Naperville Park District unveils four concepts for Hobson West
From an open meadow to a maintenance facility, Naperville Park District planners have come up with four visions for their newest park in the Hobson West neighborhood.
The district held an open house this week to present concepts for the six acres and ask residents for their input.
The land is between two nine-acre ponds the district already owns in the neighborhood between Plainfield-Naperville Road and West Street. Residents in that area spent several years trying to convince park commissioners to purchase the site.
Last month, they finally agreed to do so and are currently in the 60-day "due diligence" period before they officially close on the $2.5 million deal.
Eric Shutes, director of planning, said the staff looked at the district's Open Space and Recreation Master Plan when coming up with concepts. One acre is wetland, leaving five acres of usable space.
In the first proposal, there would be minimal impact on the land and it would primarily be a meadow with mowed trails. It is the only one of the four concepts that does not include parking. The proposal would cost about $128,000 with annual maintenance of about $1,600 and no revenue generation.
The second proposal goes a step further and adds parking, a picnic shelter and open turf along with a grassy meadow area with mowed paths. It would cost roughly $466,000 to develop and another $4,700 a year for maintenance but could generate about $15,400 a year from renting out the fields or pavilion.
At a development cost of $448,000, the third concept would include parking, a basketball court, multiuse fields and mowed trails through tall grass meadows. This vision would cost about $6,800 a year to maintain but could bring in an estimated $12,200 annually.
The fourth concept includes the largest development and would cost about $4.6 million. In this proposal, the park district would use a portion of the site for a maintenance facility. The building would likely be about 8,000 to 10,000 square feet and one story tall, according to planner Mary Gardocki. The rest of the land would be open space. This concept would cost about $6,300 annually while generating about $12,200.
Planners say relocating the maintenance facility on Martin Avenue to this site would give them room to expand indoor recreation space at the Barn Recreation Center.
All four concepts include demolishing a vacant house on the property that dates to 1890 as well as a coach house that has a tenant.
Gardocki said keeping the buildings would necessitate extensive work that could cost $1 million to bring them in line with city codes and ADA regulations.
Both Doug Dallmer and Tom O'Hale, longtime supporters of purchasing the land, said they like a combination of the first two concepts, which keeps much of the land as open space.
"You don't want to ... try to overpower the site with lots of things," Dallmer said. "The beauty of it is really all those large trees."
Don Strauss said he and his grandchildren would like to see the district keep the building on the property or at least replace it so the park district can use it to hold lectures and other new nature programs. But if the district does choose to demolish the buildings, he hopes the property will be left as pristine as possible.
Park staff will continue to review options for the land and report back to the park board.