NL_020620

8 | February 6, 2020 | the new lenox patriot news
newlenoxpatriotdaily.com
MAGNOLIA DESIGN AND
CONSIGN PRESENTS:
Stage to Sell
for Spring!
with Maria Miller
If you are thinking about selling this year
or just to change the look of your home...
Then this is the event for you!
Learn the 2020 home staging trends
while having appetizers, drinks and prizes!
Thursday, February 6
5:30-7:00pm
Demonstration starts at 6
Magnolia Design and Consign
15445 South 94th Avenue
Orland Park
RSVP at 708-945-3215 or
mariamillerhomes@yahoo.com
Follow us on Facebook for all the updates
www.facebook.com/mariamillerhomes
THANK YOU TO OUR TEAM!
THE
HAGE
INSURANCE
AGENCY
708-279-7600
Luke J. Keller Esq.
708-899-7312
Join us tonight!
TONY PERRI, SR
708-932-2793
Kevin
Giltmier
Fidelity
National Title
708-305-1384
‘Ninja Warrior’-inspired challenge courses
part of plans for new park in New Lenox
Park district
receives grant
Sky Harbor Park
construction
Will O’Brien
Freelance Reporter
A new park boasting
bocce ball, eco-friendly
features and “Ninja
Warrior”-like fitness challenge
courses is in the
works thanks a state-level
grant recently received by
the New Lenox Community
Park District.
Sky Harbor Park, to be
built within the new Sky
Harbor subdivision, is a
$1 million state-of-the-art
space designed with the
area’s young families in
mind, said Becky Tilton,
park district recreation
supervisor. The district
hopes to break ground in
spring 2021 and finish the
4-acre park by fall 2021.
“We were trying to think
of something different that
would catch everyone’s
eye,” Tilton said. “It’s a
fun and different park. We
don’t have any park that’s
like this.”
Planning for Sky Harbor
started before summer
2019, when the district
applied for an Open
Space Land Acquisition
and Development, or OS-
LAD, grant. The statewide
OSLAD program is administered
by the Illinois
Department of Natural
Resources, according to its
website.
New Lenox Community
Park District leaders
were informed the district
had received the $400,000
grant in early January,
Pictured is a drawing of the proposed Sky Harbor Park,
for which the New Lenox Community Park District
received a $400,000 state-level grant. PHOTO SUBMITTED
Tilton said. Sky Harbor’s
grant was among 85 totaling
$29.7 million announced
by the IDNR and
Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
OSLAD awards are
structured as matching
grants, meaning the New
Lenox district was required
to chip in at least
another $400,000 toward
Sky Harbor to receive the
funds.
Those allocations will
go toward a one-of-a-kind
area attraction anchored
by two fitness challenge
courses — one suitable for
children ages 5-12 and one
designed for teenagers and
adults. Inspired by shows
like “Ninja Warrior” and a
growing fitness trend.
Sky Harbor will also
feature accessible, creative
play areas for children
ages 2-5 and 5-12, a large
shelter for picnicking and
park rentals, bocce and
bags courts, and a multipurpose
trail encircling the
perimeter. “We are thrilled
to receive this grant that
will allow us to expand
2
recreational amenities
while creating something
new for residents,” Greg
Lewis, executive director
of the New Lenox Community
Park District, said
in a press release.
Taken together, the various
features are meant to
foster a sense of “creative
play,” a recreational style
appealing to the area’s demographics,
Tilton said.
The Sky Harbor grant is
the 11th OSLAD grant the
New Lenox Community
Park District has received,
Tilton said.
In fact, the district received
another $400,000
grant just last year, for its
Leigh Creek South Park at
the Heather Glen development.
The park district won’t
actually receive the latest
OSLAD grant for a few
months.
“We’re excited and eager
to see how the community
likes it once it’s officially
built,” Tilton said.