Winnetka Parks Awarded Nearly $400K for Hubbard Woods Park

Submitted by the Winnetka Park District

On January 3, the Winnetka Park District was awarded a $398,500 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) Grants Program. This is a matching fund grant for the development of Winnetka Park District’s Hubbard Woods Park.

Governor Pat Quinn made this announcement at a press conference at the Cheney Mansion in Oak Park which was attended by the Winnetka Park District Executive Director, Robert Smith. Quinn announced $26 million in funding to help communities across the state renovate existing parks and purchase land for new parks.

“We are honored to be among those parks and recreation agencies recognized and are looking forward to the development phase of Hubbard Woods Park”, said Executive Director, Robert Smith. “It is a positive way to start out 2015.”

Since October 2013, the Winnetka Park District has been working on a Land Use Plan (Master Plan) for Hubbard Woods Park. The goal was to come up with a plan for Hubbard Woods Park that provides improvement for recreational opportunities and other enhancements, while being an anchor and lending support to the Hubbard Woods Business District as a center of activity.

Through the services of land planning specialists, The Lakota Group, the Master Plan has been completed which included numerous community engagement opportunities during various touch points throughout the planning development process. Currently the Winnetka Park District is in the Village review process and expects redevelopment to begin late-spring 2015.