Renovations Approved for Brookmeadow, Sandalwood Parks

FRANKFORT, IL — The Frankfort Park District Board has approved renovations for Brookmeadow and Sandalwood parks that will include updated playground equipment, the park district said in a release.

Last fall, the park district said it conducted surveys and held meetings at the parks to gather community input on the design of the playgrounds. Residents provided feedback on the playground features, color choices and site amenities.

According to the park district, it has a number of playgrounds that are coming due for replacement and hopes to replace one to two per fiscal year. The playground equipment at Sandalwood was installed in 2002 and Brookmeadow was installed in 2006.

The replacement cycle for playground equipment is 15-20 years, the park district said.

The updated design for the parks will include park shelters and poured rubber surfacing, according to the park district. The design of the Sandalwood Park playground equipment is a cohesive design that has a "ninja warrior course feel," the park district said. The Brookmeadow design includes a zipline feature. Both locations will have multiple swing bays. The parks will have updated paths and curbing for the playground areas.

The Park District did consider improvements to both ponds but at this time the approval for those areas were not approved, the district said.

The purchase of the equipment, shelters, poured surfacing and the construction total $533,222, the park district said.

“This is a significant investment for the Park District. These two locations will be the first poured rubber surfacing which significantly increases the cost of the project.” Director Gina Hassett said in a release. “The benefit of the rubber surfacing is it will make the play area accessible, durable, provides consistent fall protection and will reduce maintenance.”

The project is estimated to start in the spring as the weather allows and will be completed in early summer.