Grayslake officials to dedicate part of Gelatin Factory park Saturday
The village of Grayslake will officially open the paved portions of the Gelatin Park at noon Saturday.
Brett Kryska said much of the work to the park is done but the grass still needs time to grow.
Because the grass will be roped off, Mayor Rhett Taylor and the board of trustees will be on hand to open the new parking lot, bike path and the road that runs through the park.
"Adding this 10 acres of open space will be a great addition to the village center," Taylor said.
The park is north of Center Street and the railroad tracks where the Grayslake Gelatin factory operated from 1922 to 1982. The land was purchased by the village in 2015.
Earlier this year, the village approved a $2.5 million plan to turn the land into a community park.
The goal was to have the park ready in time for the Color Aloft Balloon Festival, which begins at 3 p.m. Saturday in Central Park.
One of the main features of the park, the iconic Gelatin factory's smokestack, will also be roped off because maintenance work is still ongoing.
In July, the village board approved a plan to pay Gerard Chimney Co. approximately $260,900 to do masonry repair, steelwork and tuckpointing to the structure.
The smokestack is the only thing standing from the old Grayslake Gelatin Factory. The village paid $543,800 to tear down all the other structures on the site.
The new road will connect Railroad Avenue, which dead-ends at the old factory site, to the road that runs through Central Park. The 1,000-foot connecting road winds its way through the new park to encourage drivers to go slower and allow pedestrians to cross the street easier.
Taylor said in April the new road is of central importance to the project because it connects two features of the community, Central Park and the village's downtown.
"We are looking forward to dedicating the rest of the park improvements when they are all complete later this fall," Taylor said.
A formal dedication for the whole park is scheduled Nov. 3.