Latest news with #OSLAD
Chicago Tribune
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Public feedback sought for final plan to improve Naperville's Nike Sports Complex
Naperville Park District is seeking feedback from residents on plans to add, expand and update recreational amenities at the Nike Sports Complex. This round of community feedback via an online survey available until Aug. 8 comes as improvement plans for the complex are finalized. Currently, proposed amenitiees include a new challenge course, loop trail, shade shelter with seating near the cricket field, water play features, native prairie planting area and synthetic turf infields for the playground and ball fields. The amenities proposed for the complex, located at 288 W. Diehl Road, are the result of extensive input sought from the community last year through online surveys and two in-person open houses. 'What we heard from residents is very similar to and it aligns with the proposed improvements,' Eric Shutes, park district director of planning, said. 'So we heard more walking, jogging and biking trails, so we added an asphalt trail loop. We heard (requests) for an addition to the playground that has water play features, so we added that.' Residents also voiced strong support for a new challenge course, noting the popularity of the challenge course at the Wolf's Crossing Community Park, Shutes said. Other improvements that received support were an expansion of and enhancements to the existing nature areas at the site as well as the addition of synthetic infield turf for existing ball fields, he said. The existing facility has baseball and softball fields, basketball courts, a cricket field, fitness center, ice rinks, playground, pickleball and tennis courts, picnic shelters, restrooms and trails. Input from the current survey also will be considered as the district staff develops an application for the Open Spaces Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. OSLAD grants, which are awarded to government agencies to help acquire land and develop recreational space, are due in September. The district has had success in securing OSLAD grants. One a few years back helped add amenities to Meadow Glens Park, including a nature playground and a winter skating area. The maximum grant award is $600,000 for a project expected to cost $1.2 million. As things stand right now, the changes planned for the Nike complex will cost about $4 million, Shutes said. The district is still assessing other funding sources to cover the rest of the cost, he said. 'We are excited to have the opportunity to connect with the rest of the community,' Shutes said. 'Receiving the input from the community allowed us to really identify ways to make Nike Sports Complex and how our patrons use it much, much better.' Construction is expected to take place throughout 2027 and 2028, according to district documents. The online survey can be found at
Chicago Tribune
10-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Outdoor pickleball courts planned for Elmwood Park's Village Circle
Elmwood Park has been awarded a substantial Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant from the state of Illinois to be used for a project that is part of the village's ongoing redevelopment in the Village Circle. The $376,250 in grant money will be used to cover half of the anticipated $752,500 cost for construction of four new pickleball courts that will be built adjacent to the Aquatic Center, 2 Contic Parkway, near the Community and Recreation Center. The new courts will be the village's first outdoor courts, as pickleball is currently offered indoors in the main gym. 'The indoor program is very popular,' village manager Paul Volpe said. 'We host pickleball during the day throughout the week, and the gym is always packed with people playing. It is common to see people waiting to get on the courts.' Volpe said village officials hope to have the new courts completed by the spring of 2026. 'Because the project impacts the pool area, we will wait until the pool closes in the fall,' he said. In addition to the new pickleball courts, the OSLAD grant will also facilitate improvements to the Aquatic Center, with a new artificial turf area for sunbathing and a new playground. 'We continue to invest in our outdoor recreation opportunities because we know how important it is for the quality of life for our residents,' village President Angelo 'Skip' Saviano said. 'We've made improvements all around town, and we're always looking for new opportunities to enhance our recreation opportunities. When we can take advantage of a state grant like this, it's all the better.' The development of the Village Circle on Conti Parkway continues the momentum Elmwood Park has generated for its town center. Over the past 10 years, new luxury apartments have been developed in the area along with several new restaurants, a new community recreation center, and outdoor bocce courts, along with summer concerts, car shows, and other community events. 'One of my main goals for my administration has been to reinvigorate the business community in Elmwood Park and open up new opportunities for growth and development,' Saviano said. 'The transformation of the Village Circle is a remarkable story and we're not done yet.' Volpe said the Village Circle was a mess when Saviano was first elected in 2013. 'There were failing and shuddered businesses and dilapidated buildings falling further into disrepair each day,' he said. The building of a recreation center, which includes both indoor and outdoor bocce courts, and the addition of a fitness center and golf simulators have been major upgrades during Saviano's tenure as village president. 'We also have replaced the dilapidated buildings with new, luxury condominiums; opened a vibrant breakfast restaurant, where there was before a vacant storefront; and brought Culver's to the entranceway to the Circle, replacing what was a vacant, deteriorating and obsolete commercial structure,' Volpe said. Along with the new pickleball courts, village officials also are excited about the addition of Pompei Bakery, which is expected to open this summer at the corner of Conti Parkway and Sunset Drive. 'Pompei Bakery has been a popular and successful restaurant on Taylor Street (in Chicago) since the early 1900's,' Volpe said. 'They will offer an outstanding, already popular menu in a family friendly, brand new restaurant in town. The village is incredibly lucky to attract that type of investment.'
Chicago Tribune
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Oak Brook to put off tennis, pickleball, playground improvements after grant rejection
A plan to upgrade tennis, pickleball and playground facilities in Oak Brook is being shelved for now after the Oak Brook Park District was not chosen for a state grant that would have helped fund the projects. But Park District officials said the grant denial will not result in any facility closures or reduction of available resources for playground and tennis and pickleball court users. In August, the park board applied for a $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The grant money would have helped fund the replacement of existing tennis courts, enhance pickleball courts, expand parking near the pickleball courts and replace two playgrounds at the Family Recreation Center, as part of what would have been an estimated $6 million project, said Laure Kosey, the Park District's executive director. Officials learned in January the Park District had not been chosen to receive the grant. 'While it is disappointing, we will apply for the grant again,' Kosey said. 'We are looking for alternative funding as well as applying for the grant again. The grant is a big piece and starts the clock ticking on the project. 'If we were to get the grant, we would explore alternative funding, such as sponsorship and naming rights. The Oak Brook Park District Foundation is working on this project right now.' The Park Board decided in November 2024 that if the park district did not receive the grant, the pickleball courts and parking for those, tennis courts, and playgrounds would not be replaced or enhanced at this time. Kosey said the Park District has approximately $3 million in its Tennis Center reserves that could be used for the project. And given the district's previous success in obtaining state grants, there's still room for optimism about future improvements. The Park District has received OSLAD grants in the past, most recently in 2022. 'In the last 10 years or so, we have applied for four OSLAD grants and have been awarded each grant,' she said.
