With grant secure, finishing touches planned for Lindenhurst's newest park
It has been a long time coming, but Oak Ridge Park in Lindenhurst has become a hot spot for kids who have been enjoying the spray park, with more amenities planned.
That feature joins a nine-hole disc golf course, a trail connection, a shelter, and a "fossil dig" sand box at the park at 600 Independence Blvd., which opened July 25 without ceremony. It is north of Grass Lake Road and west of Route 45.
After a year of construction and frequent inquires, district officials wanted to open the doors for public use, and a formal dedication is planned for next spring, Executive Director Dave Mohr Jr. said.
"It's actually kind of neat the way it all happened," Mohr said. "The spray park has been very heavily used."
Finishing touches will be completed after the spray park closes this weekend so state officials can survey the facility and eventually release a $400,000 reimbursement grant.
The opening is a milestone in a process that began nearly 10 years ago when the district, through a third party, secured the eventual ownership of the an 18-acre farm field that had been drawing interest from housing developers.
A different state grant for $400,000 was secured, and the district matched that amount to buy the land for $800,000. By fall 2013, the district was told it would be awarded another $400,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to develop the park, which is named for the century-old oak trees that were preserved.
Bids for the work all came in over budget, and the project was rebid in late 2014. However, Lindenhurst and many other districts were soon notified that the grants would be indefinitely suspended.
The district agreed in May 2015 to proceed because waiting could increase the cost. Because the grant awarded would reimburse the district for completed work, Lindenhurst held its grant status by securing a one-year extension to the end of this year. The district recently was informed that the grant had been released as part of the state's stopgap budget.
The $1.3 million project also included a well and creation of detention areas, which will be used as a water source for athletic fields.
And in a related improvement, Lindenhurst managed and coordinated the construction of an underpass beneath Grass Lake Road that connects the park to a nearby forest preserve and trail system. A partnership of the park district, village of Lindenhurst, Lake Villa Township and the Lake County Forest Preserve District Park District received 80 percent federal funding for the $1.9 million project.