Central Planning

By Mark Loehrke
Appears in the September 2025 issue.

DuPage Forest Preserve’s new campus underway

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County recently broke ground on its new Grounds & Natural Resources Campus at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville. The 112,900-square-foot facility will replace aging, scattered maintenance buildings with a centralized, energy-efficient complex that will serve as the main hub for the crews who maintain and restore the nearly 26,000 acres of forest preserves countywide. With a focus on improved safety, operational efficiency, and environmental sustainability, the new facility will include an onsite solar array, rainwater harvesting systems, and native bioswales and basins, as well as a new native-plant nursery support building and greenhouse. The $36.4 million project is expected to be substantially completed by February 2027, with final completion by December 2027.

Photo: Forest Preserve District of DuPage County