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Jenny Knitter outlines master plan for 44-acre Jubilee Point Park
Summary
Jenny Knitter, incoming executive director of the Woodridge Park District, described a master plan for Jubilee Point Park that balances active amenities — including about 50 garden plots, courts and a shelter for roughly 200 people — with preservation of wetlands and tree canopy.
Jenny Knitter, incoming executive director of the Woodridge Park District, outlined the master plan for Jubilee Point Park, a 44-acre site north of Center Drive and west of Woodridge Drive. Knitter said the district intends to concentrate development in existing open pockets to protect wetlands and as much tree canopy as possible.
"Jubilee Point Park is a 44 Acre Site," Knitter said, adding that the site’s southern border abuts Jefferson Junior High, the fire department and nearby residences. She reviewed the plan’s mix of active and passive recreation, and the district’s efforts to minimize impacts to natural areas.
The plan calls for about 50 garden plots roughly 20-by-30 feet in size and accessible raised garden spaces for gardeners who need off-ground beds. Knitter said those plots will appear near the southern entry drive, followed by a primary picnic area anchored by the district’s largest shelter, which she said can accommodate about 200 people.
Knitter said the shelter and picnic amenities are intended in part to provide an alternative to rentals at Castello Park, reducing pressure on that older site and helping protect mature oaks there. "We actually partnered with Morton Arboretum to have them come out and just study what's happening with our Oaks," she said, describing Arboretum guidance to limit heavy activity near root zones. The district has adopted mitigation measures such as expanding tree protection rings around vulnerable trees.
Active amenities planned adjacent to the picnic area include pickleball courts, a multi-use sport court for basketball and volleyball, table tennis and bag-toss courts (referred to in the transcript as "Bago" courts), and open green space for informal play. The master plan also includes an expanded, multi-level playground with a rubberized surface designed for safety and impact attenuation, a feature residents have praised at other parks.
Knitter emphasized connectivity: trails in the first phase will link east to Jefferson and the Village core and west to Hawthorne Hill Woods and Lake Harriet. She also described signage and interpretive materials to identify plant species and explain habitat-management goals in the preserved natural areas.
The district’s invasive-species removal work has opened sightlines and revealed rolling terrain, Knitter said, a change that some residents initially find jarring but that she compared to earlier removals at Hawthorne Hill Woods that ultimately drew positive feedback. "I look forward to that and I know that the overall master plan really ties that natural environment into the active environment," she said.
The Park District did not specify a construction schedule or firm budget in the presentation.
