When Jennifer Rinkenberger and her family moved to the Ashwood Pointe subdivision four years ago, her two children had no park to play in.
Their outdoor recreation was pretty much limited to the back yard or shooting baskets in driveways.
“It’s hard,” she said. “As the boys get bigger, playing basketball, there’s just not enough room in our driveways anymore.”
That will change for her kids and the other 400 or so children who live in the subdivision, and many others who live nearby and around Naperville when the new Wolf’s Crossing Community Park opens.
On Wednesday, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held. Plans for the park — located off Wolf’s Crossing Road near 95th Street and Route 59 — were influenced greatly by input from residents. The Naperville Park District held a series of community meetings and another 2,000 responses came via the district’s website.
“It was for fun for my family, for my kids, for other families to be involved in knowing what people want,” Rinkenberger said. “We’re glad it’s finally happening.”
When finished it will have a 1.4-mile trail, splash pad, playground, athletic fields, basketball, tennis, volleyball and pickleball courts, a pavilion, a challenge course, restrooms and parking. There’s even a sledding hill which, in warm weather, can be used by runners.
The 33-acre park is south of Wolf’s Crossing Road and Trumpet Avenue and the first phase should be ready for use in 2020. The $11 million project is funded, in part, by an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Nodding toward the subdivision, Rinkenberger said, “there are a lot of kids, at least one in every house. They’re always out playing, having fun, and they need more space as our kids get bigger. This will be a great place to play, for families to have fun together.”
About 50 people braved the rain to attend the groundbreaking ceremony on the park’s northeast corner along Trumpet Avenue.
Board President Rich Janor noted “the significant amount of community input” received from the public.
The park is another example of why people want to live in Naperville, Mayor Steve Chirico said.
“When I talk to people about why they came to Naperville, you get the similar answer: ‘Great parks, wonderful schools, safe neighborhoods,'” Chirico said.
State. Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, speaking in response to oft-heard complaints about state government, said the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the state is helping make the park possible.
It was a long time coming, conceded Ray McGury, executive director of the park district. “For 15 years, basically, we had a sign up here that said “Future Site of Lighted Ballfields.'”
Thank the economic downturn of 2008 for the delay, said Eric Shutes, the park district’s director of planning. Homes weren’t being built nearby so other projects moved ahead instead.
“We had the Fort Hill Activity Center and other projects,” Shutes said. “When the economy started picking up and people started moving into homes out here, they started asking, ‘When are you going to develop this?'”
Maybe that’s why someone recently sent Mike King, the board’s vice president, a note reading, “thank you for being part of this greatness.”
“That’s really nice,” King said. “They definitely need a facility in this part of town. Staff did a great job of listening to what the residents want and trying to fit all the needs into this facility.”
Beaming with pride, Ginny Wolf Chivas, a descendant of the settlers who lived on the area where the park is going, applauded the district “for recognizing the need for a park in this vibrant and growing area of our town.”
She looks forward to seeing children play on land her ancestors began farming some 175 years ago after a six-week trek from Pennsylvania. Great-grandfather Amos Wolf was among those who settled in what is now called Naperville.
“As they built their farms, churches and schools, work and enjoyment balanced their lives. They helped each other to build barns and then had barn dances,” Wolf Chivas said.
She thinks Amos Wolf and his kin would like the park.
“I’m sure they would be delighted to know the land now is going to have a different life,” Wolf Chivas said. “This land has served so many. First, the native American Indians, then the settlers, the pioneers, and now it will bring joy to families.”
