The River Forest Park District’s proposed renovation of Constitution Park took a step forward after the River Forest Village Board instructed staff members to continue with the planned development process April 28.
The action followed a presentation by Michael Sletten, park district executive director, and Dennis Healy, board treasurer.
The Constitution Park project, which is expected to cost $1.6 million, is the first renovation of an entire park under the park district’s 2024 master plan, which was adopted after an 18-month process.
In the presentation, Sletten referred to “rearranging and realigning” the park at Greenfield Street and Franklin Avenue, which includes property near Willard School and owned by River Forest Grade School District 90.
Highlights of the proposed project include relocating and replacing the playground; adding a sitting area and a shelter with two restrooms; replacing the sand volleyball court; and swapping the ball field and the soccer field.
The playground, which would replace one that is 17 years old, would be designed to be as accessible as possible, Sletten said. Designed for 2- to 12-year-olds, it would take up take up the same amount of space.
The 20-by-20-foot sitting area would be near the playground, sand volleyball court and soccer field.
The ball field and soccer field would trade places with the ball field moving from the D90 property and the soccer field moving to the D90 property. Sletten said the park district has used the D90 property under an intergovernmental agreement “for a long time.”
The location of the sand volleyball court, which doubles as an ice rink in winter, will be changed “slightly” but stay “generally in the same location,” Sletten said.
Officials are targeting May or June of 2025 for breaking ground for the project, pending approval by village officials and the Development Review Board. Sletten said officials have submitted an application for a $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to help fund the project but have sufficient funding to complete the project if grant funding is not available.
“We feel we have a strong application,” he said.
The project is expected to take eight weeks, during which time the park will be closed and fenced off.
Officials are working with JSD Land Planners, which has worked with them previously, according to Sletten, who added officials were “happy with their service.”
Resident input on the project was obtained through multiple public hearings.
Sletten said “about a dozen” residents attended the most recent meeting, at which the “focus was very favorable.”
The process in developing the master plan has included the inventory and assessment of the parks; the review of the 2020 Community Survey results and resident comments; and a ranking by need of facilities and amenities for the parks.
