Crain's Chicago Business' Greg Hinz sheds light on a bold plan by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to boost the city's tourism and entertainment industries. The Emanuel administration earlier this week announced details on two separate projects that combined represent more than $1 billion in investments.
Hinz writes:
In one, a final deal has been struck to build a 10,000-seat arena across the street from McCormick Place that will be the new home of the DePaul Blue Demons basketball team and host smaller conferences, meetings, concerts and other sporting events. As part of that undertaking, a 500-room hotel will be erected kitty-corner from a 1,100-room "headquarters" hotel that already had been announced.
In the other initiative, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's team announced that it's ready to move ahead with the first, $163 million phase of the redevelopment of Navy Pier. Included: a new park and bicycle flyover at the pier's west end, an expanded Children's Museum and 54,000 square feet of new dining and entertainment space, mostly on the pier's lightly used east end.
Read the report by Crain's Chicago Business.
Related Stories
Architects | Mar 11, 2016
AIA survey finds many women and minority architects still feeling underrepresented and unfulfilled
Dissatisfaction with “work-life balance” and compensation are cited as reasons why companies’ diversity strategies may be faltering.
University Buildings | Mar 11, 2016
How architects can help community colleges promote community on campus
Even in the face of funding challenges and historic precedent, there are emerging examples of how partnership between two-year academic institutions and designers can further elevate community on campus. CannonDesign's Carisima Koenig has a few key examples.
Architects | Mar 10, 2016
Value engineering: How to manage the process and limit the risk of VE
AEC consultant Steve Whitehorn shares several ways in which architects can be more effective managers of value-engineered change.
Architects | Mar 9, 2016
Two Houston firms merge to form Method Architecture
In mid-2016, Architects-Plus and Three Square Design Group will join to make a studio that will design industrial centers, corporate interiors, breweries, and more.
Hotel Facilities | Mar 7, 2016
Exclusive villas and spa in China will be built at the center of a lake
The only connection between the complex and the mainland will be a narrow pedestrian bridge.
Office Buildings | Mar 2, 2016
HDR redesigns Twin Cities' studio to have coffee shop vibe
With open spaces, huddle rooms, and a design lab, the firm's new digs are drastically different than the old studio, which felt like working in a law office. Design Principal Mike Rodriguez highlights HDR's renovation plan.
Architects | Feb 25, 2016
12 architects selected for 2016 AIA Young Architects Award
Winners include Amy Kalar and Karen Lu, both with HGA, BNIM's Carey Nagle, and MSR Design's Bob Ganser.
Architects | Feb 24, 2016
Is the booming freelance economy a threat to AEC firms?
By shifting the work (and revenue) to freelancers, “platform capitalism” startups have taken considerable market share from traditional businesses.
Industry Research | Feb 22, 2016
8 of the most interesting trends from Gensler’s Design Forecast 2016
Technology is running wild in Gensler’s 2016 forecast, as things like virtual reality, "smart" buildings and products, and fully connected online and offline worlds are making their presence felt throughout many of the future's top trends.
Market Data | Feb 17, 2016
AIA reports slight contraction in Architecture Billings Index
Multifamily residential sector improving after sluggish 2015.
