Rolling Meadows is turning an old pool into a new wedding venue
What once was an outdoor pool is a step closer to becoming a Rolling Meadows Park District wedding and event venue.
The old six-lane, 25-meter pool and 12-foot-deep diving well at Plum Grove Park has been filled in with stone and will get a layer of top soil before landscape architects begin work on the outdoor green space this summer.
Geared to wedding parties and other group events, the area will include a picnic pavilion with six tables and two grills, a large circular courtyard with a wedding arbor, along with walkways and landscaping.
The expected transformation - at a cost of $251,851 - comes after the park board decided not to reopen the 1960s-era pool following the summer of 2016 due to leaks and a crumbling shell. The fixes would have cost $800,000.
The park district acquired the pool from the Plum Grove Estates Homeowners Association two decades ago. The eight-acre park - which includes a clubhouse banquet room, skate park, and tennis and basketball courts - is a public park incorporated within Rolling Meadows, though its mailing address is 4001 Park Drive in Palatine.
After the park district secures project permits with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, construction is expected to last up to four months. The goal is to finish by October and have the venue be available for rentals in spring 2019, according to Amy Charlesworth, the park district's executive director.
D&J Landscape was awarded a contract for the work last week.
A future phase proposes modifying the old swimming pool concession stand kitchen area to bathrooms with outdoor access. Right now, visitors to the park are able to use bathrooms inside the clubhouse.