State grant supports Joliet Park District land buy in Kendall County
By Bob Okon bokon@stmedianetwork.com June 25, 2012 3:32PM
Maps
Updated: July 27, 2012 6:18AM
JOLIET — Kendall County someday should become the site of the third largest park in the Joliet Park District thanks to the help of a state grant awarded over the weekend.
The park district is negotiating the acquisition of 108 acres along Grove Road near Route 52.
The parcel is roughly the size of the park district’s Inwood complex minus the golf course, park district Executive Director Dominic Egizio said. He noted that the land for Inwood was acquired at a time when that site marked the far west end of Joliet and park officials were planning for future growth.
Kendall County now is the far west end of Joliet. The area was the fastest growing in the city before the recession halted home construction.
The state awarded a $542,000 grant to the park district from the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development program, which is funded through the real estate transfer tax.
Egizio said the final price for the land could be in the ballpark of $1 million. He said there is no immediate timetable for development of the future park.
“It’s probably years away, but the land would be secured,” Egizio said Monday.
The park district has four parks in Kendall County now.
The Joliet project was one of 42 statewide funded with $12.3 million in grants from the program.
The grants were announced Saturday.
