The town of St. John is one of the fastest growing communities in Lake County. With annual growth averaging over 6% since 2010, the town has been challenged to maintain quality parks and recreation services for a rapidly growing and expanding community. With this as the backdrop, The Arsh Group was commissioned by the St. John Parks Department to develop a new master plan to focus on expanding park and program offerings, while creating strategies to help the Department grow and adapt as the Town expands.

The Arsh Group worked closely with the staff, the Park Board, and the Town residents to develop several strategies which will help assure long term viability while embracing prudent investment. This work included identifying several areas for new parks and facilities that should be reserved as the town grows. The final plan also details an expanded trail and pedestrian network to better connect the different neighborhoods in the town. In an effort to better unite the characters of existing and future parks, a set of design guidelines were developed to outline preferred standards for park acquisition and design. To help the town realize the plan’s recommendations, several investment strategies, including identifying new funding sources, are included to assist with the plan’s implementation.