River Forest Tennis Club

Located in the beautiful village of River Forest, Ill., the River Forest Tennis Club (RFTC) offers its members 10 excellent clay courts for tennis, a collegiate-size swimming pool, and a wide expanse of lawn for play, parties, and events.

Since 1905, RFTC’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed clubhouse has been a gathering spot for summer dinners, entertainment, and more. Men’s and women’s locker rooms were installed at the clubhouse in 1968, and after over 50 years of use, RFTC knew it needed to undergo significant renovations to each, starting with the men’s locker room in 2020.

As renovations began, RFTC was faced with the challenge of specifying contemporary restroom fixtures while also honoring the historic nature of the club and Wright’s original design aesthetic. Sloan’s collection of faucets, flushometers, water closets, and more—as well as its strong Chicago-area roots—proved to be the perfect match for RFTC’s needs, offering forward-thinking innovation and sustainable design that pays tribute to the club’s history and Wright’s vision.

Serving Hands-free

A locker room can be a breeding ground for germs, so RFTC knew it needed to feature touchless fixtures in its renovation. “We’re talking about a club that hosts hundreds of people each day,” said Maggie Kelly, Master Planning Committee Co-Chair at RFTC. “So, you can imagine all those people touching the same faucets. The touch-free Sloan products are really going to help us." Led by the EAF-250 Optima® Battery-powered Deck-mounted Faucets, ESD-2000 Deck-mounted Soap Dispensers, and G2 8111 Exposed Sensor Water Closet Flushometers, Sloan’s set of hands-free, sensor-activated products are helping RFTC members avoid germs while saving the facility water and looking elegant in the process.

Ace of Maintenance

Keeping locker rooms and restrooms clean and efficient is top of mind for RFTC. “Any time we can create a situation where there’s ease of maintenance, that’s going to benefit us,” Kelly said. “We want our facilities to always be well maintained, so the Sloan products are a huge win for us.” As one of Sloan’s most popular electronic flushometers, G2 8111 Flushometers are engineered to perform in any type of restroom environment, automatically operating via an infrared sensor and featuring a user-friendly three-second flush delay. In addition, the EAF-250 Optima Faucets offers unmatched durability, providing RFTC with hassle-free sustainability benefits for years to come.

A Dynamic Duo

While sustainability, design, and maintenance advantages made Sloan the clear choice for the new locker rooms, the company’s deep hometown ties were an added benefit to a picture-perfect partnership. “Both Sloan and RFTC have been Chicago-area institutions for over 100 years,” Kelly said. “It’s pretty special to have these two historic organizations work together. I think it’s a great story.”