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* From the Illinois Times’ Scott Reeder…
Springfield mayoral candidate Misty Buscher is calling for revitalizing the dormant beach house at Lake Springfield and making it a haven for food trucks, concerts and outdoor activities. […]
In the wake of a 2007 drowning at Lake Springfield, the beach house has only been used for planned events such as weddings. Swimming is no longer allowed at the beach. […]
She has worked with an architectural firm to create renderings for what such a park might look like.
“We would just take a small bite of the apple each year,” she said. “The most expensive phase would be the dock. But everything – the picnic tables, the building, the renovations, the dock – would be a total of $1 million.”
From the architect…
If Springfield ever hopes to attract people to and keep people in this town, it needs to do lots more stuff like this, especially since the law requiring new state jobs be located in Springfield was heavily watered down not long ago.
And good on the candidate for coming up with this idea and putting in some actual work.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:17 am
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I like the idea. But I would also like the beach opened again, with a bus stop serving it.
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:25 am
The current mayor tried working with Rauner on the Y Block … we saw how that ended. That said, don’t let failure deter candidates from ideas like this.
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:33 am
The beach house was a nice venue for all-ages shows during my time in the scene in the early ’90s. It would be nice to have that brought back again.
Comment by Thicc Offerman Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:38 am
Type of vision needed by our mayor. Lets get Y-Block and Scheel’s sports complex moving as well.
Comment by Class of 80 Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:43 am
All things being relative in politics, it truly is remarkable and exciting that a candidate for mayor of Springfield would demonstrate some vision for the future. Glad to see it.
Comment by Bud's Bar Stool Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:49 am
Love the idea. The “beach” needs to go though. The water quality is hard to nail down and you will have difficult time finding life guards.
Keep the sandy part of it for people to hang out on or build a boardwalk in the area for folks.
A marina over by Chatham has a nice little taco stand out during the summer and the ambiance there is half of what the beach house could offer.
Comment by Cool Papa Bell Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 10:52 am
Would love to see this. A quality outdoor venue located at the lake is really needed.
Would be a great spot for Jazz and Blues Fest or related events.
That being said, look for the downtown bars and related entertainment spots to fight this tooth and nail as they cling to the idea of returning downtown Springfield to the 1950s vision of downtown and protecting their weekend events.
Comment by Give Me A Break Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 11:05 am
With Thicc Offerman. I went to many of those shows in the early 90’s. However, I can’t say that having a bunch of unruly teenagers thrashing about the place is a solid plan for the beach house. We had our moment. Then someone set fire to something and it came to an end.
To the rendering, it looks nice, and I like that someone is giving it some thought. There is a lot of history to place and should be an attraction for the city’s families.
Comment by CLJ Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 11:13 am
Spending $1 million on this would certainly be better than giving away $19 million to the Wyndham owner (after rejecting a $40 million investment). Since it’s a good thing, don’t expect anyone on the council to have the vision to see the potential mayor’s plan through.
Comment by Google Is Your Friend Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 11:15 am
Remember all the sicknesses from swimming in that lake, including the triathletes. At this the time the lake receives too much poison and pollutants to be safe for swimming.
If that’s not addressed, and this plan moves forward, I fear disaster in sickness and lawsuits. But yes, I do like she knows Springfield needs more and better.
Comment by Lurker Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 12:20 pm
=== At this the time===
The leptospirosis outbreak was in 1998, for crying out loud. That was a quarter century ago. Huge strides have been made since then. Stop living in the past.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 12:23 pm
Lake Springfield is an underutilized gem for the City of Springfield. I love the idea, and its cost is relatively cheap. Maybe a change in leadership is precisely what is needed for this town. I’m interested enough to move from Langfelder to undecided. Let’s see what the next few weeks bring.
Comment by Tom Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 12:31 pm
The standards in Springfield for everything are so low. driving down a street, often you only see red lights and billboards for pawn shops, divorce lawyers, and video gaming. There’s no plan for development, and it’s probably too late to plan anything. The downtown, that was crushed by the pandemic and likely the prior plans will never be attained. the future of springfield is tied to the State of Illinois and the hospitals. As this article mentions, the Sangamon County requirement for hiring has been watered down, and eventually it will be eliminated. State agencies have often 25% vacancy rates, there aren’t enough people in Springfield to power the State. Amenities will drive growth and retention. Public pools, improved green spaces, this awesome beach project. these are investments that will pay off.
Comment by Merica Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 12:39 pm
We need this so badly. Our lake is such a wonderful resource, and it is being underutilized. It could be a great place for recreation and draw visitors from the surrounding area.
Comment by wildcat12 Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 1:24 pm
The beach was part of the promise made to the citizens when the lake was built, that they would have true equal public access, not just the home and club owners around the lake. Not everyone can afford to go to the water park in the summer at $40 a day, and the public pools are affordable, but have no beach. Other nearby cities can manage to run a beach, even promote tourism with theirs, but somehow Springfield is too cheap, scared, and visionless to do it? I am always disappointed the Council just kind of sits on their hands and doesn’t try anything new, or in this case, old, since the beach was there since 1935. One tragedy happens, because the Council was penny-pinching, and as a result, a public good must be lost forever for everyone? That’s pretty cowardly IMO.
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 4:22 pm
This is obviously a long-term if ever solution, but I think UIS should build a campus downtown. That might be the only way to really revitalize downtown Springfield at scale. Capitol cities with university campuses downtown tend to be quite attractive places. Springfield’s issue is that it is so sprawled out.
Comment by RJRICH17 Monday, Mar 13, 23 @ 6:53 pm
= Stop living in the past. =
Our eldest child’s summer camp quit swimming in the lake last summer after kids started coming out with rashes. It was not a problem afterwards. Just sayin’.
Comment by Dirty Red Tuesday, Mar 14, 23 @ 6:07 am