Current Capital Improvement Projects

Taylor Park Renovation Project

Join us for the Grand Reopening of Taylor Park Saturday, April 28 at 10am!

01/11/12 Project Update: We hope you are enjoying the much improved Taylor Park. Many compliments have been received on the new playground at Taylor, especially the new climbing boulders. The bridge in the wetland area was recently installed and a fence surrounding this area will be installed in the months ahead. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 28 at 10am for the Taylor Park Grand Re-opening.

11/23/11 Project Update: The playground is now open except for one piece of apparatus which will become available as soon as the final part is received and installed. Enjoy!

09/09/11 Project Update: Tennis courts are now open.

07/27/11 Project Update: Work continues on the tennis courts. They are now scheduled to reopen mid-September.

06/13/11 Project Update: Work continues on the demolition and reconstruction of the tennis courts. This work was tentatively scheduled to be completed in early July but at this time, has been postponed approximately one month. Completion of the entire park renovation project is anticipated in late fall 2011.

04/15/11 Project Update: The project has commenced. The first focus is on the tennis courts with an anticipated opening date of July 1. Root aeration is taking place April 21-29.

Project History

Taylor Park is an 11.75 acre park located at 400 W. Division just west of Ridgeland Avenue. Current park amenities include a soccer field, six tennis courts, picnic area, sledding hill, comfort station and tot lot playground apparatus.

In early 2008, after a competitive Request for Proposals process, Altamanu, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois was hired to provide professional landscape architecture services for the master site planning of Taylor Park.  After staff and focus group input, and four community meetings, the Park Board of Commissioners reviewed the Taylor Park Site Plan final draft recommendation at the Committee of the Whole Meeting on Thursday, July 10, 2008.  At the Regular Park Board Meeting on Thursday, July 17, 2008 the Park Board accepted the Taylor Park Site Plan.  The site plan is available here.   

Altamanu, Inc. has since been contracted to complete the construction documents and assist with construction observation.

Project Summary

Being the first of three improvement phases anticipated for Taylor Park, this 2011 project includes re- construction of the six tennis courts; a new discovery playground area that will be ADA accessible and significantly interactive for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12 years; a centrally-located picnic shelter; and installation of a new wetland area at the southeast corner of the park for nature discovery opportunities and to address water drainage issues in this area.  New interior park pathways and amenities will be installed for improved ADA access.  Additionally, where existing trees have root systems that have grown under existing concrete or asphalt over many years, the improvements at Taylor Park will include the new process of root aeration.  Root aeration includes the blowing of soil by a high-pressured device, and laying a root barrier fabric down before new concrete or asphalt is installed.  In 2010, the Park District used this concept at Maple Park, as an alternative to root pruning, which can damage the health of the trees.  

Improvements to Taylor Park began in April 2011 with $680,000 allocated for the first phase improvements through the Park District’s Capital Budget.  An additional $400,000 has been secured from an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Open Space Land Acquisition & Development grant.  Dominican University and Fenwick High School will contribute $30,000 as part an agreement for tennis court improvements and use. 

In March 2011, the Park District of Oak Park, through a competitive bid process, hired a contractor to complete the improvements. A Pre-Construction Information Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 23 at 7pm at the Dole Center Meeting Room, 255 Augusta to review project details and the expected construction timeline. Construction work began April 4th, 2011.

Park Availability
Construction fencing currently encompasses the southern half end of the park site, including the tennis courts, the area just east of the tennis courts, and the southeast corner of the park.  The rest of Taylor Park will remain open to the public during the project.  Work began on April 4th, 2011 and will be complete late fall 2011.  The tennis courts are expected to re-open by July 1st, 2011. 

Project Team
The Working Group for this project is comprised of  Josephine Bellalta and Phil Hutchinson of Altamanu, Inc.; Jamil Bou-Saab and Jerry Pilipowicz of Terra Engineering; James Adamson of V3 Company; and Gary Balling, Michael Grandy and Neil Adams from the Park District of Oak Park.

Timeline
Project begins                               April 4, 2011
Project completed                         by late fall 2011