Work set to begin this fall on new Round Lake park

Work is set to begin this fall on a new neighborhood park in Round Lake, park officials said.

Shaw Park will be built on land donated by a now-disbanded homeowner’s group in the Shaw subdivision. The site is on Fairfield Road, north of Rollins Road.

It will be the Round Lake Area Park District’s first new park since Round Lake Beach’s Sports Park opened in 2011.

Little work has been done at the site since last year’s demolition of a small clubhouse that had been on the land, officials said.

Recreation services director Ross Bertone said the park district decided to create a park after talking with representatives of the homeowners association that had owned the land since the 1940s or 1950s.

“We did invite the homeowners out to a meeting and we actually had them design the playground and park that is going to be there now,” Bertone said.

Parks and building services director Jeff Lurquin said the safety and enjoyment of children in the Shaw subdivision was a key concern.

“There’s not another park in the area without having the (neighborhood) kids cross a major street, so this gives them a park with playground equipment where they can walk to,” Lurquin said.

Bertone said plans for the park include a playground, a pavilion and possibly a walking path and a basketball court. Local residents had asked for the path to be a fitness trail.

Lurquin said the park district has already spent $49,000 on the playground equipment, plans to spend $20,000 to $25,000 on the pavilion and would purchase more amenities as the budget allows.

“We’re just kind of trying to meet the mission of the park district and look at different land spaces,” Bertone said.