The pavilion frame at Forest Avenue and Duane Street is standing, but it has no roof yet. As of the Glen Ellyn Park District's October 8, 2026 project update, underground utilities are finished and crews are pouring concrete for the pavilion and walkways. Installation of a limestone seat wall around the future Great Lawn will begin shortly. Play equipment for the children's area is already on site, and the District is targeting a mid-November opening.
Park Board minutes from this spring set out the priorities. Prairie Path Park was laid out as a lawn for downtown events, and the playground, shade and later winter features were arranged around that lawn. The Village is already treating the surrounding blocks the same way.
From Bank Lot to Lawn in Four Years
The site was the former US Bank property at 453 Forest Ave. The park took about four years to get from purchase to opening:
- August 2022: The Village announced it was buying the roughly 45,000-square-foot parcel at Forest and Duane for $1.65 million, planning to lease it to the Park District for a downtown park and event space.
- May 2023: An intergovernmental agreement said the Village would sell the property to the Park District, which would develop and maintain the park.
- December 2023: Both boards unanimously approved a concept design. The Village and Park District described a combined $2.8 million contribution toward Phase I.
- September 24, 2025: Demolition of the bank building was scheduled to begin. The footprint was to be filled and seeded, and the parking lot would stay until construction started in 2026.
- May 1, 2026: The Park District held a groundbreaking ceremony.
- Mid-November 2026: Target opening date. No exact date or ribbon-cutting has been announced.
The Village's 2022 announcement already described the project as a "downtown event area." The District's project page describes it as an expansion of the existing Prairie Path Park meant to serve trail users, commuters, downtown residents and visitors.
What Opens in November and What Comes Later
The 2023 concept listed grass lawns for events and reading, a picnic grove, a seating nook and terraces, a play area, benches, safety lighting and a stage. That plan put a covered stage, support buildings and restrooms in later phases that depended on more funding. Here is how that list compares with the latest updates:
| Feature | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Pavilion | Frame up; roof work begins after foundation work is complete |
| Great Lawn with limestone seat wall | Seat wall installation starting shortly |
| Play area for ages 2 to 5 | Equipment on site; installation expected in coming weeks |
| Drinking fountain and bottle-fill station | Preliminary work reported in July |
| Seasonal ice rink | Planned for winter 2027 |
| Restrooms and covered stage | Not announced in current updates |
Why the Lawn Comes Before the Rink
The clearest evidence for the park's priorities is in the Park Board's spring decisions. On April 21, 2026, commissioners approved a $179,934 pavilion. Staff described it as shade and "a backdrop for events held within the Park." It matches the original design minus the building underneath that had appeared in the Phase 3 concept.
At the same meeting, the board approved $54,776 in play equipment from Landscape Structures. The area is toddler-focused and nature-themed for ages 2 to 5. It sits in the northern section off the Prairie Path, with a landscaped buffer and a wood-chip base. Staff explained its placement as serving two groups: families who come for an event, and people on the Prairie Path who stop there as a destination. The playground was designed to support the event lawn rather than serve as the main draw.
The ice rink follows the same logic. A 2025 fundraising campaign included a seasonal chilled rink among the extra amenities it hoped to pay for. At the May 19, 2026 board meeting, a commissioner asked when the rink would go in. Director of Planning and Natural Resources Troia said it would be installed in the winter of 2027 so the lawn has time to establish. The new grass comes first because the lawn is what the rest of the park is built around.
The name also follows from the site. Staff had recommended going back to the historical name, Forest Park. Commissioners chose to keep Prairie Path Park because the community already knows it and it fits the location. Commissioner Cornell noted that Forest Park is already the name of a nearby suburb and could cause confusion. The vote was unanimous. The park is directly south of the train station, next to the Prairie Path and the rail line.
The Money: Several Figures for Different Scopes
Several dollar figures have been reported over the years, and each covers a different scope. The 2023 announcement described $2.8 million in combined Village and Park District money toward Phase I. In June 2025, the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation estimated Phase I at $5.6 million and launched a campaign to raise $800,000 for extra amenities and operating support.
The construction contract went to E.P. Doyle in January 2026. As of May it was $3,081,141. By the July 14 board meeting, a change order had raised it to $3,160,593.94, with the increase covered from contingency. By May 19, 2026, the District reported $356,018.98 raised through donations, foundation events and the Legacy Brick program. It also said it had applied for a Community Funding Grant through Congressman Casten's office. Earlier in 2026, Shaw Local reported a $20,000 gift from Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust to the Parks Foundation campaign.
Those amounts help explain the table above. The $800,000 campaign named the play area, the ice rink, a Duane Street entrance and operating support as its targets, and by May donors had covered less than half of it. Restrooms and a covered stage were never part of that campaign. The 2023 plan had already placed them in later phases that depended on more funding.
The Storefront Next Door Is Being Held for Retail
Village Hall is already planning around the park. On September 28, trustees voted 3–2 against a special use permit for a salon in a small Duane Street storefront near the park that has been empty since March. Patch reported that Community Development Director Jennifer Heneghan explained the C5A downtown retail core district is meant to "emphasize a pedestrian shopping experience." The Plan Commission had recommended approval in August.
According to Patch, Trustee Kelley M. Kalinich tied her vote directly to the park, calling a retail tenant at that spot "super important to help draw people into the park." The trustees who voted in favor argued that an occupied storefront beats an empty one, and Trustee Kelli Christiansen pointed to the salon's planned evening hours as a way to bring more people downtown after the workday. Both sides were arguing about how to bring more people downtown, which is the job the event lawn was designed for.
The First Season on the Downtown Calendar
None of the downtown fall and holiday events below lists the park as a venue. Even so, a mid-November opening comes just before downtown's busiest stretch of the year:
- Thursday, October 15: Witches Walk, with evening shopping, raffles and witches brew, per the Downtown Alliance calendar.
- Saturday, October 24: The Chamber's Halloween Festival & Parade runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The parade lines up at the Glenwood Station Lot and steps off at 9:45.
- Saturday, October 31: The Village recommends trick-or-treating from 3 to 7 p.m.
- Thursdays, November 5 and 12: Ladies Night Out downtown.
- Friday, November 27: Holiday Walk & Tree Lighting. Streets open at 5 p.m. and Santa lights the tree at 6. Santa's mailbox runs through December 13, and Santa House visits take place at 425 Main on weekends.
- November 27 to December 31: The Snow Globe Stroll and Project Light Up Glen Ellyn, with extended holiday hours, per the Village's fall and winter roundup.
- Wednesday, December 9: Ugly Sweater Dine Around.
More work around the park is coming. The Village's train station project is in final engineering, with bidding possible in summer 2027 and construction as early as fall 2027. That phase also rebuilds Crescent Boulevard between Main and Park and Forest Avenue between Duane and Pennsylvania. Patch reported that 2027–28 station permits will be discounted to $460 a year for residents during construction. Permit holders are expected to move to Duane and Lorraine, and Passport daily parking is set to shift to Duane and Forest, on the park's corner. Our Glen Ellyn summer guide covers how the village programmed downtown during its last summer before the park opened.
A new park, a protected retail block and a planned station rebuild will all affect how the homes closest to the Forest and Duane corner are marketed over the next few years. If you own near downtown and want to know how that might play out for your home, Kathie Frerman can walk you through it block by block. Request a Free Home Valuation or Schedule a Consultation, and we'll start with what's changing on your street.
