10-Jan-14 – Demolition of the old Riverwalk between State and LaSalle Streets will start in January, representatives of riverfront buildings were told in a private meeting last month with 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly.

The December 18 meeting was not open to the public and not mentioned in Reilly’s newsletter or on his website. Attending the invitation-only event were representatives of at least eight buildings, including Trump International Hotel & Tower, AMA Plaza, Marina City, Leo Burnett Building, 300 North LaSalle, and three office towers on West Wacker Drive.

The representatives were given a presentation by the Chicago Department of Transportation.

A precise construction schedule has not yet been made public. Those attending the meeting were told five days later that a construction schedule had not yet been approved. They were given an approximate schedule of January 2014 to Spring 2015 to complete the Riverwalk between State and LaSalle, and Summer 2014 to Spring 2016 to finish between LaSalle and Lake. In general, construction would be done from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. but the “underbridge” work would go 24 hours a day.

(Left) On December 28, fences were installed to block access to the existing Riverwalk from Wacker Drive. Photo by Lynn Becker.

The purpose of the mid-December meeting was for Reilly and other city officials to listen to concerns and sell “stakeholders” in the neighborhood on the benefits of the Chicago Riverwalk that will come at the expense of noise, dust, and impact on traffic.

According to the CDOT presentation, there will be “minimal” closures of Upper Wacker Drive to vehicles. Pedestrians will have to use the south side of Wacker between LaSalle Street and Clark Street.

When it is done, however, the city predicts 2.8 million people per year will utilize the new Riverwalk – more people than annual visitors to the Willis Tower Skydeck but fewer than visitors to Millennium Park.

“The Riverwalk provides a world class open space amenity that will improve the attractiveness of current residential offerings and help to spur future residential uses downtown,” says the CDOT presentation. The Riverwalk, assures the city, will increase property values, expand retail opportunities, and elevate “the [cachet] of a business address along Wacker Drive.”

(Above) A reminder from the Chicago Department of Transportation of how a Riverwalk is built. This is just west of the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue in late 2008 or early 2009.

Phase 2 will cost twice as much as Phase 1

Between July 2008 and July 2009, at a cost of $22 million, the Riverwalk was extended west past Michigan Avenue but no farther than State Street. Rausch Construction Company, Inc., the general contractor, worked from a design by Ross Barney Architects.

Landscaping, sidewalks, and lighting were demolished. A 35,000 square foot steel wall was driven into the riverbed to extend the Riverwalk 17 feet out into the Chicago River. Divers worked underwater to extend water intake and discharge pipes used by buildings along Wacker Drive. The area was then filled in with 9,000 tons of gravel. Concrete sidewalks, benches, handrails, lighting, and new landscaping were built on top of the gravel.

From State Street to LaSalle Street, the Riverwalk will be built by Chicago-based Walsh Construction at a cost of $43 million that will come from a $99 million loan to CDOT from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

(Below) Aerial depiction of the area. State Street is at far right. Wacker Drive runs across the middle, then curves downward at far left.