Major progress was made over the summer regarding the new DePaul arena in the South Loop, as plans to find an architectural firm to design the arena took shape.
In the process of finding a lead architect, a three-man panel composed of veteran architects was chosen by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Group, also known as McPier. Joe Caprile, Tom Ventulett and Thomas Beeby have advised a nine-member panel made up of three representatives from McPier, DePaul and the city respectively.
After the panel was formed, the group narrowed down six firms to oversee the project.
The final firms in the running are John Rohan Architects, Krucek + Sexon Architects, Ross Barney Architects, Grimshaw Architects, Rotterdam and Clark Pelli Architects.
“It’s a very good list. This is not the usual suspects when it comes to stadium design,” Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin said. “These are very talented firms. We can expect some outof- the-box design solutions from them.”
DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto added that opinions about who should take on the job are beginning to come clear. “We’re at the point right now where everyone kind of has their ideas about who their number one option is. I think there was a lot of excitement, and the proposals were just great.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, a firm will be chosen by mid-September.
DePaul’s new arena is projected to open by the 2016-2017 season. The deal, which was announced in May, is a $173 million project with DePaul contributing $70 million.
While the project remains on the drawing board, there are still other issues to sort out. Among them is the actual purchase of the land that is being targeted. In July, McPier filed a lawsuit against Lakeside Bank, the owner of the desired property.
The lawsuit was filed under eminent domain, which allows government to take possession of property as long as the court agrees that there is significant public use.
Even if McPier acquires the land, there are two other areas that have yet to be purchased. As of now, the acquisition of those parcels are on track and avoiding any setbacks.
Another conflict surrounding the project is the concern of residents living in the South Loop. So far, the community has been largely left in the dark about the arena’s design, impact on traffic and its various purposes outside of basketball games.
At a neighborhood meeting in late June, community residents and members of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance voiced their displeasure over the arena’s location at 21st and Prairie.
“These two parcels of land are incredibly important to our neighborhood for many different reasons,” Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance President Tina Feldstein said at the meeting. “We have serious, serious concerns about respectful development.”
“The MPEA has a huge responsibility to make sure that the structure is iconic and an important piece of the Chicago skyline because not a lot of major buildings have been built like this, so I think they’ve taken that really seriously,” Ponsetto said.
City officials said that the community would be allowed input after an architect and design have been selected.
Despite concerns, the project is officially underway. On July 27, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill that authorized the arena’s funding.
“I think it’ll be within the short term here, within the next week or two that the MPEA and the city of Chicago will announce who the architect is,” Ponsetto said.
