Gurnee parks' renovated Ravinia Park playground reopens

Gurnee Park District hosted a ribbon cutting and picnic at Ravinia Park on Oct. 13 to celebrate the newly renovated playground.

"It is a beautiful evening to reopen a beautiful park," Jim Goshorn said, president of the Board of Commissioners for park district.

The new playground has a number of new items including slides, a jungle gym, artificial turf and ADA surfacing.

"This project began about five years ago when we started working with the state of Illinois. Our goal was to receive a matching grant to replace the old equipment. Playgrounds only last about 15-20 years, and this one has always been heavily used," Goshorn said. "Unfortunately, we were denied the grant twice. However, we found ways to modify the project that was still extremely beneficial to the community by reprioritizing our playground plans and using our own staff to complete the project. We were able to cut the cost of the revamp nearly in half without compromising the neighborhood's needs, safety and excitement."

Over 250 community members were in attendance and were excited to be able to play with the newly added playground musical instruments, swings and mini rock-climbing wall.

When park district Executive Director Susie Kuruvilla asked the children, "Do you like the park?" The community kids cheered, "Yes!"

"We have one more phase of this project to complete. We are going to build a boardwalk that will allow residents to use the entire walking path all year long even through the marshy areas of the park," Goshorn said.

To learn more about Gurnee Park District, community parks and special events, visit www.GurneeParkDistrict.com.