Belleville’s oldest city park is getting a $1 million facelift. When will it be finished?

For about $1 million, Belleville is reshaping the city’s oldest park.

The makeover of Bellevue Park is moving along with a new playground, the conversion of the tennis courts into four pickleball courts, renovation of the amphitheater, a new gazebo, a new fitness court and repairs to the banks of the fishing lake.

Work is expected to be completed by the end of May except for the fitness court, which has already opened, according to Jason Poole, director of the city’s public works and parks departments.

“We’re making a conscious effort to make some park improvements,” Poole said. “Bellevue Park is our oldest park in the community and we just needed to give it a face-lift.”

The park opened in 1922. There previously was a golf course and a swimming pool near the park but those have been closed for decades.

Bellevue Park projects

While the park remains open for visitors, the playground area was closed as the old set of equipment was removed and a new one is being installed.

The previous playground opened in the early 1990s and Poole said replacement parts were no longer available.

The new playground cost $241,000 and it will include equipment that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It has a new main structure and swing sets.

A hard rubber surface will be installed on the side with the main play structure and wood mulch will be spread around the swing sets.

For all the other projects, the city contracted with Hank’s Excavating & Landscaping in Belleville for $820,505. This brings the total cost to $1.06 million for the latest Bellevue Park improvements.

The city is using over $900,000 from the TIF 3 fund to pay for the majority of the costs. This tax increment financing district covers most of the city and property taxes collected in it are used to fund projects such as the one at Bellevue Park.

Poole noted the city also has received two grants totaling $150,000 to help pay for the Bellevue Park work.

Belleville received a $100,000 grant from the Metro East Park and Recreation District, which is supported by a sales tax of 1/10 of 1% in Madison and St. Clair counties.

For the fitness court, the city received a grant of $50,000 as part of a collaboration between the National Fitness Campaign and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. The fitness center opened in November near the corner of Bellevue Park Drive and Dapron Drive near Memorial Hospital.

With the growing popularity of pickleball in recent years, the city decided to resurface the two existing tennis courts and convert them into four pickleball courts.

Other highlights of the Bellevue Park project include:

• A new gazebo was built near the playground.

• The band shell at the amphitheater is being repainted and the bathrooms will be updated to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Improvements are being made in the riprap to stabilize the fishing lake’s shoreline.

In 2021, the city spent $90,000 in TIF 3 funds for a new walking bridge over the lake. Interior work at the Stone Lodge shelter also was completed.

As far as other parks in the city, plans are being designed this year to replace restrooms, the concession stand and playground and make improvements to the ballfields at Citizens Park and probably next year for Laderman Park’s playground and entrance road.

Also, the city is dredging two ponds this spring at Bicentennial Park so they can then be stocked with fish.

Belleville News-Democrat reporter Teri Maddox contributed information for this article.