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GARFIELD PARK — Construction has begun on a new 6,000-square-foot indoor children’s garden at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave.
The renovated Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden is expected to open in fall 2025. Additions will include a dig pit, nature art gallery, toddler area and slide. There will also be a dedicated space for visitors with sensory disabilities, with a spiraling, wheelchair-accessible ramp that goes all the way up to the building’s arched glass roof.
“This is the ultimate public-private partnership for the benefit of young people and our children here on the West Side of Chicago,” Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said Friday during a groundbreaking ceremony. “This is an important project to bring this level of sensory and recreational [experience] to our community.”
The conservatory raised more than $10 million for the upgrades. That includes $4.6 million in private donations; $2 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) funds from the city; $1.75 million in state money; and an additional $1.5 million from the Chicago Park District, according to officials. Last year a fundraising campaign for the garden reached a goal of $250,000 that then was matched by an anonymous donor.
“There hasn’t been a lot of private funding in this area, so to say that 50% of the funding came from private sources is pretty incredible,” said Jennifer Van Valkenburg, president and CEO of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.
“This is a decade-long journey,” she added. “The pandemic set us back, construction costs set us back, different things created obstacles that we overcame — so this day is a huge day for everyone.”
The Garfield Park Conservatory hosts more than 10 hours of children’s programming daily in spaces across its campus including a “Play & Grow” outdoor garden for kids 0-8 years old and a “Child Wild” outdoor nature play area. For more information on children’s programming, visit garfieldconservatory.org.
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