Sentinel The Shorewood
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Voyager Media Publications • www.shorewoodsentinel.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Vol. 18 No. 29
FACELIFT FOR WESTSHORE Brand new playground and splash pad coming to Shorewood park
PHOTOS BY CLARE BRINER/FOR THE SENTINEL
The major renovation and expansion of Shorewood’s Westshore Park will transform the previously outdated park into a fish- and river-themed play environment in keeping with the village’s plans to redevelop the DuPage riverfront for recreational use. By Clare Walters For the Sentinel
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ounds of dirt, piles of stone and temporary fencing at one Shorewood park soon will make way for a brand new playground and splash pad. The major renovation and expansion of Shorewood’s Westshore Park will transform the previously outdated park into a fish- and river-themed play environment in keeping with the village’s plans to redevelop the DuPage riverfront for recreational use. The park is expected to be completed and open to the public by the end of August, Village Administrator Roger Barrowman said.The park’s construction
is about two weeks behind schedule because of the wet spring weather. The park area flooded when the DuPage River reached over 11 feet after an April storm, he said, which meant construction crews had to wait for the water to recede and the ground to dry out before continuing work on the park. More recent storms also slowed progress. Some concrete work, including permanent baggo courts, already has been completed at the site.The sand volleyball court and horseshoe pits are currently under way, Barrowman said, and the splash pad is expected to be installed in early July. “We’re waiting on the splash park parts to come in,” he said.“It will be three more weeks before those arrive.”
Barring any more inclement weather, work is expected to move swiftly. “They’re trying to do as much as they can while they can,” Barrowman said. Plans for the park also include a fishing station with interpretive kiosk, a picnic shelter, outdoor grills and native landscaping. The park’s renovation is a nearly $430,000 project with half of the cost being reimbursed by a state grant. Village officials learned last June that Westshore Park was among the projects statewide that would receive an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant.Administered through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and funded by the real estate transfer tax, the grants are for public bodies with plans to
increase green space and opportunities for recreation. The village’s DuPage riverfront redevelopment plan is designed to do just that, making the park a natural fit for the grant. Since 1996, the village has been systematically purchasing residential property along the riverfront and returning it to public use. Barrowman said the park is an important part of that redevelopment, but there’s more land acquisition needed before the plan can be realized. Nonetheless, the riverfront area will be put to use for various events, including a car show this summer. Once the park is nearer completion, village officials will announce a date and time for a ribbon cutting, Barrowman said.