Macomb is ready to finalize its plans for redesigning Chandler Park, but not much is changing from the initial plan.
The city council agreed to pay $194,000 to Peoria-based Farnsworth Group to fine-tune those plans, after the company came up with the new layout that was unveiled to the public in December 2024.
City Administrator Scott Coker said it’s a matter of addressing the details such as the design of the new performance space.
“I will say overall, the master plan document that you’ve seen, the overall layout of the park, we have no intentions to change that in a major way,” Coker said.
He said once the master plan is finalized, the city can apply for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program and Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grants to help pay for the project, which he estimated will cost around $3.6 million.
He anticipates applying for those next summer.
Coker said the city expects to pay Farnsworth for the final design plan with money from Macomb’s west side Tax Increment Financing district.
The proposed performance space will replace the Chandler Park gazebo. Other changes include moving all the monuments to the west side of the park, and replacing the brick sidewalks that form an X through the park with concrete sidewalks that have the same window pane pattern used on the courthouse square.
Chandler Park has been part of downtown Macomb for more than a century.
Macomb businessman C.V. Chandler donated the site to the city, and the park was established in 1893.
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