Crow Island’s new playground passes Village review

Another notable addition to one of the North Shore’s most architecturally significant institutions will soon be swinging into town.

Winnetka’s Village Council during its Tuesday, May 20 meeting approved a request from Winnetka School District 36 for a new playground and landscaping elements at Crow Island School.

Trustees, in full, approved an amendment to an existing special-use permit, a zoning variation and a certificate of appropriateness related to the project.

District 36’s request required the additional approvals in part because of another ongoing project at the local school.

Village trustees in April of last year approved plans from District 36 to construct an addition on the southwest corner of the existing school building. That addition is currently under construction.

As previously reported by The Record, the district is building a 14,568-square-foot addition to support a new gymnasium for the school, which is also adding at least three classrooms and a cafeteria (in the old gymnasium space).

According to village documents, the addition at Crow Island required the playground at the school to be relocated within the site.

District officials had an approximate location for the playground identified when they first pitched the addition project to the village; however, the design of the playground and landscaping details were not yet finalized.

Project plans from District 36 call for the new playground located on the south side of the school building between the currently under construction addition and the existing asphalt play surface along Glendale Avenue, project plans show.

The play surface will be replaced by a new asphalt and repainted for playground use, project plans show, noting that will include two basketball hoops. The new rubberized poured-in-place surface will measure just under 6,000 square feet.

The Village Council unanimously approved the resolution during the session with little discussion, allowing the district to move forward with the next steps in its plans.

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