State grant for Naperville park activity center suspended
A $2.5 million state grant that had been promised to the Naperville Park District for construction of an indoor activity center has been suspended, officials said Thursday.
The suspension results from Gov. Bruce Rauner's move to put a hold on all grants promised to park districts as the state faces an estimated $1.6 billion deficit.
Ray McGury, Naperville Park District executive director, said the district still has enough money to build the Fort Hill Activity Center without the state grant it was awarded last July if necessary.
The park board was to meet Thursday night to discuss options to adjust activity center plans. The facility was designed as a 79,000-square-foot, two-story building with a roughly $24 million budget, including the $2.5 million from the state.
"While we greatly appreciated being a recipient of the PARC (Park and Recreation Construction) grant, our project never hinged on it," McGury said.
The indoor activity center has been in the works since the park district bought a 5-acre site at Quincy Avenue and Fort Hill Drive for $2 million in November 2013.
The park district is scheduled to break ground on the building April 9.