Meadowbrook Playground Planning

Background


King Park was initially established in 1967 and has been expanded in acreage through a series of adjacent land acquisitions. Since then, King Park has undergone two master plans and is currently in the process of developing a third.

The current playground is over 20 years old and due for replacement. The Urbana Park District recognizes this as a great opportunity to apply for an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant. Similar to Blair Park, we want to revitalize King Park and its amenities to enhance recreational opportunities, improve accessibility, and introduce new community-focused features.

Playground Master Planning


The Urbana Park District is currently working with Farnsworth Group, a firm dedicated to improving designs of environments where people live and play. As of August 2025, the Urbana Park District Board of Commissioners have approved of the 2025 King Park master plan. This master plan promotes accessibility, inclusivity, and diverse recreational opportunities for the entire community. Please view our King Park master plan below under planning documents.  

Community Input and Planning


As of March 10th, 2025, the Urbana Park District has put together a Steering Committee for King Park which includes neighbors, parents and stakeholders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, the City of Urbana, Urbana Rotary, Experience CU, Habitat for Humanity, and Jettie Rhodes Day committee members. This committee has assisted by reviewing site history, assessing current site conditions, reviewing public input received to date, and assisting with reviewing plan updates. The King Park Steering Committee met a total of four times and have reviewed the King Park master plan that was approved by UPD Board of Commissioners. Please see planning documents below for more information.

Additional engagement took place in the spring and summer of 2025. Meeting with stakeholders such as Urbana Middle School, Urbana Neighborhood Connection Center, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, and Jettie Rhode’s Day Community helped identify amenities and playground designs for King Park. Please review our combined engagement summary under planning documents below for more information. 

Next Steps


Urbana Park District staff has applied for an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The OSLAD program is a state-financed grant program that provides funding assistance to local government agencies for acquisition and/or development of land for public parks and open space. 

This past January, the Urbana Park District was awarded the $600,000 OSLAD grant, which is the max award for approved development projects. We will be matching this funding for an overall budget of $1.2 million for King Park developments! Going into the summer of 2026, we will be working on the design and engineering of the King Park master plan. Closer to winter is when we expect the project to go out to bid for construction. Once the bid is awarded, project construction will begin in 2027. 

Planning Documents