New park in West Loop

By Patrick Butler and Miriam Cintron
 
Preservation Chicago’s Jonathan Fine has no objection to putting a new park at Sangamon and Adams Streets. He just would have liked to see part of the old Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary saved as a fieldhouse or community center.

Robert Wiggs of the West Central Association said his local business group might well have backed Fine if the preservationists had had funds to refurbish the 75-year-old landmark and its art deco and Mayan-style accoutrements. As “that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon,” Wiggs said, demolition appears the only option at this point.

“Still,” he added, “if they can come up with a plan, let’s see it.”     

Eric Sedler of the West Loop Community Organization (WLCO), however, thinks the preservationists may be doing more harm than good and could derail a park campaign that has been in the works for seven years.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the leadership of Preservation Chicago to come into a neighborhood they don’t live in, to my knowledge, at the 11th hour when we’re on the verge of finally getting this park,” Sedler commented. “We have had meetings with Preservation Chicago, and we are not going to let them interfere with this project.”

Both Sedler and Wiggs praised Ald. Madeline Haithcock (2nd) for her efforts in getting a park in an area traditionally short of green space.

“The West Loop’s population is one of the fastest growing in the city,” Sedler stated. “We know of at least 5,000 condo units that have been built in the past ten years. I think that gives you a little sense of the kind of growth we’re facing.”

Fine understands why Sedler and others feel that way, and he emphasized Preservation Chicago has no quarrel with the community—only with a City Planning Department he said apparently has done little urban planning in this case.

“Years ago the City had an opportunity to buy numerous vacant parcels here [for a park], but they waited until the neighborhood was pretty built up,” Fine said. “Later, their hands were tied.”

“We have discussed this with I think three different planning commissioners,” he continued. “In fact, we’ve been talking about this longer than our organization has been in existence.” 

He added that Preservation Chicago not only agreed to demolishing all but the most “historic” parts of the west side of the infirmary building as early as three years ago but even offered to pay for an architectural study showing how what was left could be turned into some kind of fieldhouse and community center.

The old Eye and Ear Infirmary occupies roughly one-third of the half-block site, with the remaining land being used for parking and green space. Another parcel to the north contains what Fine called an “insignificant” building, which could be demolished and the site used for additional green space, according to a Preservation Chicago report on Chicago’s Seven Most Threatened Buildings.

“I suppose, if we wanted, we could bring in a bunch of people from Lincoln Park [to protest], but what good would that do?” Fine mused. Preservation Chicago may have a good overall track record for saving important buildings, he said, but there is not much the group can do without community assistance. He admitted support is almost nonexistent in this case.

“Without public support, we’ve never saved anything,” Fine said.

Although turning that site into a park has been discussed for at least the past seven years, it was not until early October that Mayor Richard M. Daley introduced an ordinance giving the Planning Department authority to work with the Park District to acquire 37,500 square feet of property on the southeast corner of Monroe and Sangamon Streets, next to a tract acquired by the Park District earlier this year as part of a land swap with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Putting a park there fits with both the Near West Side Land Use Plan and the Central West TIF (Tax Increment Financing) plan, according to the City Planning Department.

Wiggs stressed, however, that “we’re still looking at different concepts. There appear to be plenty of ball fields and plenty of running tracks” in the area, so the new park “might have more leisure space. Personally, I think dogs and other pets should be included in the use of that leisure space.

“We want something for everybody, but something that takes all the other recreational facilities in the community into consideration. We’re trying to strike some kind of balance,” he added.

Sedler does not want even part of the Eye and Ear Infirmary in the new park. Just what should go there was discussed at a Nov. 15 meeting at the Merit Music School. Speakers included Ald. Haithcock; Park District Planning and Development Director Gia Biagi; Park District Deputy Director Chris Gent; Andrew Mooney, chairman of WLCO’s advisory council; and Sedler.

“I have the feeling that, in the end, the new park is going to be one great big lawn, Fine said.

Haithcock, however, said the next step is community input. “We have to know what you want,” she told the audience at the Nov 15 meeting.

With the land acquired and the building on the property slated for demolition, tasks for the next four to six months include getting community feedback, hiring an architect who will attend future community meetings as part of creating park plans, and performing an environmental investigation to ensure the land is safe to build on, Biagi explained.

The project should be put out to bid to contractors by late spring or early summer. “All of that takes a lot of time,” Biagi said, but those involved hope construction will begin in late fall. The Park District currently has just a rough timeline because “we’re so early in the process,” Biagi explained.

The Park District has worked with State and City officials to secure funds for the project. Biagi said they will do all they can to stay within the estimated $1 million budget but added backup funding sources are available if project costs exceed expectations.

To best gauge what community residents want in a new park, WLCO is asking residents to complete a survey to rank the importance of amenities such as trees, flowers, water features, sculptures, walking paths, exhibit spaces, dog areas, play areas for small children, sitting areas, exercise paths, a music stage, food, and a skateboard area. Residents may write in any other features they believe the park should have. The survey also asks residents if they would be willing to volunteer in the park for planting, clean-up, and other projects and if they would participate in fundraising if the community needs extra funds for special features such as art, sculptures, and a fountain. The survey, which is available on the organization’s website, can be faxed or mailed to the WLCO office.

To tabulate survey results and process community suggestions and complaints, the WLCO created the Park Advisory Council, composed of community residents who have expressed an interest in the park over the years. Heading the council is Andrew Mooney, who “has done a wonderful job steering this committee,” Sedler said.

Biagi said more community forums will be held as the process continues to give people a say in what the park includes. Once an architect is hired, the forums will offer an opportunity for the architect to work with residents on fencing, lighting, and other design issues.

During a question and answer session, a man asked about park safety and Biagi said the park would include both fencing and sufficient lighting. “Lighting has a big impact on pathway safety,” Biagi explained. Building a park people want to use is the best safety precaution, though. “There’s only so much we can do,” she said. “You guys are the key.”

As the meeting drew to a close, Sedler reiterated that all involved “are determined to get this park built.”
For more information, call the West Loop Community Organization at (312) 666-1991 or visit www.westloop.org.