Satisfied: Alderman likes revamped Olympic Village
BRONZEVILLE | Old design like something 'from outer space'
Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) made four demands of Mayor Daley's Olympic planners and their architects from the firms of Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Johnson & Lee.
She wanted: connections to the Bronzeville community to the west to prevent the village from becoming an "isolated spur of McCormick Place;" a "street grid instead of super-blocks" with streets that "go through like a real neighborhood;" a street wall "built to the lot lines" instead of "unusual curved buildings" and ground floor retail "so there's some life on the street."
On Tuesday, Preckwinkle said she has seen a model of the new design and it looks "dramatically different." All of her demands have been met.
"They've restored the street-grid. We have a street wall and ground-floor retail. This looks like a lakefront neighborhood. We'll have a very attractive development," Preckwinkle said.
Chris Lee, a principal at Johnson & Lee, said the new Olympic Village would be "more accessible to the community from west of King Drive and south of 31st Street."
Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky would only say, "We continue to work closely with the alderman, the city and the USOC on shaping what will be the best village plan for both our bid and for the long-term benefit of the city. That process continues. Nothing has been final."
Preckwinkle is also demanding an affordable housing component.