Approved contracts get ball rolling on Glencoe Golf Club improvements

The formal process for designing and constructing the new clubhouse at the Glencoe Golf Club can now begin.

Glencoe trustees approved the contracts for both FGM Architects for architectural and engineering services and W. B. Olsen for construction management at a Village Board meeting on Thursday, July 20. 

The village plans to construct a clubhouse with a “new, multi-purpose facility to include a restaurant and event space that will be open and available to the public and that will also expand opportunities for community use of the property year-round,” according to the agenda packet.

The planning process began once Glencoe voters approved a referendum in April, allowing the village to use up to $15 million in bond sales to fund the renovation project.

Jon Pape, Glencoe’s assistant to the village manager, explained in his presentation to the village board that FGM will be responsible for the preliminary architectural services while W.B. Olson will be involved in day-to-day operations of the construction project.

The first phase of design, which FGM calls “schematic design” is set to begin next month. According to FGM’s proposal in the agenda packet, schematic design plans will feature a “Site Plan, Floor Plan and Building Elevation alternatives.” 

Construction is slated to begin June 2024 and finish in April 2025.

The Glencoe Golf Club is a nonprofit, self-funded entity that is governed by the Village of Glencoe and its Village Board. The 101-year-old golf course covers 126 acres spread across land owned by the Village and Forest Preserve of Cook County. The current clubhouse remains the original building, and course General Manager Stella Nanos told the Village Board in 2022 that it surpassed its useful life in 2012.

The board decided in December 2022 to ask voters’ permission to improve the club’s facilities.

Included in the project are upgrades to the driving range, cart paths, parking lot, stormwater management, and outdoor and indoor golf training facilities. Community-focused features (a restaurant with bar, meeting room, private-party space and youth-program facilities) and green initiatives are also part of the plan.

According to Village projections, the $15 million referendum will cost about $140 per $10,000 in annual property taxes per Glencoe household. The bond repayment is projected to last 20 years.

The Village says that the taxes are “expected” to be partially offset by incremental revenue achieved by the new golf-course facilities and by funds raised by the Friends of Glencoe Golf Club ($500,000 as of 2022). For every $100,000 of incremental net revenue the club achieves, according to the village, the Village Board could decide to reduce taxes by $10 per $10,000 paid per household.

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