UNIVERSITY VILLAGE — A new $25 million recreational center is being planned for Addams/Medill Park on the Near West Side.
City leaders are expected to announce plans to build The Exelon Student Recreation Center, a $20 million, 100,000-square-foot multi-purpose indoor facility Thursday, according to the Sun-Times.
Another $5 million in outdoor improvements are also planned at the 9.24-acre park, including a new natural turf baseball field, an artificial turf field for a variety of sports and a walking path around the park. The new center and fields are expected to occupy the north end of the park, in an area roughly bound by Roosevelt to the north and 13th Street to the south.
The new center is slated to open in December 2019 and would include an indoor track, artificial turf field and basketball courts.
A rendering shows what the Addams Recreation Center could look like. [City of Chicago]
[City of Chicago]
The project, a public-private partnership, is expected to be paid for by the city, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Housing Authority and two private groups. The Inner City Education and Recreation Foundation is expected to pay for $5 million of the project's cost, and Exelon Corp. will kick in $3 million.
Teaming up with the Chicago Public Library, the Chicago Housing Authority also plans to build a new Roosevelt library branch on Taylor Street by 2018.
RELATED: New Roosevelt Library Branch Planned At Roosevelt Square In Little Italy
Addams/Medill Park, home to Spring Awakening and Ruido Fest music festivals, is in University Village and borders Pilsen and Little Italy. The park is also near a number of schools, including Urban Prep Academy's west campus and Chicago Tech Academy.
Addams/Medill Park is a 9.24-acre park on the Near West Side. [Chicago Park District]
