Ryan Woods shelter to get makeover

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:07AM

The warming shelter at Dan Ryan Woods, 84th Street and Western Avenue, is getting a makeover this year.

The Cook County Forest Preserve District plans to renovate the building that originally served as a warming shelter for ice skaters and sledders. The building, now used for meetings and nature programs, will be made compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, district spokeswoman Karen Vaughan said.

Insulation will be added along with a new heating, ventilating and air conditioning system. There also will be new doors and windows, updated washrooms and “general interior cleaning to make the facility more accommodating for small gatherings and meetings,” Vaughan said.

Jim Havlat, the district’s architect, said the renovation will cost $737,000 and should be finished by the end of the year. Path Construction Company is doing the work, Havlat said.

A small catering kitchen will be available once the work is done, he said.

“If someone has an event there, they’ll have the option to plug in some warming trays. There’s a sink, too,” he said.

Renovations are planned at two other sites.

The forest preserve district will spend $532,000 to renovate the Eggers Grove Comfort Station, 112th Street and Avenue E., on Chicago’s Southeast Side, Havlat said. And $925,000 will be spent on renovating the Thatcher Woods Pavilion in River Forest, he said.

All three structures originally were constructed in the early 1930s and are representative of the district’s history with extensive use of limestone, Havlat said.

Work on all three projects is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.