A new band shell will be going up at Gordon Park in La Grange after the Village Board last week unanimously approved a special use permit allowing the Park District of La Grange to replace the existing performance area. The project will substantially increase the size of the bandshell at one of the district’s largest parks, in the northeast corner of the village. “The Park District is proposing a significant enlargement of the bandshell structure anchored in generally the same location,” Trustee Tim O’Brien said in introducing the measure. “With open size and similar rear design.” The current bandshell was also the result of a special use permit approved in 2013, and the new proposal includes various modifications to the site, including improved pedestrian access from the parking area to the bandshell. The Park District already took the plan to the village Plan Commission, which gave it a unanimous recommendation on March 11. Trustees had little comment on the issue, although Beth Augustine did have a question for Park District Executive Director Jenny Bechtold. “I have a pretty good sense of the programming you plan to do and how it will change slightly by having this structure,” she said. “Could you tell us a little bit about what you see from the Park perspective?” Jenny Bechtold, executive director of the Park District of La Grange, takes questions last week from the La Grange Village Board about the district’s plans to build a new bandshell in Gordon Park. (Hank Beckman/Pioneer Press) Bechtold spoke of the Park District’s planning for the new structure as a work in progress. “We’re still kind of working through programming,” she said. “But one of the items we’re looking at is Country Jam. This summer we will not have it. We will be closed (for reconstruction). But we’re looking at other events like the Country Jam, similar size, nothing too large. We can do dance recitals, senior events, so there’s a host of opportunities. We’ve had some inquiries about rentals from orchestras and church groups, so there’s different opportunities. Bechtold also assured the board that any programming would comply with village ordinances, particularly those pertaining to noise. After the vote, Bechtold spoke of the reasons for enlarging the bandshell. “Right now when we have special events at Gordon, for example, we have to bring in a stage,” she said. “When we did Endless SummerFest, we had to pay to have that big stage brought in. So now this is a permanent stage for us to hold different programming.” Bechtold stressed that the new bandshell also would make it possible to hold programs outside of musical entertainment. “We can do fitness classes,” she said, noting the size of the covering. “We can do dance recitals, senior programs.” Bechtold acknowledged the increase in the size of the bandshell. “Right now it’s 180 square feet, and it’s going to be 2,000,” she said. As for the cost of the new bandshell, it will be covered by the money from the Park District’s successful 2024 referendum, which gained the District $13.82 million and passed with 74% of the vote. There isn’t a specific cost yet named for the new bandshell, but Bechtold estimated it would be between $800,000 and $900,000. The next La Grange Village Board meeting will be 7:30 p.m. April 7, at the La Grange Village Hall, 53 S. La Grange Rd. Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.  ...read more read less