Bear Line park starting to take shape

An overhead drone shot of St. Clair College Community Park, under development on Bear Line Road in Chatham, is shown. The new municipal park will include a tennis dome is expected to be completed at the site this fall.

Construction continues on a new regional park located on Bear Line Road.

The park is currently on Phase Two of construction, which will include a tennis dome, playground, 10 pickleball courts, washrooms, trails, a maintenance building and two sport courts. The tennis dome, which will be operated by Tennis Clubs of Canada, is expected to be finished by October. Phase Two is expected to be mostly finished by the end of the year, with some touch up work expected in the spring of 2026.

St. Clair College donated the 19.5 acres of land along Bear Line Road to Chatham-Kent in 2023. The terms of the donation were to allow the municipality to develop the land into a regional park.

Phase One of construction, which is now complete, included included the servicing for the park including water, sanitary, and electrical, design fees, and parking lot with lights.

As part of Phase Three of construction and development of the park, the park will also include a soccer/rugby field and cricket pitch.

During the development of the park there has been a lot of discussion by the public for an indoor multi-use soccer facility. However, in a report from council, administration said it was not considered as this area of the park was designed for an outdoor field area.

The report, which was an update on park construction, said the current park design does not meet the requirements of this additional facility on site. The opportunity for an indoor multi-use soccer facility may exist if some of the Phase 3 facilities are moved to potentially other sites.

Administration is currently conducting the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update, and this will provide direction on these types of facilities.