Serenade Park in Troy aims for Aug. opening

An architectural rendition of a new water feature to be included in Serenade Park, a project by the City of Troy which will connect with Tri-Township Park. (Graphic courtesy of City of Troy)

By Pat Pratt
ppratt@timestribunenews.com

City officials anticipate a mid to late August completion for a new addition to the list of parks in Troy, which will have a water feature for children to enjoy and other amenities.

Serenade Park, in addition to the water feature, will also have a new pavilion, a playground, new sidewalks and a new parking lot. The park will be located on the west side of Tri-Township Park on Serenade Drive. 

“The park will include a pavilion, a dry playground and a faux creek,” Keeven said. “It’s like a trickling creek, which is activated when you step on a pedal. The water will run for like five minutes and trickle down this little creek that a child could play in.” 

Cost of the new park is just over $800,000. Funding comes from the closeout of the old tax increment financing district which encompassed the west side of town and businesses along the Illinois 162 corridor through Troy. Keller Construction is lead contractor for the project. 

Keeven said with several revitalization efforts underway – the downtown business district and a proposed new TIF district along the Interstate 55 corridor – city leaders are also mindful of new recreational opportunities. For Troy to grow and attract new businesses and residents, there have to be spaces for people to enjoy. 

“Although the city typically does not manage parks – we have Tri-Township Park District, which does a fantastic job with that –this small piece of property we had adjacent to the park district  just seemed like a natural fit for a park,” Keeven said.