Park district shows off a new Townley Field

Play time was a community affair on Monday in Kenilworth.

Droves of locals visited a revamped Townley Field on Oct. 21 to celebrate the park’s grand reopening. Food trucks, drink vendors, family entertainment and Kenilworth park officials greeted the guests, among whom were dozens of children already taking advantage of the new amenities at Kenilworth’s flagship park, 640 Ivy Court.

“I am just over-the-moon excited that the kids and adults in this community will have so much more to do here,” said Emily D’Souza, Kenilworth Park Board member. “It used to just be the playground structure. Now there’s the sport court, pavilion, better playground equipment; it’s just much more inviting for our community.”

A plan to improve Townley Field began to form back in 2020 following a resident survey about the future of Kenilworth parks. Then came two public meetings in 2021, when residents reviewed preliminary park-layout plans; and a mini survey about those layouts. The Park Board OK’d conceptual plans that year, and the project was off and running.

The biggest step, however, was when the park district was approved for a $400,000 matching grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, without which the project could not have worked, officials previously said.

The entire cost of the project is approximately $1.2 million, said Johnathan Kiwala, the district’s executive director, who added that officials worked to complete the Townley improvements without raising taxes.

“The park was 20-plus years old and it was probably beyond its life of service,” Kiwala said. “We did everything we could to keep it going, keep it safe, but it became … a priority to replace. Even in its condition, it was the largest-used park in Kenilworth. So there was a huge need for it in the community and that’s what led us and the board to pursue the grant in the first place.”

Townley Field’s primary attraction, its playground, has all new, modern equipment — slides, swings, a rope wall, and more, some of it ADA accessible — erected on rubberized playground surfacing.

A sport court is a new feature and includes basketball hoops and markings for basketball and volleyball. Next to the court is another new feature, a pavilion with three picnic tables and seating. Sensory gardens border newly paved walkways.

Townley Field is also Kenilworth’s first ADA accessible park, Kiwala said.

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