Photo Credit: Balloggphoto.com
When renovating a long-standing, beloved community landmark that is also a multipurpose sports complex that people use daily, what is the best way to modernize the facility without stripping away its character?
During an extensive 2013-2014 $18.5-million renovation of the 55,000-square-foot Ridgeland Common Recreation Center in historic Oak Park, Ill., Chicago contractor Bulley & Andrews worked with Nagle Hartray Architecture on a redesign that thoroughly updated the facility while gracefully connecting it to its past.
Functional To Obsolete
When opened in 1962, Ridgeland Common—owned and operated by the Park District of Oak Park—consisted of only an outdoor ice rink and a swimming pool. Covering two city blocks and situated on 5 acres along a main street at the east end of the affluent Chicago suburb, the facility was immediately and hugely popular, quickly becoming integral to the family-oriented community.