Three Oaks Recreational Center Ready for Visitors

Weather permitting, the highly anticipated Three Oaks Recreation Area will be open for the month of October, Mayor Aaron Shepley said, giving residents and visitors a new place to fish, swim, boat and walk.

Opening day is Oct. 1, and the site will close for the winter. Hours will be from 6:30 a.m. to sunset daily.

Working with Naperville's Hitchcock Design Group as facility designer and Downer's Grove's Featherstone Inc. as construction manager, the city transformed the former Vulcan Materials Company mining enterprise into a recreation area within the allotted timeframe and $14.37 million budget.

Funding for the project was paid for by bonds sold by the home rule sales tax.

The 500-acre park will include a boathouse and marina, gazebo, pavilion, playground and splash park, walking trails, picnic area, and a 280-acre lake for fishing, swimming and boating.

The beach will open in the summer of 2011 with a shoreline of 270 feet and over 32,000 square feet of swimming area.

Deputy City Manager Eric Helm said while there are no winter activities planned for this year, discussion is underway about including them in the future.

Security personnel trained by the Crystal Lake Police Department and emergency CPR and first aid technicians trained by the Crystal Lake Fire and Rescue Department will be on the grounds.

The recreation area is surrounded by Route 14, Main Street, Pingree Road and Rakow Road with entrances on Route 14 and Main Street. Parking at the recreation area will be free to residents and $5 for non-residents.

Residents will also enjoy discounted rates on boating, beach use and rental of the pavilion.

Helm expects a significant amount of revenue to come from boat rentals and events. 

"We're working on the details for the pavilion rental," he said. "That is dependent upon usage."

His department has already been receiving inquiries about rental for events next year, he said.

Fishing is expected to be a huge draw as well and the lakes are already stocked for next year.

Helm also thinks the Route 14 corridor will benefit from the recreation area.

"I think there has been a renewed interest in some of the surrounding properties based on the proximity to this amenity, so I think that will be kind of a peripheral benefit."

Tom Featherstone, owner and president of Featherstone, Inc. said he was proud and excited to have played a major role in the successful completion of the new facility.

"The City of Crystal Lake selected Featherstone, Inc. for the Three Oaks Recreation Area based on a strong recommendation from the project's lead design firm (Hitchcock Design Group) and Featherstone, Inc.'s extensive experience in managing high profile specialty land development projects around the Chicagoland area," Featherstone said. "The experienced management staff was able to overcome record rain falls, union labor disputes, and unforeseen site conditions left from years of aggressive mining, to deliver a superior recreation facility to the people of Crystal Lake."

The company specializes in managing high profile, specialty, public projects for clients such as the Chicago Horticultural Society, Chicago Botanic Garden, Brookfield Zoo, to name a few with local projects including the Wauconda Area Library, the Crystal Lake Public Library, the City of Crystal Lake, and the McHenry County Conservation District.

In addition, it has extensive experience with specialty development projects including sport complexes, parks, wetland remediation and more. It just completed extensive renovation and redevelopment of the Lost Valley Visitor's Center Glacial Park in Ringwood for the McHenry County Conservation District.

In the 1950s, Vulcan Materials Company began mining operations on the property. In the 1990s, the company entered into an agreement with the city to deed the property to Crystal Lake.

Helm said officials, city staff and the Vulcan Lakes Advisory Committee have been looking at ways to utilize the property since it was first deeded to Crystal Lake in 2007.

"The process to develop it has been just that–a process over a number of years to make sure that we build a nice facility that is responsive to what the residents would like."