Fehr Graham helps secure grant funding for local parks
Fehr Graham, a leading engineering and environmental firm, helped the Village of Davis and the Decatur Park District secure grant funding to enhance local parks and expand recreational opportunities. Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced more than $55 million in Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant funding for 100 park projects across Illinois.
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Since I became Governor, it's been my mission to build stronger, healthier communities across Illinois.Through the OSLAD program, we're bringing that vision to life by awarding over $55.2 million to local park projects, expanding green spaces and creating new recreational opportunities for all." |
JB Pritzker, Governor
Established in 1986 by the Illinois General Assembly, the OSLAD program is a cost-sharing initiative that helps communities acquire land and develop parks and outdoor recreational facilities. Since its inception, it has become one of the state's most popular grant programs, awarding $640 million to park projects.
Fehr Graham helped secure grants for the following projects:
- Decatur Park District – Garfield Park: The Park District received $400,000 for improvements to Garfield Park, a 6.63-acre neighborhood park underserved by green space. Funds will support Phase II of the park's Master Plan, which includes an interactive ball wall, a youth basketball court, upgrades to two basketball courts, a shade sail structure, a picnic shelter, a concrete chess and checkers table, a concrete bags game, bicycle parking, an asphalt path extension and accessibility upgrades for pavilion restroom facilities.
- Village of Davis – Memory Park: The Village received $302,265 for upgrades to its only park, Memory Park, which spans 3 acres. Planned improvements include enhancing the basketball/tennis/pickleball court, adding adult fitness stations along the path, upgrading Shelter Plaza with a drinking fountain and concrete game boards, installing bleachers at the baseball field, constructing a gaga ball pit and adding disc golf.
"This round of OSLAD grants represents long-awaited projects from the smallest villages of rural Illinois to Chicago and the suburbs," said Illinois DNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie in a news release. "There is an impressive amount of work, creativity, and ambition that goes into planning new outdoor recreational facilities, and I'm delighted the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is able to play a small part in helping communities thrive."
Read the full news release with a list of recipients here.