New Oak Park City Hall Installs LED Lighting

There are hardly any light switches in the new Oak Park Heights City Hall.

Energy-saving LED lights turn on only if a sensor detects motion, heat and sound; photometric sensors adjust indoor lighting to compensate for daylight.

The new $6.5 million municipal building, which opens May 17, also features a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system, rain gardens and a heat-recovery system that reclaims energy from the air before it is discharged outside.

City officials pushed for green, sustainable construction techniques to save money and help the environment.

"The function of the building will provide many years of value to the residents of Oak Park Heights," said Mayor David Beaudet.

In addition, the new City Hall, just north and west of the old one, is more customer-friendly. Instead of four separate doors for police, administration, utility billing and public works, the building has one main entrance, which visitors enter after passing under a large steel canopy.

The building's signature design item is its soaring rotunda, which is warmed by in-floor radiant heat. "The rotunda and overall building design has been quite inspirational," Beaudet said. "It adds value to people coming to work at City Hall and for people coming to visit."

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