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You’ve heard of groundbreaking, but how about wall smashing?

Dr. Alexandra Tsang swung the first blow for a relocated Kane County diagnostics center Monday, knocking a hole in a wall that will come down so that interior redesign work can begin at the Kane County Branch Court facility at 540 S. Randall Road.

The diagnostics center is the last unit of government located at the former jail site on Fabyan Parkway. The building is run down, with a litany of issues that include yellow water in the kitchen and bathrooms, an evacuation due to flooding, carbon monoxide poisoning to three staff members in 2014 and chronic ventilation and heating issues. There is also is a big concern about safety, because the facility is isolated from other government buildings and does not have its own security personnel.

The center is the home of the psychology department for the 16th Judicial Circuit, and its staff and interns handle crisis intervention and individual group and family psychotherapy for juvenile and adult offenders. Among their duties is to conduct psychological evaluations for people involved in domestic battery, sex offenses, substance abuse, arson and theft cases.

Moving to the 16th Circuit building on Randall Road makes sense from a safety standpoint because of the existing court security. The move also is essential to the department’s efforts to gain accreditation from the American Psychological Association and maintain the internship program, which saves the county about $900,000 annually.

About a year ago, Dr. Tsang, who heads up the Kane County Diagnostic Center, made an impassioned plea to relocate, and the Kane County Board supported the solution to move to the branch court facility.

The cost of the adaptive reuse was last estimated at less than $1.2 million.

Read More

• Kane County Diagnostics Could Move to Branch Court on Randall Road
• Diagnostic Center Staff Concerned About Safety of 40-Year-Old Building

Present Diagnostic Center Location

Diagnostic Center Would Move to 16th Circuit Branch Court on Randall Road

 Architect’s Renderings of Adapted Space