In 2003, the River Trails Park District purchased a building known as 550 in the Kensington Business Center. It was bought to expand programming space and to open Clayground Art Studio. After ten years of attempting cultural art programming and general facility rentals, the Park District began to reevaluate the usage of this building. In 2015, the district looked at programming trends, strategic planning and evaluated the amenities which could be used all year long in a more efficient format.

The district began phase one of construction in the warehouse section of the building in January. Much of the lighting was upgraded to LED which tripled the brightness over the athletic space. The park crew moved a 70-foot wall by 90 degrees to create a nearly 13,000 square foot interior play space.

New Turf Fields

A major renovation to the area is the addition of 7,000 square feet of artificial turf.  This space will be used for multiple athletic programs such as: tot sports, indoor soccer, archery, golf lessons, athletic camps, birthday parties, and more. The Turf Field can be split into six different sections with netting; up to three fields can be used at one time.

Parkour

New Programming Area

River Trails Park District is the first park district in Illinois to offer a dedicated indoor facility space for Parkour. Parkour is a form of gymnastics, street acrobatics and free running. It can be compared to American Ninja Warrior, military obstacle courses and CrossFit. Parkour programs include running, jumping, catching, rolling, flipping, tumbling, martial arts, strength training and more! This program will use new amenities such as a foam pit, climbing wall, warp wall, walking beams and jump boxes. We have teamed up with Superhero’s Academy. Superhero’s Academy is a professional company who specializes in Parkour programming.

Programs offered at The Zone