Tuesday, April 23, 2013
A splash pad and band shell are among the features slated for Gordon Park's redevelopment. But one trustee asked that the park district look to pedestrian safety as well as fun when it comes to redesigning the park.
Improvement plans for Gordon Park—five years in the making—got a unanimous seal of approval at Monday’s La Grange Village Board meeting. The board’s vote opens the door for a band shell, butterfly garden, soccer fields and other amenities to sprout from the park—as well as for more visitors to make use of those features. Trustee Jeff Nowak said he hopes that conversations continue about how to improve pedestrian safety around the park. The park district, he said, has indicated that it doesn’t expect an increase in traffic, but he believes the area will become busier. “I’d ask you to be proactive in identifying various ways we can keep people safe and communicate those things to our residents when they are visiting a new Gordon Park,” he …
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Gordon Park
E Ogden Ave & Locust Ave, La Grange, IL
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Friday, April 12, 2013
Plans for the improvements advanced after the park district and the village reached an agreement last week in a land dispute, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The Park District of La Grange agreed last week to transfer a small tract of land to the village, resolving a land dispute that held in a deadlock proposed improvements to Gordon Park, the Chicago Tribune reports. With what park District Dean Bissias described as a “pencil tip” of land at Ogden and Locust changing hands, the Plan Commission approved a new skating area and sewer upgrades for Gordon Park. "There really wasn't a lot of emotion or anything about it; it was just a matter of (clarifying) what was needed," Bissias told the Tribune. "…We kind of negotiated back and forth whether they really needed it." The Village Board will vote on whether to give the project the official go-ahead at an upcoming meeting. Read the rest of the …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
A roundup of vote totals, candidate reactions and profiles of your newly elected officials.
Voters ushered in their newest class of elected officials Tuesday during the consolidated election. Below, find race results, candidate reactions and profiles. Candidate reaction: Candidate profiles: Candidate profiles: Candidate profiles: Keep track of every story on our Elections page - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of ways to keep up with La Grange news:
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Live results from contested races in La Grange.
La Grange Patch will be reporting live results throughout the night for village clerk, village trustee and park district commissioner. - - - - - - - - - - For updates on this and other stories:
Monday, April 1, 2013
The Park District of La Grange is partnering with WineStyles to host its first wine tasting event.
The Park District of La Grange is taking the intimidation factor out of wine by holding a tasting event April 19 at the Recreation Center. Staff from WineStyles in Woodridge will walk guests through more than 30 types of wine during the two-hour event. Guests will be able to purchase bottles that they like at a discount. Most of the highlighted wines will be in the $10-$20 range, said Park District Community Programs Supervisor Ross Houston “We wanted to make this more affordable so we can expose people to (wine tasting) and not have them break the bank,” he said. WineStyles is known for making the wine-tasting process simple by organizing wines into categories such as crisp, fruity or bold rather than by varietal or region. The staff also…
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The schematic removes the two western softball fields in favor of a dedicated football/socer field, a play area, a splash pad, a skateboarding area and a performance shell.
The Park District of La Grange has released a site plan for the redevelopment of Gordon Park, as seen above, including the replacement of the two western softball fields with several new features. Most prominently, the western half of the park would gain a dedicated football/soccer field, a new shelter and a play complex with a playground, splash pad, butterfly area, skateboarding area and performance area. To create the space, two western softball fields, the two outdoor basketball courts and two of the park's northwest tennis courts would be sacrifced. Much of the current softball-field lighting would remain. To the east side of the park, the plan would also add 28 parking spaces along Hazel Avenue. Long in development and bargaining, …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
The continuing fight over Gordon Park has again been tabled after a plan commission meeting on Feb. 12 failed to resolve a key dispute.
Thought the Park District of La Grange Board has worked through its concerns and approved $2.1 million in improvements to Gordon Park, any breaking of ground remains stalled after a Feb. 12 plan-commission meeting left a land dispute unresolved, The Doings La Grange reports. According to the Chicago Tribune, the District is seeking special-use permits for improvements like a band shell and skating area in the park, which the Village refuses to grant unless the District cedes a small strip of land north of Ogden Avenue; the District calls that “inappropriate.” The District’s main concern, reports The Doings, is the uncertainty of the mess left when Atlantic Realty Partners abandoned plans to rebuild on the former YMCA west of the park, …
Monday, January 28, 2013
The ongoing discussion over the park in northeast La Grange will continue for another month as the Park District Board shot down a $2.2 million improvement plan.
The Park District of La Grange Board has placed a hold on approving bids for renovating Gordon Park due to the objections of two members, one of whom cited the lack of recent community hearings on the plan, The Doings La Grange reports. "I believe in fixing up the park, but let people know about it," read a quote from Lynn Lacey, who voted nay to the $2.2 million in improvements along with Robert Ashby. "Eight years ago, people were talking about these plans, and some have moved." According to the paper, a $400,000 grant is in jeopardy if improvements to the park are not completed by the end of 2013; the Village Board has authorized up to $2.6 million in funds to renovate the park. Read the full story at The Doings La Grange website. Get …
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Park District of La Grange could start installing the new playground at Elm Park as soon as Aug. 13. A fire destroyed much of the playground earlier in July.
The Park District of La Grange has announced that new playground equipment for Elm Park has been ordered and is on its way. On July 8, at about 11:05 p.m., the La Grange Fire Department was alerted to a fire at the park, possibly caused by fireworks. The fire subsequently caused $75,000 worth of damage to playground equipment as the blaze melted about half of the playground and burned woodchips. Dean Bissias, executive director of the park district, said he expects the new equipment for the playground to be delivered by Aug. 9 with installation beginning by Aug. 13 at the earliest. "We're replacing the equipment exactly as it was," Bissias said. Bissias said the park district did not have an exact timeline for how long the installation …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The 11th annual Family Fest takes place on Friday, July 20 at Gordon Park in La Grange with carnival rides, a petting zoo and fireworks after dark.
Carnival rides, a petting zoo and more fireworks, in case you didn't get enough this month! Who could ask for more this weekend? If you're looking for family fun in La Grange, you should definitely check out the 11th annual Family Fest at Gordon Park in La Grange. It's free! What: Family Fest 2012 Where: Gordon Park, located off Ogden Avenue just passed La Grange Road to the East. There's plenty of parking at Gordon Park and you can click here for a map showing how to get to parking spaces. When: Friday, July 20 Time: 5:30 - 10 p.m. What's Happening? There’s a lot for the whole family to get excited about at Family Fest. For the kids, there are carnival rides, a petting zoo, face painting and a lot of other fun activities. Parents will …
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Gordon Park
E Ogden Ave & Locust Ave, La Grange, IL
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Susan R.
2:40 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013
The two softball fields that will be staying are far from parking and one of them is consistently under water. I know that there have been plenty of soccer games played at Gordon Park with the current configuration. Why does the Park District want to eliminate a usable and convenient softball field in favor of football? It seems to me that the Park District threw together a plan to avoid losing a… more ›