How the Wagner Community Center is Shaping Elmhurst’s Future

As Elmhurst continues to blossom into a spirited community, changes are being made. The Elmhurst Park District Community Center is currently holding voting over referendum plans.

Early voting began Thursday, Sept. 26, with the last day of being able to vote either yes or no on this matter set as Election Day, Nov. 5.

The ideals of the specific improvements to this community center have been mentioned by the community for years. However, with a referendum comes a rise in taxes, which has given residents pause.

The Wagner Community Center was originally a 1950s elementary school named Cornille Grade School. Parks and areas of land have now been preserved to organize outdoor and indoor activities such as soccer, gymnastics, and dance. Preschools and early childhood programs are also held at this location.

The main purpose of the referendum is rooted in the goal of providing more enhanced recreational opportunities for the community consisting of all ages. The community center wishes to offer more to its participants.

The referendum will completely demolish the current standing building, estimated to be about 30,000 square feet. The new facility is estimated to be four times the size of the original building: 127,000 square feet.

Jim Rogers, the executive director at the Elmhurst Park District, wants people to have all the information on the referendum so they can make an informed decision.

“The facility would offer all the types of programming already offered at the current center but with more of it as well as new components,” said Rogers.

Additional components that are mentioned to be included are an indoor walking track for residents to use and an indoor artificial turf. Organizations that are already offered, such as their gymnastics program, will be expanded upon.

Currently, their gym area dedicated to gymnastics is about 7,000 square feet, and this is expected to be newly built to be 10,000 square feet, which would be a nearly 50% increase in size for gymnastics alone.

All these upgrades are intended to shorten the center’s continuously growing waitlists. However, a temporary tax increase has also been mentioned.

This type of bond referendum lasts for 25 years before it is eventually lifted. The money collected from this bond referendum can only be used for constructing this project; it cannot be used for paying salaries or operating costs.

If this referendum passes, all programs held by the Wagner Center will be moved to outside locations in Fall 2025; they will not go on hold. If passed, once the referendum is finished, there is a plan to reopen the new building in Fall 2027.

For more information on this possible transition, the Elmhurst Park District’s website can be viewed at https://www.epd.org/referendum to help make an informed decision.

Those who wish to have a say on this matter can register to vote and head to the polls by early November.