Avon Township receives $20,000 grant for new outdoor community space

This spring, Avon Township will join a long line of communities to receive funding for public place-making projects through the NAR-Mainstreet Community Outreach Grant program. Avon Township will receive $20,000.

These grants, which are awarded to local Realtor associations, fund the creation of public spaces such as playgrounds, community gardens, pocket parks and more.

For this project, Avon Township Supervisor Michele Bauman and the Mainstreet Organization of Realtors proposed the creation of a gathering space that will include an outdoor classroom, community garden and Little Free Library. The space will be free to use for all community members.

"As the local Realtor association, we're proud of the many amenities the Chicagoland area offers residents," Mainstreet Board of Directors President John LeTourneau said. "We love to see new projects like this continue to build the quality of life in our communities."

Bauman, who is also a Realtor at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and a Mainstreet member, has been envisioning this sort of project for the township since beginning her term as supervisor last year.

As Bauman refined her vision for the space, Mainstreet worked with her to strengthen the application and ensure that the requested budget could cover the materials needed to make that vision a reality.

"Now that we have the grant, I'm excited to bring the community together to shape what the final product will look like," Bauman said. "Already, we've held a community action meeting, where people were able to share what they'd like to see here in Avon Township."

Bauman's goal now is to bring together members of the community to contribute to the creation of the new space, not just through ideas, but also through action. For example, she has begun talking with several Boy Scouts about how their Eagle Scout projects could contribute to the outdoor classroom area.

"At Mainstreet, we encourage all our members to get involved in their communities - that's part of what being a Realtor should be," Mainstreet CEO John Gormley said.

"We're always happy to help members like Michele develop ideas for their communities and apply for place-making grants, and we look forward to helping members bring even more community projects to Northern Illinois in the coming years."

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