With the help of a $600,000 state grant, Northbrook Park District plans to spend $2.9 million to overhaul Techny Prairie Park and Fields in the coming years.
The 113-acre park, 1700 Techny Road, offers athletic fields, batting cages, fishing, golf, shelters, picnic areas, a skate park, a playground, a sled hill, a nature area and 2.4 miles of walking paths, according to Joan Scovic, director of marketing and communications for the Park District.
The grant will allow the Park District to upgrade many park amenities that were built in 2006 that are reaching the end of their useful life, Northbrook Park District Executive Director Chris Leiner said.
“Our team at the Park District is excited to see this major project move forward with the support of (state) OSLAD (Open Space Land Acquisition and Development) funding,” Leiner said.
“By combining state and local funding, we will be able to reinvest in this well-used park and elevate it to a best-in-class community asset.”
Scovic said the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant will help fund:
•A new playground with improved accessibility and synthetic turf
•A new picnic shelter
•Improvements to the Trail Through Time walking path, including “forest therapy elements”
•New seating areas, and a new woodland path creating a small loop
•Batting cage renovations including new equipment, an ADA accessible stall and a modernized payment system
•Renovations at Baseball Field #29, the only lighted and irrigated field in the district, including drainage improvements, dugout and bleacher shade improvements, and new fencing, netting, scoreboard and site furnishings.
•A new tunnel for batting and pitching use with synthetic turf, portable mound, pitching screen and temporary pitching rubbers
•Supplemental pond edge plantings, wildlife habitat improvements and educational signage
Leiner said he expects to receive 50% of the grant when the project starts and the remaining 50% when it is completed.
The remaining $2.3 million will come from the district’s capital reserve fund, which is created from funds leftover each fiscal year from unused budgeted dollars, he said. The Park District is funded about half by property taxes and half by user fees, Leiner said.
“The grant was awarded, but the district has not yet received the paperwork from the state,” he said. “It usually takes a few months.”
The district will likely begin design work later this year, including developing construction, engineering and architectural plans, Leiner said.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027 or later, depending on how long it takes the district to get permits and other necessary paperwork in order, he said.
“Without a start date yet, it’s hard to say when it will be finished,” Leiner said. “We expect the work to take a full season, something like spring through fall, a full construction season.”
Leiner said he was thrilled to get the grant because Techny Prairie is used by virtually all demographic groups within the Park District.
“To bring state dollars to Northbrook for a regional asset is really important,” he said. “Techny Prairie is one of the jewels of the Park District. It’s a special site for many residents and serves so many demographics.”
State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, has been a champion of the Techny Prairie Park and Fields project, Scovic said.
“I am pleased to have supported $600,000 in funding for Techny Prairie Park and Fields to enhance the park and the surrounding area. An investment in our parks is an investment in our communities,” Morrison said in a prepared statement.
