Mount Prospect parks prepare plans for golf-course upgrades

Architects working for the Mount Prospect Park District are drawing up final designs for an ambitious plan to renovate the Mount Prospect Golf Course, a project estimated to cost about $6 million.

When the final documents are completed, the park district can start the bidding process.

Park Board President Timothy Doherty said the renovation as envisioned would include multiple components, among them replacement of the course's irrigation and drainage systems, construction of a new maintenance structure (along with demolition of the existing one), a new full driving range and the redesign of select holes on the course.

Completion would require the course to be closed a year or more, officials said.

“This has been under discussion for quite a while,” Doherty said. “It's a major project. I'm not sure if the golf course has ever undergone this kind of renovation.”

Doherty noted that the district could decide to reduce the scope of the project once bids start coming in. He added, though, the district hopes to move forward with a plan that will keep the course in good shape for 30 to 50 years.

The park board voted Sept. 18 to allow the district's architects to prepare design and construction documents. Commissioner Susan Walsh cast the lone dissenting vote.

Walsh said she supports the idea of fixing the golf course's drainage and irrigation systems but believes the district should address needs elsewhere, too. She cited the Big Surf pool and existing neighborhood parks as facilities that need repairs or upgrades.

“Spending $6.1 million on the golf course alone is too expensive for this economy,” she said.

Park district officials estimate that renovation work would start in the spring of next year, pending park board approval. A draft design plan can be found on the park district's website, at mppd.org/facility/golf.