Client:

Northbrook Park District

Architect:

Pingel & Associates

Engineer:

Gewalt Hamilton & Associates

Contractor:

Corporate Construction Services

Consultant:

Jacobson Golf Course Design

Category:

Public Design

An 82-acre parcel located southeast of Northbrook’s downtown, Techny Prairie Park and Fields is a unique and attractive park that upholds the Northbrook Park District’s established goals and objectives of creating a community facility that provides recreational and educational opportunities.

The renovations and additions to this key community park provide a one-stop shop for residents, offering a large range of recreational amenities ranging from sport fields to educational trails. Set against the attractive backdrop of the Chicago River, the facility includes ball fields, batting cages, a skate park, synthetic turf soccer fields, a play environment, a renovated 9-hole golf course and a multi-use trail connection to the regional trail system. A unique park component, the Trail Through Time, is a 16-acre educational trail with a restored wetland along the North Branch of the Chicago River. This eclectic “museum” trail celebrates local plant hybridizer Brother Charles, the Potawatomie Indians, the first pioneer settlers and the famous landscape architect Jens Jensen. Educational signage along the trail and a wetland boardwalk system inform each visitor of the historical significance of each space.