In August, the Downers Grove Park District will begin a major park improvement project to update and expand recreation amenities at McCollum Park. Located at 6801 S. Main St. in Downers Grove, McCollum Park currently features ball fields, soccer fields, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, a playground, a walking path and Miner Mike's Adventure Golf. Anticipated to be completed by the summer of 2023, the upcoming improvements will include infrastructure renovations and the development of new, much-desired recreation opportunities for visitors of all ages. The District hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 4, 2022.

Improvements at McCollum Park will include:

  • A new sprayground featuring three splash areas for tots, families and teens as well as seating and shade
  • Addition of new showers within the existing restrooms
  • Renovated tennis/pickleball courts featuring new energy efficient LED lighting and including a total of 8 dedicated pickleball courts and 6 tennis courts (which can be converted for an additional 16 temporary pickleball courts)
  • Renovated plaza area with picnic tables and benches
  • Resurfacing and widening of the existing asphalt perimeter pathway

This project was postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19 budget constraints.

Tennis & Pickleball Courts

Construction is scheduled to begin and the existing McCollum Park tennis courts will be closed starting Aug. 1, 2022. During construction of the new McCollum Park courts, existing courts will be available at the following locations:

  • Doerhoefer Park: 4101 Venard Rd. (4 tennis courts and 2 dedicated pickleball courts with lights)
  • Randall Park: 447 Randall St. (2 tennis courts with lights)

Anticipated Schedule

  • Construction scheduled to begin in August of 2022
  • Completion anticipated in summer of 2023

Concept Plan

Click below to view the current Concept Plan depicting the sprayground and tennis/pickleball layout

VIEW THE PRESS RELEAse

construction updates

August 31, 2022

Construction fencing was installed in mid-August around the primary construction zone, and demolition work is underway! The temporary construction fencing surrounds the Miner Mike's concession and restroom building, the concession plaza and walkways south of the building, and the existing tennis courts. This area will be closed to the public for the duration of the project. Restrooms are currently available at the Baseball Core Area concession and restroom building south of the playground.

September 30, 2022

The contractor has now removed all of the tennis court fencing, tennis nets and posts, and asphalt surface. Over the next few weeks, demolition of the tennis courts will continue, including removal of the existing tennis lights, and work will begin on installing new underground utilities.

View from the main entrance at the north parking lot, with the concession seating area in the foreground and the tennis courts in the background. All tennis fencing and asphalt surfacing has now been removed.

October 14, 2022

The contractor has completed removal of the existing tennis lighting and has begun installation of new drains under the future tennis and pickleball courts. Work is also underway installing new storm sewers throughout the construction zone.

View of new drains being installed under the future pickleball courts at the south end of the construction zone.

November 15, 2022

The contractor recently installed a concrete retaining wall along the east edge of the future tennis and pickleball courts, and also began work on the concrete building foundation for the restroom and concession building expansion. The building expansion will house all of the new splash pad mechanical equipment, such as the water filtration system and the spray feature pumps.

Work has also begun on the asphalt pathway widening and resurfacing. The contractor is currently widening sections of the pathway at the south end of the park. As pathway construction progresses, the Park District intends to keep approximately half of the perimeter pathway open for use while the other half is closed for construction. Please watch for "Pathway Closed" and "Detour" signage on the pathways for new routes during construction!

This week, a few existing trees were removed along the pathway. While the upcoming pathway resurfacing work may impact some existing trees, the trees removed this week were already declining and in poor condition well before the project began, and needed to be removed.

View of the future tennis and pickleball courts. The subgrade has been prepared and will soon be ready for the asphalt court surface.

January 16, 2023

Throughout the month of December, the contractor continued to make progress despite colder temperatures and wet, muddy conditions. On December 5th, the first layer of asphalt (the "binder" course) was installed on the new tennis & pickleball courts. The second layer will be installed in late spring, likely April or early May, followed by the color coating.

The concrete building foundations were poured in early December and the block walls for the building addition were installed during the week of December 26th. On January 4th, the contractor dug holes for half of the tennis court light pole foundations, and the concrete foundations were poured the following day. The remaining half of the pole foundations are anticipated to be installed in late January. Most of the electrical conduit leading up to these poles has already been installed, so once the foundations are in place, the next step will be to pull wiring through the conduits and set the new light poles onto the foundations.


Installation of the block walls for the building expansion, where the sprayground water filters and pumps will be located.

March 31, 2023

Large swings in temperature in late February and early March made it difficult to schedule contractors for site work, but some work was completed on the concession building. For example, the roofing contractor was able to finish decking the new portion over the building addition, remove the old shingles from the existing portion of the building, and re-roof the entire building with new shingles. Site work recently completed includes installing the new tennis & pickleball light poles and fixtures onto the foundations.

Over the next few weeks, the contractor intends to resume site work, such as widening the perimeter pathway. While the asphalt needed to resurface the pathway likely won't be available until mid-to-late April, the contractor could continue excavating along the edge of the path and installing the gravel base into the widened portion in order to have it ready as soon as the asphalt is available. The contractor also plans to start installing the underground piping for the sprayground features.

The restroom and concession building expansion is nearly complete, with walls and new roof now in place.

May 5, 2023

Construction of the perimeter path has begun! This part of the project will include surfacing and widening the existing asphalt perimeter pathway to 8 feet.