The Benton Township Board of Trustees has voted to formally accept a state grant of $1 million to start a new park in Benton Heights.
At a meeting this past week, trustees said they’re excited to see the development of the new Euclid Avenue Park near the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Laurel Avenue, behind the former Martindale Elementary School. Township Supervisor Cathy Yates told us the township owns ten acres just behind the unused school building.
As the township prepared to seek the grant, Yates says residents were asked how it should be used, and the results were surprising.
“We took surveys from the residents that live here,” Yates said. “We had several meetings with them and we let them decide where the park should be. It was overwhelming. It should be in Benton Heights.”
Yates hadn’t been expecting that, but says she’s thrilled to get to work on a new attraction for the residents nearby.
New Heights CCDA Director Chris Britton helped survey residents leading up to the proposal for this new park. He tells us residents are excited to see investment coming into the area.
“We have the laundry hub. A few years ago, First Church opened their ministry center, and now we’re getting a new park. I think this is just the tip of the ice berg, and I’m excited to see what other kinds of developments and momentum this is going to bring for this community.”
Britton says a new park came in second to a laundromat when Benton Heights residents were asked what they’re missing the most.
Yates tells us the new Euclid Avenue Park will include basketball courts, a splash pad, and walking trails, noting someone could walk off into the woods from the park and reach Sarrett Nature Center. She hopes to break ground next year.
