A majority of Elmhurst voters approved the Elmhurst Park District plan for an $89.95 million bond issue to fund replacement of the district’s aging Joanne B. Wagner Community Center, build a new bandshell in Wilder Park and add amenities to other city parks.
Unofficial vote totals from the Nov. 5 election show nearly 15,000 votes for the project versus 11,000 against.
The total spending plan includes $84.95 million to replace the Wagner Center, 615 N. West Ave. District officials said the new Wagner Center will feature an indoor walking/jogging track, a gym for pickleball, basketball and volleyball, artificial turf for sports including soccer, football and baseball, space for gymnastics, early childhood classrooms, larger dance studios and multi-purpose spaces.
The list of projects also includes $2.5 million for a bandshell and heated restrooms in Wilder Park, heated restrooms at locations to be determined along the Prairie Path and in Eldridge and Crestview parks at $500,000 each, and $1 million for artificial turf on an existing field at Berens Park.
James Rogers, executive director of the Park District, said homeowners will first see the referendum-related tax increase on their property tax bills in 2025. Rogers said regardless of the timing of the district’s bond sales, the impact on property tax bills will remain level over the planned 25-year life of the bonds.
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District officials have previously estimated annual property tax increases of $253 for a home with a market value of $400,000. The owner of a home with a market value of $600,000 will see an annual increase of about $380, while the owner of a home with a market value of $1,000,000 would see an annual increase of about $633.
According to a district statement, design development for the new Wagner Community Center and the other projects on the referendum list is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Programs and services now at Wagner are expected to be relocated beginning in fall of next year, although alternate locations have not yet been determined.
Construction of the new Wagner Center is expected to start in 2026 for a planned opening in fall 2027.
The community bandshell, year-round heated restrooms, and the artificial turf field will be completed in 2026-2028, according to district officials.
According to the Park District commissioners, the last Park District referendum was in 1972. In late 2019, Park District board members dropped a $105 million plan for an indoor sports facility and other parks projects after survey results at that time showed weak community support.
That wasn’t the case this time.
“Our residents have been an essential part of this process from the beginning, sharing their vision during the Elevate Elmhurst Parks planning, providing feedback on projects during multiple open houses, answering our voter survey and then voting,” Kevin Graf, Park Board president, said in a statement. “We are pleased to be able to deliver their vision.”
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.