Habernickel Should Be Complete By Spring, Officials Say

One of the village's big developments is inching toward completion, officials told Patch. Procured with a series of Open Space grants in 2004 for $7 million, the to a recreation facility but will be ready for spring sports in 2012, Assistant Village Engineer Jovan Mehandzic said.

According to Mehandzic, grass has already been laid down for the multi-use field (including a 70-foot baseball field), trees have been planted, the rain garden and playground are done, and .

The demolition of the house – which – will accelerate work, he said. About 80 percent of the home is gone and the next step is to remove the basement. The basement stone will be transported to a quarry, which breaks it down and returns the material to the village. Its final resting place will be under the asphalt of the parking lot. "It's a green way of doing things," Mehandzic said.

The contractor, R Veniri Inc., is filling several dumpsters a day as the firm scurries about different areas of the 10-acre property.

"Now that we've gotten permission to knock the house down, we can really clear this whole area," Mehandzic said. It's become something of a staging site though it will eventually be open space.

"Let's say you've got two kids, one kid is playing on the field and another at the playground, you can watch them both from that area."

The driveway is currently ripped up and will need stone and curbs to fill in. But for right now, the priority is adding some of the essential utilities.

Winter caused some problems last year for the contractor – which has also repaired the dam by removing overgrown trees and adding gabions – but things are looking full speed ahead, according to officials.

Mehandiz said he believed everything would be done by May 1.

"Once the bad weather starts, he'll start with the utilities, which is electric, sewer and water," Mehandzic said. "He can do that in the dead of winter no problem."

The playground, designed as a barn, is completely done, he added, though it still needs wood chips.

The walking trail that circles a good portion of the park isn't quite yet on the agenda. It's scheduled to be a Boy Scout project though there have been issues with liability.

Those worrying another controversy over late night lights could ensue need not wonder – , Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser said.