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Federal Grant Helps Bloomington Build Long-Delayed Park

Woodbury Park
Eric Stock
/
WGLT
Bloomington city officials plan to dedicate Woodbury Park, 1214 Woodbury Place, at noon Friday.

Bloomington has converted some greenspace into a new neighborhood park that it will dedicate Friday.

City Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Director Jay Tetzloff said the one-and-a-quarter acres at Woodbury Estates in southwest Bloomington sat vacant for years until the city received a federal grant to convert the property into what will now be known as Woodbury Park.

“It was on the city’s capital list but no funding was coming for it in the near future,” Tetzloff said. “That’s where the federal grant came through and it moved to the top of the list.”

Tetzloff said Woodbury Estates was annexed into the city in 2004 and the subdivision developer turned over the greenspace to the city soon after that.

Woodbury Park includes a playground, gazebo, drinking foundation and sidewalks that connect several neighborhoods.

“We are thrilled to be able to go in and mark this off of the undeveloped parks list into the developed parks list,” Tetzloff said.

Tetzloff said city staff designed and built the park. It cost $75,000 in federal funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Woodbury becomes Bloomington's 39th park. It's the first new one since in Bloomington since Eagle View opened in 2015.

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Eric Stock is the News Director at WGLT. You can contact Eric at ejstoc1@ilstu.edu.