Hampshire Township Park District gets grants to develop Tuscany Woods park

The Hampshire Township Park District received notification that it was awarded a $400,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant for the park at Tuscany Woods.

Improvements to the park include a dog park, shared-use trail, restroom/concession stand, parking lot expansion, outdoor ice rink with warming house, shelter with baggo, playground, nature trail with interpretive signage, flag football field and primitive camping sites.

The park currently has parking and three LED lighted baseball fields.

At the annual Illinois Association of Park District/Illinois Park and Recreation Association's annual conference, the Hampshire Township Park District was awarded a $60,000 matching playground grant and will become a National Demonstration Site at the Tuscany Woods park.

PlayCore's Center for Outreach, Research and Education, in partnership with their GameTime brand, is providing statewide professional development services and matching funds to assist parks create play and recreation destinations that align with research-based best practices. These projects will serve as National Demonstration Sites and serve as models for promoting physical activity, fitness, nature engagement and inclusion.

These projects will assist in providing outcomes and reporting that will be shared with Illinois Park and Recreation Association and their members.

"The OSLAD grant is imperative to our community to continue to be able to develop top-notch parks with the amenities that the public wants, as we cannot fund these improvements without the State's assistance," Schraw stated. She continued, "The IPRA/PlayCore Grant provides recreational play to the community yet assists the nation in research. It's an exciting time for the Hampshire Township Park District."

Laura Schraw, executive director of the Hampshire Township Park District, continues to apply for grant opportunities to assist the park district in development of facilities. With a tax rate of 18 cents and bonding ability of $30,000, the park district has limited funds for capital improvement projects, relying heavily on developer impact fees and grants. Executive Director Schraw is a registered landscape architect with the State of Illinois and completes development plans in-house for the park district.

Visit www.hampshireparkdistrict.org/news/new-plans-tuscany-woods-park.