River Forest Park District 2024 Master Plan

Mon January 29, 2024

The River Forest Board of Commissioners is proud to present River Forest Park District’s 2024 Master Plan.

 The process in developing this plan has been ongoing for the last 18 months, including the inventory and assessment of the parks, the review of our 2020 Community Survey results and resident comments, a ranking by need of facilities and amenities for the parks, and the hiring of a landscape design professional to work with the Board to draft multiple site plan options.

Click here to view the 2024 Master Plan

As the Board has been working through the Master Plan process, the Board has moved forward with a number of projects. 

Keystone Park: Work is finishing up on the construction of 5 new tennis courts, 2 new permanent batting cages, 2 temporary batting cages, and a new basketball hoops area. The initial grading for the swale between Lake Street and the tennis courts was incorrect, and the contractor completed the correct grading of the swale per the specification this past fall. Some additional finish grading and landscaping around the swale is still scheduled and will be completed as soon as the site is dry enough to work in the bottom of the swale.

Washington Square Pickleball Courts:  After listening to resident feedback, the Board agreed to table the development of 3 dedicated pickleball courts at Washington Commons, and instead line 4 pickleball courts with portable nets over the Keystone tennis courts. The lining of the pickleball courts at Keystone Park is scheduled for the summer, 2024. The Washington Commons tennis courts are scheduled to be repainted with the same tennis court/pickleball court line configuration in the summer, 2024.

Constitution Park: The Board has approved the Constitution Park Plan with construction scheduled for May 15th, 2025. The Board has submitted the project to the Village and the Development Review Board for review. In addition, an application for a $600,000 OSLAD Grant for the project for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has been submitted.

Priory Park: The Board has approved the soliciting for Proposals for Design Services for the construction of a splash pad & picnic shelter, and program room expansion in the Priory Center in Priory Park. The Board will be soliciting resident input on this project at a date/time TBD. The Board expects to submit this project to the Village and Development Review Board for review in late summer, with construction scheduled for August 15, 2025.