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Yena Park
Update August 6, 2025.
Permitting and
Work Schedule
PHASE II
(APPROVED)
The Village of
La Grange Park approved a Phase II Building Permit late in the afternoon of
Monday, August 4. This permit has been delivered to
Landworks and allows them to activate subcontractors to continue MWRD
work.
PHASE III
(PENDING)
The Community
Park District anticipates receiving the Phase III Building Permit from the
Village tomorrow afternoon (August 7). Once we have this permit, our team will
hand deliver it to Landworks and it will greenlight the completion of
underground plumbing and electrical work, installation of all remaining
park elements, structures and fencing. Once received, Landworks can begin
the process of re-activating subcontractors to complete electrical and plumbing
work, Residents can anticipate seeing these contractors onsite intermittently
as early as next week. You may also see delivery of additional materials such
as stone and gravel.
Landworks will
also begin prepping to re-mobilize their crew. This includes refreshing
existing dump tickets, additional haul-off, and remarking for utilities. This
being the height of construction season, there is an extended timeline for
these services. For example, JULIE is currently estimating a 98-hour response
time instead of 72 hours. Landworks is also in contact with MWRD to inform them
that work is resuming onsite, which requires a new site review. Landworks also
estimates a 3-4 week lead time for fencing delivery, and most subcontractor
work mentioned above must be completed before they can begin asphalt work or
site furnishings installation. We anticipate Landworks' full crew to be
reactivated in the next 3-4 weeks (Between August 28 and September 4).
SITE
MAINTENANCE
Due to the
project being outside the scope of the original timeline, the Community Park
District staff has worked out an agreement with Landworks to take over the
interior and exterior maintenance (mowing) of the project site for the next 3-4
weeks. Our team will be onsite on Friday, August 8 to mow. Residents can expect
the park district to perform this maintenance on a weekly basis.
Project Scope
and Timeline Changes
The Community
Park District is subject to the same regulatory Village review and permitting
as any resident in La Grange Park. The Village requires structural engineer
reviews for all fencing and backstops, which required the park district to
engage with a Geotechnical Engineer to test the soil where the existing
structures were installed. The requirement for structural engineer calculations
and review also prevents the park district from utilizing pre-fabricated,
industry standard backstops for the ballfields. Ultimately, the park district
had to redesign the fencing from the new industry standard of pile-driven posts
to concrete footings. The structural engineer review indicated that footings
need to be 24" in diameter and 56" in depth - which is
6"-12" wider than industry standard and significantly deeper than the
frostline here in Illinois. We anticipate a minimum of 50 additional yards of
concrete to be needed for the required footings. We were unable to get approval
on the remaining park elements until design and review of the custom fencing
was completed.
It has taken
time to work through the required structural engineer review and custom design.
Additionally, the Village needed additional time to review to ensure the design
was in compliance with their code.
The Park
District is proud of the work it has done with the Village to ensure the
quality and local compliance of this project.
We are working
with Landworks to update the revised project schedule and will publish that as
soon as we have it.
FAQs
The following
are frequently asked questions we have received from residents over the past
few weeks:
Q: Has project
funding for Yena Park been allocated to the acquisition of the YMCA?
A: No. The Yena Park project is funded
with a $600,000 OSLAD Grant, which requires matching funds from the park
district. The Park District Board of Commissioners allocated matching funding
for Yena Park in 2021, and it has been invested and accruing interest per our
financial policy since.
Q: Why didn't
you wait to break-ground before you had all the permitting in place?
A: The park
district anticipated a linear permitting process and began work as we had the
correct permissions in place. The
park district has very specific legal spend-down requirements it has to meet as
set by the IRS as well as required by the OSLAD Grant terms. Entering into a
contract and encumbering the funds needed to complete the project helps to
satisfy these spend down requirements (and prevents funding for this project
being spent elsewhere). Delaying the project unnecessarily could jeopardize
project grant funding and subject the park district to arbitrage.
Q: Why haven't
you provided more updates to the residents?
A: The park
district has provided information as it has received it. A project of this scope requires working with our
project manager (JSD), our outside general contractor (Landworks), the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency (IEPA), the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), the Village
of La Grange Park, a geotechnical engineer, JULIE, subcontractors, structural
engineers, the Park District Risk Management Agency (PDRMA), and more. The park
district has worked with each of these organizations to expedite their review
of this project to the best of our ability.
Q: Why can't
you do more to prevent the site from being an eyesore?
A: Once the park district entered into a contract
with Landworks, insurance and liability requirements prevented the park staff
from doing any work inside the construction fence. The park district has worked
to explore solutions and will be taking over maintenance of the interior of the
worksite beginning this week until Landworks' full crew is back onsite.
Q: The
equipment has been sitting outside for a long time. Will that damage it before
it is installed?
A: No. The playground equipment and shelter are designed to
be installed outside. Storing them out of doors in a secure location will not
jeopardize their structural integrity or quality.
We want to
thank the residents of La Grange Park and neighbors of Yena Park for their
patience as we work to improve Yena Park. This project will provide a perimeter
walking path for our community, additional pickleball, a new playground,
upgraded ballfields, and more. We know that the improvements have been a
long-time coming, and this project has been a priority of our board and staff
since 2021. We are working diligently to make sure it is done right, and within
budget.
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Community Park District of La Grange Park Awarded $600,000 for the Renovation of Yena Park
Thursday, February 1 2024
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources awarded the Community Park District of La Grange Park a $600,000 OSLAD Grant for the renovation of Yena Park. “This grant will be transformational for our parks,” says Sara Earhart, Superintendent of Parks for the district and a La Grange Park resident.
In 2021, the district conducted a comprehensive park inventory and assessment as part of its long-range planning process and the quality of Yena Park received the second lowest rating in La Grange Park – the lowest rating belonged to Beach Oak Park which will celebrate a grand re-opening in the spring of 2024.
Through an existing debt refinance and the issuance of new non-referendum bonds, the district had generated approximately $600,000 to allocate to park improvements outside of Beach Oak Park. An amount that would cover less than half of the essential park improvements outlined in the Yena Park conceptual plan. This was the district’s second attempt at acquiring matching state funding for Yena Park through the OSLAD program.
“We know the incredible impact the Yena Park project will have on our entire community, and we weren’t going to give up on it,” says Executive Director Jessica Cannaday. According to Cannaday, the district received an outpouring of letters of support for both grant applications from residents and groups including La Grange Park Little League, School District 95, School District 102, La Grange Park Chamber of Commerce, the Arbor Advocates, and many more.
The district worked with the community to refine its conceptual plan, adding designated pickleball and increasing nature-based play spaces for the grant resubmittal. The plan also calls for the preservation of existing trees, the addition of water fountains, ADA accessibility improvements, athletic field renovations, playground replacement, tennis court renovations, and the addition of a perimeter walking path around the entire park. “This grant allows us to address a huge number of resident needs and requests and better serve people of all ages and abilities,” says Park Board President Bob Corte.
“I appreciate Governor Pritzker’s continued efforts to ensure funding for the OSLAD program, which is a vital tool for communities to build safe, engaging, and accessible outdoor spaces for their residents,” said IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie.
With the funding now available for Yena Park, the Community Park District says residents can look forward to celebrating the grand reopening of Yena Park in 2025. Executive Director Cannaday says that residents should keep their eyes open for additional input meetings. “As we move towards finalizing construction plans, there are still important decisions to be made and we are committed to working with residents and stakeholders to make sure we get the details and project timing just right.”
Nearly $55 million in state grants are being awarded for 111 local park projects throughout Illinois to help communities acquire land and develop recreational opportunities, Gov. JB Pritzker announced today. For the second year in a row, the governor ensured funding was set aside for economically distressed communities, resulting in 32 underserved locations receiving $18.7 million in grants from the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development, or OSLAD, program. This is the 37th year for the program, which is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1986, OSLAD is a cost-sharing program between state and local governments that helps communities fund land acquisition and development for parks and outdoor recreation projects. It’s become one of the most popular grant programs in Illinois. Since it was established, OSLAD has awarded nearly $585 million for park projects throughout Illinois (including the awards announced in 2024).
Stone Monroe Athletic Court Public Input Meeting
Held Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 10am
Executive Director Jessica Cannaday was onsite at the Stone Monroe Athletic Courts to discuss the future of the site.
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