Planning Begins for Stevenson Park Overhaul

With trains whizzing by, Stevenson Park in far eastern Oak Park has a grittiness that conjures up a city feeling instead of the kind of bucolic recreational space envisioned by 19^th century parks pioneer Frederick Olmsted, officials with the Park District of Oak Park say.

There’s not a lot of room to work with in the 3.3-acre area, bordered by Lake Street on the north, train tracks on the south, Lombard Street and the village’s pumping station on the west and Humphrey Avenue to the east.

The village stores a lot of its water there and with loads of concrete, improvements could become almost impossible.

Even with limited space, residents are hoping park district officials can get creative and reconfigure some of the park's existing space into a multi-purpose field.

That's the message park district officials heard from some residents who turned out at a community meeting Wednesday as the district begins collecting ideas for the park’s master plan.

It wouldn't be the first time space concerns had forced some creative pinch-hitting — several years ago, they built the popular skate park and half-court basketball courts on the roofs of the reservoir.

But there isn’t a lot of other room to work with, and money for renovations are tight — the park district is working limited budget of $310,000, unless the park district is successful at securing grant money.

Another idea posed by park officials included turning an informal entryway to the park off Humphrey Avenue, a roadway mainly used by service vehicles, into a formal footpath for visitors.

Access points off Lake could be made more inviting for visitors to the park and to the 58,000 square-foot building, used as a teen center and for some park district programs.

Altamanu, a Chicago firm charged with drafting the master plan, will come back to the next scheduled public hearing, scheduled fo 7 p.m. May 18, with some preliminary site plans and also collect additional information. The meeting will be in the Center at 49 Lake St.

“We are designing the parks for the next 50 years,” Mike Grandy, the park district’s superintendents of buildings and grounds said Wednesday. “We have a vision and a philosophy and long-term financing. Now we have to stick it all together.”

Money for most of the improvements came from the 2005 adoption of a tax rate increase. The additional funds would be used to implement a capital improvement plan, with public involvement a key to fostering park renewal, park district officials said.

Stevenson is the last of Oak Park’s parks to get a master plan. The improvements would not be made until 2014.

The park contains a baseball field, a multi-purpose field and two age-appropriate playground areas. The skate park and three half-basketball courts were added in 2004. A 58,000-square-foot building houses a teen center, opened in 2008, a multi-purpose room for various park district programs and restrooms.

From 2006 to 2008 the park district spent nearly $750,000 to improve draining on the baseball field and install new walkways for better handicap accessibility and upgrade electrical and plumbing, restroom fixtures, lower level windows and security at Stevenson Center.

Residents can still kick in their ideas by answering a questionnaire.