Updates & News

Beacon-News: Fox Valley Park Board seeks grant for old Copley park development

12/09/2018

The Fox Valley Park District Board has approved applying for a state grant to develop a park as part of the renovation of the old Copley Hospital site in Aurora.

The district is scurrying to meet an Oct. 1 deadline for making the application to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program to fund half of an estimated $550,000 park on 1.4 acres along Weston Street, just across from the old Copley site.

The land is being purchased by Fox Valley Developers Inc. — which is cleaning up and planning to redevelop the old Copley site — and would be donated to the Park District. The developers spoke to the park board this week and said the park would dovetail nicely into the open space plans developers have for the entire development.

“We view the transformation of the campus as an opportunity to address longstanding community needs, such as a shortage of open space and parkland,” said Patrick Skarr, spokesman for Fox Valley Developers. “We acquired these extra parcels to preserve the opportunity to bring a park and open space to the neighborhood. It has always been our plan to donate this portion of land back to the community.”

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