The Lincolnway Special Recreation Center was a true milestone in the field of recreation as the first recreation facility constructed from the ground up by a special recreation association. Learn about the journey below!
1990’s
Lana Graser, LWSRA Executive Director (1997-2013), had the foresight in the late 1990’s that the need for a recreation facility to house LWSRA programs would prove invaluable to future growth and began earmarking a small portion of the annual budget towards future capital improvements.
2000’s
While the Association offices moved from their small office in New Lenox to a larger office space in Frankfort, the need for dedicated program space became more and more evident. The growth in the member districts brought increased participation at LWSRA but also an increase in competition for program space as area school enrollment and populations boomed. LWSRA explored several existing community locations as they came on the market but never found a true fit, the expenses required to repurpose an existing facility for their needs being the greatest barrier.
2010
As the Association’s capital savings continued to grow, the administrative staff and board of commissioners continued their search for the best avenue to construct the facility. Work began on a potential cooperative project to construct a recreation facility and share space as a partnership with a private non-profit and LWSRA. As research continued, the legal barriers and financial constraints proved unfeasible to continue the pursuit of a joint private-public facility.
2011
As the administration and board focused on new ways to make the facility a reality, the decision was made to install the executive directors at each member park district on the LWSRA Board of Directors, replacing the previous members consisting of park commissioners. This move allowed for greater oversight and guidance on the best avenue to take towards the future facility’s construction.
With LWSRA’s capital fund hovering around $1 million, the idea was developed for one of the member districts to pursue a grant on behalf of LWSRA. In order to fund additional costs for construction, member park districts and their board of commissioners reached mutual agreements to provide an additional 1/4 cent of their ADA tax levy to assist in paying off any remaining finance expenses. This was a prime example of local governments coming together to truly benefit their community.
In October 2011, the New Lenox Community Park District received notice that they had been awarded the PARC grant from the Illinois DNR for $2.5 million on behalf of LWSRA – making the dream of an accessible recreation center for our community a reality.
2012
LWSRA embarked on it’s final fundraising efforts for the construction of the recreation center through its 50 Parent Challenge. The campaign tasked LWSRA’s families to set an individual goal to raise towards the construction while reaching out to their own network of family, friends and professional connections.
2013
Construction of the facility began in April 2013. The total cost of the building was $4.3 Million and with capital funds, grant money and donations, LWSRA only needed to finance approximately $1 million over the next decade to finish payment of the facility.
2014
The Lincolnway Special Recreation Center (LWSRC) opened in March 2014 located in New Lenox inside the Heather Glen subdivision. The fully accessible facility featured three activity rooms, small fitness room, learning kitchen, gymnasium, therapeutic garden and wheelchair softball field. The facility also houses the Association’s offices.
2018
The desire to add more sensory friendly options led to the design plan for a future sensory room. Fundraising began and the decision was made to re-purpose the small fitness room into the new sensory room while allowing the office space to expand in order to accommodate the expansion of LWSRA’s Recreation Team.
2019
The Hawks Nest Sensory Room opened featuring specially-designed equipment appealing to the auditory, tactile, olfactory and visual senses. Features including bubble tubes, vibroacoustic chair, aromatherapy and other visual effect items.
2020
The New Lenox Community Park District was awarded an OSLAD grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for $400,000 to help fund the development of the Leigh Creek South Park adjacent to the LWSRC. Through donations from community supporters, LWSRA provided $200,000 towards the universal design (accessible) playground constructed at Leigh Creek South Park. The $1 million project included grass play area, bocce and bags court, pavilions, basketball court, Bankshot basketball and fitness pods situated along a walking path encompassing the property. Primary construction of the park was completed in November 2020.
2021
Finishing touches on the park were completed in late spring and early summer. The Leigh Creek South Park Grand Opening was celebrated in July 2021 with added features of a Warrior Course painted on portions of the walking path and communication board to further inclusiveness.