Algonquin gets $400,000 grant for Presidential Park upgrades

Algonquin — The village of Algonquin has received a $400,000 grant for redeveloping Presidential Park; the grant comes courtesy of Illinois’ Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program, the village announced in a press release on Friday.

“We are very grateful to receive funding for the improvements at Presidential Park through this very competitive state-wide grant process,” Village President Debby Sosine said in the release. “The improvements to current amenities and construction of new features at Presidential Park will have a positive, lasting impression on our community as a whole.”

Renovating Presidential Park, located on the east side of the village along Highland Avenue, was a priority for the community, and the village’s Parks Master Plan approved last year, said assistant village manager Michael Kumbera.

The improvements, which will cost $2.2 million overall, will include a new playground, updated challenge course and improved multi-use soccer fields, Kumbera said.

The playground will be themed around sports, as the park overall has become oriented towards athletics, Kumbera said.

“We are looking at the park holistically,” Kumbera said. “We have the soccer fields and baseball diamonds there. So we want site amenities to complement that and show an overall tone and vision.”

At the moment, the village is developing plans for several park improvements simultaneously, including Towne Park. Kumbera described the scheduled outlined in the master plan as “ambitious” but said village parks had been getting more use than ever since the pandemic period.

The village is hoping to complete engineering and concept designs by April 2023, and to have the site shove-ready for later that summer, Kumbera said.