Chicago: Mayor Brandon Johnson Announces Gage Park Fieldhouse Re-opening, Facility Improvements
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CHICAGO ~ Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has announced the reopening of the Gage Park Fieldhouse, along with improvements to its facilities, as the city prepares for the return of summer programming on June 10. This reopening comes after the Fieldhouse was converted into a temporary emergency shelter for the New Arrivals Mission.

The Gage Park community has shown incredible resilience and compassion by sacrificing the use of their Fieldhouse to provide shelter for hundreds of people during the harsh Chicago winter. Mayor Johnson expressed his pride in this community and their willingness to make sacrifices for others.

The Gage Park Fieldhouse is one of five facilities that were converted into temporary shelters by the Chicago Park District. These facilities include Leonne Park, Brands Park, Broadway Armory Park, and Piotrowski Park. The Park District is now working to restore each facility in preparation for their official reopening.

This process includes coordinating with city agencies and departments for repairs, conducting internal maintenance updates, communicating with park staff about program activation, informing patrons and local legislators about the reopening, and celebrating with the community.

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Mayor Johnson also announced a series of improvements to Gage Park, including re-lamping, repainting interiors, refinishing floors, and deep cleaning. The park district worked with Alderman Raymond Lopez to install outdoor lighting for the baseball field and add pickleball courts while resurfacing tennis courts. The artificial turf field is also being updated in partnership with the Chicago Fire.

Deputy Mayor Beatriz Ponce de Leon praised the Gage Park community for their resilience and compassion during this humanitarian mission. As regular park programming resumes, both new arrivals and long-term residents can continue to build community through enjoying all of the wonderful activities and events that Gage Park has to offer this summer.

On April 13th, 2024, all five park district sites were officially decommissioned as temporary emergency shelters. To celebrate their reopening as traditional park facilities, an event was held at the Gage Park Fieldhouse featuring arts and crafts, carnival games, Harvest Garden activities, and informational booths for park district programming.

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Summer programming at Gage Park this year will include Day Camp for children aged six to 12, a Special Recreation Day Camp for individuals aged 14 or older with disabilities, and "Play Camp" for three to six-year-olds. These programs will begin on June 24th. The park's pool will also open on June 17th, along with all other park district pools.

To ensure that each facility is ready for traditional park and community use, all locations previously used as shelters will receive deep cleaning, expedited work order attention, and prioritized interior finish upgrades. The park district's building engineers have been closely monitoring each building while it was used as a shelter and do not anticipate any major safety or utility updates.

As the city prepares for the return of summer programming at Gage Park Fieldhouse and other park district facilities, Mayor Johnson and the Chicago Park District are grateful to the Gage Park community for their selflessness and resilience during these challenging times.

Filed Under: Government, City
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