The Peoria Park District is planning a major facelift to Glen Oak Park, and is eager to hear from residents about the plans.
“We have an amazing opportunity to think about this park differently, but it means that we need to have some open conversations together,” Executive Director Emily Cahill said during a Tuesday news conference, calling the 127-year-old park “the flagship” of the district.
“Glen Oak Park is everything to us, and our conversation today is not about disinvestment. In fact, it's quite the opposite.”
The major piece of the plans announced Tuesday call for removing the park’s 62-year-old amphitheater to allow for the addition of two shelters, an inclusive playground, and accessible restrooms. The plan also calls for removal of the wooden Tricentennial Playground.
Cahill said the amphitheater space currently is not being maximized, going unused for as many as 350 days each year.
“I know it's hard, but if we want to be better, we have to talk about hard things and here’s where we start,” she said of contemplating the amphitheater’s removal.
“Does a fenced-in area reflect the open, flexible welcoming park that we want to be? Is a dedicated space like the amphitheater ... still the best way to support programming and events and the East Bluff and North Valley, who would benefit from additional park space and daily use amenities? Our experiences in the last few years suggests that memory making events can happen anywhere.”
But some residents of the adjacent neighborhoods believe the amphitheater should remain. Partners Bruce Morgan and Lance Sperry have lived across the street from Glen Oak Park for more than 20 years and are wary of the plan that was presented.
“Don't fix something that isn't broken,” said Morgan. “Good events happen here. Beef up the programming and people will come. Don't take it away from our communities.”
Sperry recalled when the city’s municipal band and Caterpillar’s big band regularly played at the amphitheater.
“Almost every day of the week in the summertime, there was something going on there and the parking lot was packed,” he said. “Now why can't they do that? I just can't believe that there's nothing going on now.”
But Cahill said holding additional events at the amphitheater is not a viable consideration.
“The reality is that there is a limited amount of programming we can do in that amphitheater because of how densely populated this neighborhood is,” she said. “Does that upset people? Yeah. Does it make me happy? No, not really. I want to do what's best for the community.”
Cahill said Glen Oak Park currently has about 42 acres of green space, and removing the amphitheater would add another 12-15 acres to that total — an increase of about 35%.
“We can use the open green space in really flexible ways, and we can do programming,” she said. “We do lots of programming in this park, and that can still happen without a fence and a band shell.”
Cahill said the planned amphitheater removal is not in any way connected to a proposal to build a concert pavilion at Donovan Park.
The park district’s board of tustees began initial discussions about updating Glen Oak Park in 2019. Cahill said the district plans to put $2 million toward the upgrade — half of the $4 million in state funding committed to the district by State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, with the other half targeted for upgrades at the Procter Recreation Center.
“She committed capital dollars to the Peoria Park District and asked us to be transformational in our spaces in places,” said Cahill. “She stepped forward, and we want to work with (the community) to answer her call: How can we be transformational and help Glen Oak Park serve our community better?”
Calling the plans revealed Tuesday a “starting point” to a broader conversation, Cahill said she will seek additional community input over the next several weeks and months. She said residents can reach her by email at GlenOakPark@peoriaparks.org or through the “Contact Us” section on the peoriaparks.org website. She said she will also have Facebook Live input sessions as well as days where she is available in person at parks throughout the city, starting Aug. 12 at Lakeview Park.
“I cannot wait to see where this journey takes us, but I do know for sure that our community is changing,” said Cahill. “And if we don't take this opportunity as a park district to change with it, then we are stepping back into safety, which is not how we serve you best.”
