HUMBOLDT PARK — A budget cut to the tune of $28 million for ongoing city park projects approved last week will have significant ramifications for Humboldt Park, according to its advisory board.
Around 20 parks citywide, including the upcoming 606 "high line" park and the Humboldt Park field house, will be affected by the freeze on state grants to the Chicago Park District, which was handed down March 11 from the state Department of National Resources, according to the mayor's press office.
DNAinfo/Victoria Johnson
Humboldt Park and its field house are growing in popularity — thanks to events like Riot Fest — but it needs some major repairs, including restoration of fallen masonry and general upkeep on the 87-year-old structure.
“The decision to freeze funding that affects so many park improvements is very disappointing,” said Humboldt Park Advisory Council president Amy Vega, who noted that a full restoration of the field house windows and some roof repairs were recently completed thanks to prior park district grants.
“They stretched the dollars well to do the best they could,” she added. “Now that state funding has been cut, everything has been put on hold.”
It had been a while since the field house got some TLC. Vega said in June 2013 that the building had been plagued with leaks in the ceilings, crumbling masonry and a basement that frequently floods.
Conditions at the field house — which features a mix of Georgian and Tudor architectural styles — could deteriorate without proper funding as the field house and the historic park are packed with activity, mostly from local students, on any given day, Vega said.
The park will soon be home to its first brick-and-mortar restaurant, The Boathouse Cafe.
“The Chicago Park District parks provide affordable programming to broad spectrum of people,” she said. “They are vital to bettering the quality of life of the people and families that reside around them. Any improvement, no matter what size, is significant."
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