Carol Stream gets early peek at rec center plans

Exactly a year after Carol Stream residents approved a $37 million referendum for park improvements, they got a look at updated project plans, highlighted by a new 88,000-square-foot recreation center.

Attendees of an open house event at the Carol Stream Community Education Center on Thursday night were invited to submit feedback on the blueprints. Residents can also view sketches and comment at csparks.org.

Construction on the two-story facility planned at Lies Road and Gary Avenue is scheduled to begin by September, with completion expected in March 2013. A grand opening is preliminarily scheduled for that fall.

It will feature a three-court gymnasium, fitness center, running track and natatorium, which will include a 25-yard competition pool.

The pool will have a diving board in its deepest 12 foot portion. A separate warm water pool with ADA-compliant entry ramp will be for programs such as swim lessons.

The facility will cost about $18 million to build — making up about half the amount the district will secure through the referendum. Though some cost estimates have put the figure closer to $20 million to include a 5 percent contingency fund, contractors fees, furniture and fitness equipment.

The open house also featured sketches of planned improvements at McCaslin Park, located at North Avenue and St. Charles Road. The four softball/baseball diamonds will be inverted from their current configuration. All four fields will face outward from a central location anchored by a building with concessions and bathrooms. The new arrangement will save the park district money on lighting, said Bill Rosenberg, director of parks and facilities.

He also said the fields would have synthetic turf to help reduce the number of rainouts.

Construction is scheduled to begin in August and be complete by the following summer.

A dog park on a 20-acre site at the northwest corner of North Avenue and Kuhn Road will include two fenced off areas for both large and small dogs. Officials said low rainfall in the fall has delayed grass seeding of the park, so opening is not expected until the fall.

Meanwhile, negotiations with the county continue regarding the possible installation of a water reservoir and pumping station at Armstrong Park, 391 Illini Drive. The Aldrin Community Center will be demolished.

Improvements are also being made to four bike trails throughout the community: the trail from O’Rahilly Park to the Route 64 underpass, the Great Western Trail link, and the Veterans and Mitchell parks trails. The hope is that the park trail upgrades, along with village-operated trails, will create an interconnected system throughout Carol Stream, Rosenberg said.

Playground improvements at Stonebridge and Sundance Parks have been completed, Tedrahn Park is 90 percent done, and updates at Jirsa and Memorial parks are expected to be complete this summer, Rosenberg said.