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Parks and Education Unite in Chicago

Photo by: Jill Metcoff

Abandoned Railyard Becomes a Vibrant Neighborhood Park

The winds of change are blowing along 55th Street in Chicago's Gage Park district. Land that was once an abandoned rail switching yard is now the site of beautiful Senka Park and a much-needed elementary school.

Ten years ago, the Trust for Public Land helped set the stage for the Senka Park project. The story of what happened to this land since TPL acquired it for the park district illustrates how reclaiming urban open space can bring people together for the good of the whole community.

Photo by: Ken Sherman

The story of the new Senka Park begins in 1990. The city of Chicago had just completed a major study of park needs, and among its discoveries was that the Gage Park neighborhood needed 12 acres of new parkland to serve its residents adequately. At the same time, Grand Trunk Western Railroad announced plans for residential and commercial development on 19 acres of land next to and including tiny Senka Park, which had been built on leased property.

"We were notified that our lease was going to be terminated and that both the parkland and large parcel to the north were going to be sold for development," says Ed Uhlir, then the director of research and planning for the Chicago Park District. "When they found out what was happening, the community came together and really took a stand for their neighborhood."

At that time, the park district had almost no staff available to negotiate the complicated acquisition, and it needed time to budget the funds to purchase the property. Hoping to respond to the citizens' need for parkland, the park district asked for TPL's help to acquire the property. After three years of negotiations and a number of political moves, the Trust for Public Land acquired a total of 18 acres from the railroad and sold it to the Chicago Park District.

Park and School Working Together

With the existing park saved, plans were made to clean up contamination from railroad activities and to expand park resources. Then a new chapter in the properties history began to unfold. Gage Park badly needed a new school, and after a period of public debate, the school board and park district teamed up to create an innovative building project that would combine school and park facilities on the same property.

Photo by: Ken Sherman

The benefits of planning the school and park together have exceeded all expectations. For example, the community wanted an indoor recreation center but the park district did not have the resources to build it. The board of education agreed to double the size of the school gymnasium, as well as add a wood floor, lockers, and showers and to dedicate a wing of the building for full-time park district use. The park also has access to a lunchroom, kitchen, computer lab, and library during off school hours.

With the board of education behind the project, Commonwealth Edison agreed to move power lines located above the property - something that had not been possible before the site became home of a future school. Because the city of Chicago was involved in the effort through its Park School Campus Program, the project was able to leverage more than $1 million for much-needed streets, storm sewers, sidewalks, gutters, and lighting surrounding the park.

A Neighborhood Treasure

The new Senka Park opened in spring 1999 and is truly a state-of-the-art facility, says park district Project Manager, Dan Purciarello. The 14-acree property features an in-line skating rink, a playground, athletic fields, volleyball courts, basketball courts, and interactive water play area. There are tables for chess-playing and socializing, a gazebo, and prairie plantings along the railroad right-of-way, and the park's rolling topography provides strolling pedestrians with glimpses of downtown Chicago skyscrapers six miles away. "The neighbors are buzzing with excitement about the park," say Purciarello. "They used to live across the street from an eyesore. Now this property is a real amenity and has added significant value to the area."

Five years have passed since TPL finished its work on the Senka Park project, but the details are still fresh in the mind of Project Manager Al Raymond. "The dedication of the neighborhood resident, the activism of the park district and several local officials, and the cooperation of the Grand Trunk and Western Railroad made this land acquisition a memorable experience," he says. "And looking at what has happened to the property since then gives a true sense of how a community can solve multiple problems when parks and education work together. The whole achievement really is greater than the sum of its parts."