Skokie Park District Gets $357,000 Matching Grant For Lawler Park

SKOKIE, IL — The Skokie Park District received a $357,000 matching grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program to improve Lawler Park.

The money has been earmarked for renovations to the 30-year-old playground including new equipment, including swings, a tower and slide and a 65-foot zip line.

Other improvements funded by the grant include landscape plantings and native prairie restoration, a 0.12-mile concrete walk path that will connect to the existing perimeter sidewalk, picnic areas and a fitness node with five pieces of equipment for teenagers and adults.

The project adds a new amenity to the district: a teqball area. Teqball combines soccer and table tennis, with players bouncing a ball on a curved table without the use of their hands.

"We are incredibly excited to receive this grant," said the district's Executive Director Michelle Tuft. "What began as somewhat modest project can now be enhanced to fulfill a much bigger wish list for Lawler Park."

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The Lawler Park project is among the 118 local park projects that have received a combined $56 million in OSLAD funding this year. The maximum individual award is $600,000, and districts have two years to complete the grant-funded project.

"There is an overwhelming demand for these projects, and today's state grants will once again enable local parks to make Illinois a better place to live, work, and play," said Peter Murphy, Illinois Association of Park Districts president and CEO, announcing the grants.

According to the grant application, the projected cost breakdown for the updates to Lawler Park is as follows:

• Playground: $369,600
• Shelter Area: $54,600
• Walk Path: $56,400
• Fitness Node: $38,400
• Teqball Area: $34,600
• Landscape Plantings and Native Prairie Restoration: $78,200

Along with about $100,000 for design fees, an accountant's report and a possible archeological survey, that brings the total cost to $733,200.

The Skokie Park District board voted unanimously to approve the grant application last September.

At the time, Corrie Guynn, superintendent of parks, presented two possible concepts: one with pickleball courts and another with a zipline.

Staff recommended the plan with the zipline, as the other two park district ziplines are not nearby and there are plans to add pickleball courts to Oakton Park in the future, according to minutes from the meeting. The decision not to install additional pickleball courts at Lawler Park saved the district about $75,000.

According to the application, the district hopes to prepare for village permits this spring and open the project up for public bidding in the summer. Construction is expected to last into the summer of 2024.