Plainfield's Riverview Farmstead Preserve Expands By 40 Acres Thanks To Forest Preserve Purchase

PLAINFIELD, IL — Forty acres of agricultural land have been added to the Riverview Farmstead Preserve in Plainfield, the Forest Preserve District of Will County announced.

The new parcel fills "a critical gap" in the DuPage River Greenway and brings the Riverview Farmstead Preserve, which stretches north into Naperville, closer to the Plainfield Park District's Eaton Preserve, officials said. The land is located north of 127th Street and west side of the DuPage River. Eaton Preserve sits farther south, below 135th Street, in unincorporated Wheatland Township.

The land is one of the last parcels zoned for agricultural use in Plainfield, Forest Preserve, according to a news release. The addition will enable a future extension of the DuPage River Trail.

The district purchased the land for $1.089 million as part of its 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program, which the Board of Commissioners approved in 2024. The program is funded by a $50 million bond issue, with $25 million dedicated to land preservation, $12 million to regional and local trail connections and new access areas, and $13 million to habitat restoration, according to the release.

Officials said preserving open space has a multitude of benefits, including helping with flood control, storing carbon, providing habitat for wildlife, and helping threatened and endangered animals survive.

"Acquisitions funded by the capital plan will ensure there is more green space in Will County for future generations to enjoy," spokesperson Cindy Wojdyla Cain said in a statement, "and the new parcels will add access to open areas so people can reap the physical and mental benefits of being in nature."

The Riverview addition is the district's third large acquisition completed this year. On June 19, it purchased a 241-acre parcel in Custer Township, and on Aug. 15, it acquired a 495.27-acre parcel adjacent to Goodenow Grove Nature Preserve in Crete Township. The district eyed the latter since the 1970s, and the purchase marked the second-largest property acquisition in its history, officials said.

Including 2025 acquisitions, the Forest Preserve District of Will County owns, leases or manages nearly 24,000 acres of land.