A letter to the community from Park District Executive Director Ray McGury

Dear friends of the Naperville Park District:

For many years the Park District has been challenged with providing year-round indoor recreation activities due to limited facilities. We’ve attempted to address indoor space needs in a number of ways, including partnerships with the school districts, retrofitting existing facilities and leasing space from the City of Naperville and private entities. Despite these efforts, the demand and need for indoor recreation space remains.

In November, our Park Board of Commissioners will vote on the purchase of property at the corner of Fort Hill Drive and Quincy Avenue, next to Players Indoor Sports Center and the City of Naperville Public Works facility. The property is intended for the future development of an indoor Activity Center. There are several key reasons for developing an indoor Activity Center, including:

To provide additional indoor space in order to better serve the year-round recreation needs of the community and more effectively address community health and wellness issues – one of the District’s core values.

• Since 1992, the District has added only 2,000 square feet of its own indoor space while residents have increased by more than 51,000.
• The cooperative partnerships the District has with the school districts are great, but the schools have realized an ever-increasing need to use their spaces for their own programs.
• Leasing space is unpredictable, requires retrofitting (as is the case with many of the District’s current spaces) and doesn’t always accommodate program needs (e.g. yoga held in preschool rooms; basketball played in carpeted gyms).
• Enhance the community’s access to indoor recreation programs while continuing to focus on serving residents’ introductory recreational needs in a positive and encouraging learning environment.
• Community feedback obtained through our surveys as well as anecdotal comments from residents have highlighted the current lack of District indoor space and the need for amenities like athletic courts and a walking track.

To address programming needs for Naperville residents with special needs.

• Naperville has a large special needs community that currently does not have convenient access to programs to meet their needs. These residents have to travel to other communities to take part in many recreation programs.

To better serve the needs of the senior community by providing amenities that encourage physical activity and social connections.

• Many seniors travel to Westfield Fox Valley Mall to walk during the winter. The Activity Center will include a walking track that residents may use for free.
• The District plans to have both scheduled and drop-in programming that appeals to seniors’ interests.

To serve the needs of the changing demographics of the Naperville community.

• Provide a place where families can exercise together or engage in separate activities simultaneously.
• Serve as a gathering place for teens to participate in healthy and safe activities.
• Address the fitness/wellness needs of Naperville’s diverse community.

In the upcoming months, the Park District will offer several opportunities for residents to give additional insight into the amenities that will be included in the facility. The feedback that is received will be added to what the community has already told us in the last 3 Community Interest & Opinion Surveys conducted over the past 9 years. Funding for the facility will be accomplished through current revenue sources including land/cash donations, tax revenue, investments and alternative revenue opportunities like grants. Additionally, the District will reprioritize capital projects to be able to build a project of this kind and address the most critical need that the District faces. The Activity Center will be planned and constructed in a way that is consistent with the District’s other projects that have illustrated excellent financial stewardship such as Nike Sports Complex, Seager Park Interpretive Center and the Centennial Beach renovations – all of which came in on time and under budget.

More information regarding upcoming public input opportunities will be made available in the near future via email, on our website, through social media and other channels. We look forward to working with residents to create a center that will benefit the recreational needs of our community.

Sincerely,