Sunflower Park playground in Yorkville is undergoing a massive rebuild, bringing some first-in-the-city inclusive play features designed to inspire children and break down barriers.

Currently a farm-themed playground, Sunflower Park is located at 1765 Walsh Drive. On-site is a basketball court, picnic area, shelter, and green-space play area. Only the playground is being overhauled.

The park will join the likes of Rotary Park, which recently earned park staff the 2025 Outstanding Park Award from the Illinois Park and Recreation Association for its groundbreaking inclusive playground layout.

Rotary Park’s design was said to champion fun play and participation by both children and adults, with or without a disability, with additional features for children sensitive to high-stimulated environments.

Following in the mold of recent playground rebuilds, the city approved a $100,578 contract with GameTime playground manufacture. Including installation costs, the new playground is totaling $110,000.

Tim Evans, director of parks and recreation, said staff will receive the new equipment this summer and install the new playground this fall.

Evans described the new equipment as supporting whole child development, including physical, social, emotional, sensory, cognitive and communication.

“Sunflower Park is about 20 years old now, it needs to be replaced,” Evans said during the March 24 City Council meeting. “It has new features that will make it more inclusive for the community.”

All new to the city, the park will feature a wheelchair accessible merry-go-round, called an inclusive wheel. Another all new feature is a roller slide, improving accessibility to the fun-moving action equipment piece.

There will also be a ton of fun things to climb on and play with, ranging from vertical and horizontal climbers, a new slide, fun-interactive panels, gizmos, and some electronic sensory gadgets.

Away from the main playground will be a fun standalone game panel and therapeutic rings.

Superintendent of Parks Scott Sleezer previously said that the focus on horizontal spaces and multiple entryways to the play equipment is designed to encourage children to interact and play with each other.

Parents and grandparents can also participate in the fun because the design enables them to get up-close to their children while they are playing on the equipment.

“Our neighbors are all of different abilities and we want to make sure that we’re being inclusive to all of them, whether that is somebody in a wheelchair, or even adults who might require greater accessibility,” Sleezer previously said. “We want to make sure that we’re providing the best space for allowing kids and parents to play side by side.”

From Yorkville to the Caribbean

The dismantling of the current Sunflower Park playground is continuing the legacy of the city of Yorkville touching the lives of children in the Caribbean, through the non-profit work of Kids Around the World.

The Rockford-based non-profit, which has been used on several previous Yorkville playground tear-downs, refurbishes the equipment and rebuilds them in underprivileged countries around the world.

After years of bringing joy to children in Yorkville, Emily Sleezer Park’s playground, named after Scott Sleezer’s late-daughter, was refurbished and installed in the Dominican Republic.

Scott Sleezer was on hand to help install the playground in the town of Cabrera, calling the moment a very powerful, transformative experience.

Scott Sleezer said by installing a new playground, the charity is providing something more than just recreation for the town’s kids.

“Besides just the hope it brings to the kids who don’t often get the chance to experience play this way, it helps them grow and develop mentally because the playgrounds are specifically designed to challenge the adolescent’s thinking skills and physical confidence,” Sleezer said. “This help brings hope to the whole community.”

He said installing a playground also serves as a catalyst for change because it encourages other businesses and government development in an area that has been historically underfunded.

Sleezer said by donating the equipment, not only does it cut down on waste by preventing the equipment from being scrapped into a landfill, but it also saves the city money in dismantling the equipment. He said it also “teaches members of our community to think globally, not just locally.” He said by providing hope, they help make “both our communities stronger.”