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New and enhanced park amenities citywide include playground renovations, new artificial turf fields, spray features and more!

Today, the �첥��Ƶ’s kicked-off its 2024 capital construction season spurring $100 million in park investment in neighborhoods across the city this year. Park District General Superintendent and CEO Rosa Escareño joined 31st Ward Alderman Felix Cardona, Jr. at Cragin Park, located at 2611 N. Lockwood Avenue, in the Belmont-Cragin community to break ground on the new park fieldhouse, one of the major projects slated for construction.  

The District will replace the existing, 62-year-old structure, with a new single-story fieldhouse that includes a half-size gymnasium that converts into two (2) clubrooms to allow for flexibility of use of the multi-purpose space. Other features include a pantry, restrooms, offices, a lobby and storage space to accommodate additional programming and events. In addition to expanded indoor programming space, Cragin Park’s outdoor areas will undergo a series of site improvements including a renovated spray feature, tennis courts and ballfield enhancements. The complete project is backed by $7.1 million in TIF funding provided by the 31st Ward and $500,000 in federal Community Project Funding supported by Senator Durbin. The project is slated to be complete in early 2025. 
    
“We are so pleased to break ground on this new fieldhouse, which will now meet the growing recreational needs and interests of the surrounding community with space to accommodate programming for youth, teens, adults and seniors,” said �첥��Ƶ CEO and Superintendent Rosa Escareño. “This project is indicative of the investments the Park District is making in neighborhoods all over the city through our ambitious capital plan. We are grateful of the support from our partners and local representatives, like Alderman Cardona, who understand the importance of parks and commit their visionary and financial assistance to enhance opportunities for the children and families of the Belmont-Cragin community and across Chicago.”

In the identified 2024 Budget projects, the District will make over $500 million in capital investments over the next five years, including four new neighborhood fieldhouses and $10 million to remove architectural barriers to accessibility in over 80 park fieldhouses.

“I am thrilled to finally see this journey for a new fieldhouse at Cragin Park come to fruition,” said Alderman Felix Cardona Jr., 31st Ward. “This is long overdue as children and families need to have a safe space that will be utilized to foster community for many to come.”

The new Cragin Park fieldhouse is just one of many investments slated for construction in parks this year. Whether a new park fieldhouse or investment in an infrastructure improvement, each project is thoughtfully curated by the District to make an equitable and long-term impact in the surrounding neighborhood. 

Key highlights of the �첥��Ƶ’s 2024 Capital Plan include:

•    A new $15 million fieldhouse at Jackie Robinson Park, 10501 S. Morgan, in the Washington Heights community. The 18,000 square foot fieldhouse includes a full-sized gymnasium with a basketball court and drop-down batting cages, two multipurpose clubrooms, a fitness center, dedicated teen room, pantry and restrooms. The new facility will replace the small, aged fieldhouse which no longer met the needs of the community.

•    The first inclusive playground in the city, the 21,000 square-foot playground at Midway Plaisance, 1130 Midway Plaisance North, in the Hyde Park community. The play space will offer a variety of play features that allow side-by-side play including an ADA accessible swing, a slide with a transfer platform for wheelchair users and variety of sensory nooks such as a mud kitchen and a fragrance garden that provide those with sensory needs a break from the busier sections of the playground. The Obama Foundation is gifting the �첥��Ƶ with $4M to construct the playground. 

•    Riverbank restoration projects will bring our waterways into the next generation by expanding access to the river and spaces to host nature education programs, paddling, rowing, fishing, hiking, and bird watching. Restoration of our environmental assets improves visibility, beauty and water access to the Chicago River, while increasing the ecological quality of the natural habitat along the riverbanks at River, Kiwanis, Legion and Ronan Parks. The improvement of the riverfront access at River Park will support an expanded paddling program for individuals with physical disabilities. Furthermore, a redesign and expansion of Ronan Park will create a new neighborhood gateway to include a new plaza, upgraded community gardens, and market space with a pavilion for performances and a viewing platform at the river edge.

•    This year, the District will continue its commitment to the equitable investment of $8 million in Chicago Recovery Plan (CRP) funds by installing free, public Wi-Fi in parks located in areas of need of reliable broadband infrastructure. The District has completed indoor infrastructure at 27 of 60 park fieldhouses and will complete all 60 locations by the end of 2024. In addition, the District is installing Wi-Fi on outdoor areas of the parks where patrons gather most, like playgrounds and athletic fields. An additional $27.6 million in CRP funds will support Pickleball Mania! bringing over 200 outdoor pickleball courts throughout the city by 2025. CRP funding is also supporting a total of 50 new popular water spray features as part of our Chicago Splash! initiative. 

•    Work also continues on the replacement of aged lead water lines that supply park drinking fountains. Back in 2017, the Park District deactivated drinking fountains that tested positive for elevated levels of lead, making them inaccessible for public use. Since then, the District continues to work with the Department of Water Management to eliminate lead from the remaining park drinking water fountains by removing the lead containing components of the Parks’ plumbing system. This year, the District committed an additional $6 million and two new crews of plumbers to accelerate the long term, lead service line replacement program and increase remediation from 35 to 100 fountains each year.  

•    Also, this year, the Park District will begin investing a total of $8.5 million in capital projects that will assure electrical infrastructure reliability for decades to come. Projects include major upgrades to the District’s aging Garfield Power House Substation, a 100+ year old electrical system that provides power to Garfield Park, Union Park, LaFollette Park and Skinner Park. The dated system experiences sporadic outages lasting on average three days and impacting operations at all four parks due to old system design. Work will include disconnecting the four parks from the Garfield Substation and instead providing independent electric power to the parks. In addition, similar power station upgrades will take place to aging infrastructure in Washington Park that also supplies the Jackson Park fieldhouse, harbors and concessions. Similar work will also be completed in Lincoln Park to address power reliability issues to park amenities including the Lincoln Park Zoo.  

Other noteworthy projects in the Park District’s 2024 capital construction season include, but are not limited to, playground renovations, new artificial turf fields, new fieldhouse windows and roof replacements, fencing and lighting. All projects, large or small, positively impact park operations and enhance the delivery of services to neighborhood residents and families.