DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A major investment was made at the Southern Hill Property in Decatur.
Related Affordable Foundation, Related Midwest and Related Management Company announced a $5 million investment in the Southern Hills property, which includes renovations and updates to apartments and common areas. In addition, Related joined Kaboom!, local leaders and volunteers to build a new playground on the property.
Kaboom! is a non-profit organization that focuses on ending playspace inequities. Earlier in the year, the organization met with kids who lived at Southern Hills to ask them to design a playground. Kayla Harris-Fontaine, Kaboom! Sr. Community Engagement Manager, said the playground is a community space.
"It is important to us that the kids have a voice in their own space and it is our mission to end playspace inequity," she said.
Volunteers from around Decatur dedicated their day helping build the new playground. Apprentices from IBEW 146 also helped with the construction of the new playground. Senator Doris Turner (D) said the playground will have an impact on the children who use it and the volunteers who helped build it.
"They will come out here and drive by and say hey I helped do that, I helped build my community," she shared. "That's a sense of pride that you can't buy."
Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said the investment in kids now will pay dividends in the future.
"You know we've seen a lot of problems in the community and we see it across the country, so everything we can do to give kids a positive experience, to learn to play and get along with other is huge."
The Southern Hills property was acquired by Related Midwest in 2019. It has 29 total buildings, 28 residential buildings and one community building.
