Naperville parks planning new 'civic hub' for city's south side
It's a "weed patch" near a pond now, but in a year, the transformation of a 2-acre plot near the 95th Street Library into a versatile public space and civic hub for south Naperville could be well underway.
Naperville Park District officials say they plan to add funding for a plaza at the Frontier Sports Complex to next year's budget to pursue a design that began a year ago as an idea from a library official thinking big.
"I think it's a pretty exciting project," park board President Mike Reilly said. "The idea is to not over-design it so it is useful for a wide variety of things."
Karen Dunford, manager of the 95th Street Library, said she realized last year the land south of the library's parking lot, between Cedar Glade Drive on the east and a nearly hidden pond on the west, is underused.
Library patrons, Dunford says, often complain about a lack of outdoor space to read or study and the lack of paths connecting the library, nearby Neuqua Valley High School and the adjacent Frontier Sports Complex.
A sidewalk heading from the library toward the sports fields cuts off when the city's property ends, Mayor Steve Chirico said, but could be extended as part of the city's likely participation in plaza plans.
Dunford took her idea to the park district, which engaged Hitchcock Design Group to develop designs.
The project could cost between $3.6 million and $4.5 million, but Hitchcock has broken it into three components, which the district and any partner agencies can split into phases.
Eric Shutes, director of planning for the park district, said it plans to build the plaza next year and potentially the basic framework phase, work that could cost between $2.4 million and $3 million.
The plaza phase includes an amphitheater with a band shell, a fitness lawn, playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, shelters, restrooms, sculptures, plantings, furniture and infrastructure. If the district tacks on the basic framework phase as well, it would include perimeter trail connections to nearby properties.
Shutes said the district plans to pay for the plaza using land-cash donations it has received from developers and more money it stands to receive from large residential projects in the works.
Work that's likely to be conducted in a separate phase could bring city involvement to provide more trail connections and improve Cedar Glade Drive, as well as its sidewalks and streetscapes.
"This could really be a very, very cool community meeting place if it's done properly," Chirico said. "That's something I think south Naperville would really appreciate."