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'Long Overdue' Kelly Park Renovations to Begin with Field Overhaul

By Casey Cora | July 15, 2014 6:42pm
 The long-awaited improvements at the Southwest Side park will begin immediately.
Kelly Park Renovation
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BRIGHTON PARK — The long-awaited renovation of Kelly Park will begin with an overhaul of the soggy, pockmarked playing fields.

Expected to be completed by October, the project replaces the grass with an artificial turf soccer and football field that will be surrounded by lighting, fencing and landscaping. Drainage improvements at the field should alleviate the problem of standing water, park district officials said.

The seven-acre field in the 4100 block of South California Avenue has fallen into so much disrepair that nearby Kelly High School's revered soccer team — the city's three-time champs — refuse to practice or play there. Neighborhood leaders have long made the park renovation one of their top priorities.

"I know of no other project that has been so long awaited by any other community," said State Sen. Martin Sandoval.

Casey Cora says many people feel the park's delayed renovation is a North Side vs. South Side problem:

The park sits across the street from the high school at 4136 S. California Ave. and is one of the few public recreation spaces in one of the city’s most "park-poor" neighborhoods, said Anita Caballero, board president of the grassroots Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. It serves as the "recreational and focal point for all 49,000 residents and for 2,500 students at Kelly High School," she said.

Local leaders hope the first phase of the park makeover, announced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel at news conference held Tuesday at the school, is only just a start.

They're hoping to see the addition of a new walking path, baseball field and kids "spraypool," but need to help secure the remaining money on their own. For that, they'll host a fundraiser at the park on Aug. 9 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

"This is wonderful. We love it. We want to keep it going but we still have more money to raise," said Sarah Reschly, also with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.

City officials said the field turf project will cost about $2 million, a mix of state, city and private funds that includes contributions from the National Football League and the U.S. Soccer Foundation.

"It's tough. You've got about six partners on this deal. It took us about two or three years to put the [first round of] money together. Every park I walk into, there's an improvement that's needed," Kelly said.

Flanked by little kids in park district camp uniforms and a local youth baseball team, Emanuel said the renovations would be the first step in making the park a place "where families and friendships are built.

"It's the type of investment for the Brighton Park community what Millennium Park has been for Downtown," he said.

Even as the mayor's announcement wrapped up — and Kelly said renovations would start as soon as Wednesday morning — Kelly soccer coach Stan Mietus remained skeptical.

"It's long overdue. We need to start putting our resources into the positive things, because it benefits the kids and that's what we're here for," he said. "There's no reason it should be secondary for the city to put up the fields for these kids. It should be equal across the board."