Wood River Approves Agreement For City Center Park Outdoor Event Space

Wood River City Council Meeting

WOOD RIVER – Downtown Wood River is one step closer to welcoming a new park and outdoor event space.

At their March 16, 2026 meeting, City Council members unanimously approved a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Wood River and Gray Design Group of Illinois, Inc. for the future City Center Park and outdoor event space, set to be located at 101 E. Ferguson Ave.

Gray Design Group will prepare a preliminary design for the outdoor space, subject to city approval, under the terms of the agreement. The group will also prepare construction documents and help the city find vendors and manufacturers for key specialty components, including the prefabricated public restroom structure, performance stage system, open-air pavilion, and decorative “oil derrick” clock tower. More details on these and other aspects of the park are available in this previous story on Riverbender.com.

For this work, the city has agreed to pay Gray Design Group a total of $52,550. This includes $29,300 for the architectural design, $19,500 for civil engineering services, and $3,750 for structural engineering services.

The “cost of the work” to fully construct the outdoor space totals $600,000, according to the agreement, which notes this total does not include certain other costs, including the compensation for Gray Design Group and the cost of the land itself.

The city anticipates the design phase for the City Center Park Outdoor Event Space to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, with construction to commence the following quarter and "substantial completion" expected in the first quarter of 2027.

A full recording of the March 16, 2026 Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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