Downers Grove families will have two brand-new playgrounds to explore at McCollum Park by Tuesday, July 15, capping a $2 million renovation that has kept the park's most popular section closed since late February.
The completion estimate came during a late-June Downers Grove Park District board meeting, according to a Patch report published Monday, June 30. Paul Fyle, the park district's director of planning and construction, told Shaw Local in November 2025 that the playground was "the last piece that needs to be updated" after 15 years of incremental improvements at the park.
The playground equipment installed in 2005 was removed in March and donated to Kids Around the World, which refurbishes and ships play structures to communities in need. In its place, crews are building two separate play areas: one for preschool-age children and one for school-age kids.
What's new
The preschool area will feature a cooperative "team totter," additional swings, slides, and two playhouses. One playhouse draws its design from the nearby Downers Grove Fire Station. The school-age playground includes a "zoom twist" merry-go-round with climbing ropes, a three-story play tower with accessibility ramps, and a 40-foot side-by-side track ride with an accessible swing seat.
Beyond the play structures, the project adds a new picnic shelter between the two playgrounds, synthetic turf safety surfacing, a native plant garden, updated horseshoe and baggo courts, a renovated adult fitness area, a game table plaza, and shade structures over the concession seating area.
As of mid-June, the picnic shelter was complete, two semi-truck loads of synthetic turf had been laid, and crews were finishing fencing and planting the native garden.
Funding and community input
The park district secured a $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in 2024 to offset the estimated $2 million total cost. Before finalizing designs, the district mailed surveys to more than 300 households within 500 feet of the park and posted an online version for all residents.
McCollum Park ranked as the most-visited park in the district in a 2017 community survey, with 66% of respondents saying they had been there in the prior year.
What comes next
The park district plans to begin basketball and pickleball court renovations at McCollum Park in August, with completion targeted for late September. The playground is scheduled to reopen July 15.
Residents can check dgparks.org for updates on the project timeline and future board meeting dates.
