation of two maintenance shops. The district will keep its two shops for golf operations open.

“85% of our fleet is currently housed on the west side of the county near our new site, so it will be much more efficient to locate our fleet operation to this location,” Webster said.

The facility will feature 12 full-size drive-through bays, two shorter bays with concrete-reinforced floors for steel-tracked crawlers, one welding/fabrication bay, and one paint booth bay, according to Webster. The shop will be sectioned off, with six bays for light-duty vehicles and equipment and the remaining 10 bays for heavy-duty, welding, and paint work. The light-duty side will also be set up for repairing compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles, with the required gas sensors and exhaust system.

The facility will include a conference room with seating capacity for 60 that will also function as a lunch room. An accordion wall will be installed to allow staff to section off the room when needed.

The facility will house up to 18 employees. Staff will service all its vehicles and equipment except for golf equipment at the consolidated facility. This includes 180 on-road vehicles up to Class 7 trucks, and 900 off-road units.

The facility is expected to be open by June 2018.