St. Charles Park District to use grant funds for Primrose Farm renovations, new amenities

Pickleball courts, an adult challenge course and more are on tap for Primrose Farm Park in St. Charles after the St. Charles Park District was awarded a $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Gov. JB Pritzker announced the grants earlier this month. Several other local park districts also received grants.

Funds from the grant will help assist in funding a number of renovations and new amenities at Primrose Farm Park, according to a news release from the St. Charles Park District Monday afternoon.

“The park district was thrilled to be listed as one of the parks and recreation agencies receiving OSLAD grants,” said Holly Cabel, director of parks and recreation for the St. Charles Park District. “This $600,000 grant for renovations at Primrose Farm Park will allow the district to continue to meet its community’s needs.”

The OSLAD grant funding will go toward fulfilling a particular portion of the park district’s master plan, which calls for upgrades at Primrose Farm Park based, in part, on the history of current amenities, as well as community feedback, the release stated.

Among the list of new amenities are the addition of three pickleball courts, an adult challenge course, a picnic shelter and more parking.

Renovations will include installing fencing and shade structures at the park’s existing baseball fields, and adding a connecting trail between Primrose Farm Park and nearby Primrose Farm.

“This grant will allow us to both renovate existing amenities within the park, such as the baseball fields, and bring new amenities and opportunities to our community,” Cabel said. “New amenities such as the adult challenge course will allow our community to experience opportunities not currently within our park system. Additionally, the location of Primrose Farm Park in our northwest quadrant allows us to continue our addition of pickleball courts geographically spread out within our boundaries. The parking lot enhancements will be a welcome addition to all park users to make visiting Primrose Farm Park easier and more convenient.”

Additional upgrades at the park will include building out accessibility features and vaulted restrooms.

Completion of the upgrade project is expected by Memorial Day weekend 2025, said Laura Rudow, superintendent of parks and planning for the St. Charles Park District, adding that construction-related work would be scheduled with regard to planned activities.

“We need to be sensitive to the current programming out here,” she said.

Although it has received various other grant funding in recent years, the St. Charles Park District had not been the recipient of an OSLAD grant since 2019, Rudow stated in the release.

This year, however, the park district’s Primrose Farm Park project was one of 118 state projects selected for nearly $60 million in OSLAD grant funding, the largest round of such funding in the 36-year history of the program, the release stated.