Upon the recent acquirement of Altman Park, the Worth Park District has big plans in store for its future.
Altman Park is located at West 115th Street in Worth and is just shy of 21 acres of open fields. There is an outlying building that has restrooms, concessions and a baseball field.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago owned the property and leased it to the Village of Worth prior to the acquisition. The village leased it from them for the construction of Waters Edge Golf Course, boat launch and recreational area.
“This was part of the original design promised in the 1980s to our citizens,” said Mike McElroy, president of the Worth Park District Board of Commissioners. “As years went by, the portion of the property known as Altman was never fully developed as a recreational area as intended. In fact, most folks thought the park district owned the property since it is directly across from our main building on 115th Street. It only made sense that the park district acquired this land to satisfy that promise. It was a wise move by the village to transfer over Altman Park to us for recreation. As a park district, this is who we are and this is what we do.”
Robert O’Shaughnessy, director of parks and recreation, agreed.
“The village recognized that a piece of property like this would benefit the park district in its delivery of outstanding parks and recreation services,” O’Shaughnessy said. The acquisition of Altman Park nearly doubles the acreage in the park district system. Having the park gives the park district endless opportunities to develop it for residents of all ages. It is meaningful because for many years we have looked out at the property and have dreamed about it. This is what the park district does. We look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”
The park district was able to obtain Altman Park through the village transferring that portion of the Water’s Edge Golf Course lease with the MWRD. The acquisition became effective on September 1.
“It will increase the natural aesthetics of our neighborhoods just like good parks should,” McElroy said. “It will offer additional opportunities for recreation in a beautiful wide-open space, give our Homerding Park some much needed rest from the continuous soccer use. It may even allow us the real estate we need to grow.”
The park district has begun and will continue strategizing a master plan for the park, brainstorming potential plans and functionality through open meetings that involves park district staff, school district officials and members of the community and will be a guide for future development of the property.
Residents have indicated they like the walking paths that have been added at other parks, according to park district officials.
“Our seniors love walking paths,” McElroy said. “Having one this close to our main building is a plus should the board and community through the master plan agree. We would certainly love to see a new Worth Park District building one day. Our current building was built in the 1940s and even with constant repairs it shows. We have grown so much, continue to grow and have a difficult time competing with our neighbor districts who have more modern facilities. Thanks to our great and supportive residents we have more options when it comes to obtaining large grants. This could mean a huge improvement project could be within our grasp one day. That’s good news for everyone and for our future generation of park users.”
“I fully expect the park to be developed with ample amenities that will benefit all ages and generations to come,” O’Shaughnessy said. “I believe the Worth community will be pleased once the development of the park is seen. The property has primarily been vacant for more than 40 years. The residents were promised a park here years ago, and that promise fell very short. The residents are deserving of an outstanding public space.”
Park district officials said their hope is to provide amenities that other cities and villages have to offer that previously they were unable to provide due to the current footprint of the park. Some potential improvements could include soccer fields, walking or bike trails, open areas for kite flying, picnics and many other amenities.
The most important thing, said Melissa Nagel, a Park District commissioner, is for the community to engage with the park district and come together and design a master plan.
“Acquiring this land means so much to our park district and the constituents,” Nagel said. “It sits vacant most days and needs some TLC. Since we are landlocked, this would provide us the opportunity to build a community center. We are stewards of the community and our job is to provide recreation, acquire land for the enjoyment of the public. We feel that we can eventually develop this land into something for the community, while still maintaining a green footprint.
We hope this to be a true community project for all of our various organizations and peoples that live in the Friendly Village.”