Chart Our Future City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Master Plan | Page 14

FACILITIES Conduct Indoor Space Needs Study • Evaluate Recreation Center renovation/expansion or new construction including: • Expand/add in-demand amenities - - Additional gym space - - Court space for racket sports - - Upgrade restroom and locker facilities • Provide new, trending amenities - - Indoor aquatics - - Walking/running track • Consider additional space for Kinderhaven • Investigate opportunities to expand the current location • Identify a location for a new facility • Incorporate before-school care • Upgrade/modernize furnishings, materials, and technology • Conduct feasibility study for Nature Discovery Center expansion or relocation • Determine cost recovery goals for expansion and/or new construction Description The Department of Parks and Recreation currently operates a recreation center, a golf club, the Stirling Hall Arts Center, and the Wildlife Discovery. However, only the Recreation Center offers recreation and program space that is regularly available to the public and according to the Planning Team’s Chicagoland benchmark of recommended open space, the Department is deficient in almost 6,000 square feet for an agency of their size. The Department is also deficient in indoor aquatics square footage as it does not have any indoor pool facilities and when combined, there is a deficit of 15,632 square feet of indoor recreation, program, and aquatics space. In addition to these owned spaces, the City of Lake Forest also has limited access to some indoor space at the public schools and at other facilities at The Grove Cultural Campus which is owned by the City. The Kinderhaven Preschool Academy is operated by the Parks and Recreation Department and is located at the Recreation Center. The Department also has two classrooms in a building attached to Everett Elementary School. The Parks and Recreation Department has limited access to School and City buildings and the use of these additional facilities is not enough to fully meet the community’s need for indoor space. Specific indoor space amenities that are lacking in the City of Lake Forest were identified through the Connect Phase with the most highly prioritized recommendations including indoor aquatics and indoor turf fields. Additional court space, gymnasiums, and rental rooms were also noted as lacking by Connect Phase participants. Additionally, the Kinderhaven program was identified by online survey participants and stakeholders as a valuable offering that is in need of a larger space. Due to the wait list for enrollment, the addition of more classrooms and other operation space could allow for program growth. The final indoor need identified by all of the Connect phase participant groups was to expand storage capacity and provide indoor classroom space for the sailing program at the Beach. In addition to the lack of amenities, residents identified unsatisfactory conditions within the existing indoor space (145 people were unsatisfied with the Recreation Center, 5 with Everett Preschool Classroom, and 9 with Stirling Hall Art Center). On the online survey, the top reasons residents selected for why they are unsatisfied with indoor facilities were a lack of modern amenities/technology, restroom/locker room quality, and program and rental space appearance. Some stakeholders and staff members also mentioned challenges at the Nature Discovery Center where the size of the facility and other uses at Elawa Farm significantly limit programming and negatively impact the visitor experience. 14 CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN CHAPTER 1