FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Contact: Jack Spicer
+1.872.226.2240
Debra Hammond
+1.312.285.4761
[email protected]
Promontory Point Conservancy congratulates Carlos Ramirez-Rosa on his new role as CEO and Superintendent of the Chicago Park District. We are issuing this press statement because our speaker requests were denied, and we are unable to present our engineering studies at the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners’ meeting today.
Promontory Point Conservancy is the community-led group that advocates to Save the Point! The U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the City (Chicago Dept. of Transportation, CDOT) and the Chicago Park District are fully funded for design and construction for the Promontory Point Project. These agencies appear to be backing into demolition of the historic limestone revetment and its replacement with a concrete revetment with limestone veneer at $100m. 
The Conservancy has conducted four new community-funded, coastal engineering studies of the limestone block revetment at Promontory Point on Chicago’s South Side. These studies prove that the limestone block revetment:

• has NOT failed;
• functions in good condition right now for storm damage and shoreline protection;
• can be retained, repaired and rehabilitated to meet both preservation standards AND coastal resilience and erosion requirements set by USACE and CDOT;
• can be rehabilitated in less than two years and in sections so that as much as 80% of the Point stays open to the public at any one time;
• can be repaired and rehabilitated at roughly half the cost of demolition and new concrete construction; and
• if repaired and maintained, has another 100 years of service.

These studies are the first to marry Secretary of the Interior preservation standards with USACE/CDOT requirements for coastal resilience. They provide realistic and economical options to end the 25-year conflict. And they offer options that create a win-win for the community and the Chicago Park District, CDOT and USACE.
We ask Superintendent Ramirez-Rosa and the Chicago Park District that:

• the Conservancy meet very soon with the Park District to present its coastal engineering studies and their findings;our community-funded engineering studies be consulted and inform all determinations, findings and outcomes for the Promontory Point Project;
• the Chicago Park District, USACE and CDOT make every good faith effort to negotiate a programmatic agreement for this Project that incorporates a genuine preservation approach and real public input; and
• the Chicago Park District, USACE and CDOT listen to and work with this community to find design and construction plans that benefit all parties.

Now is the time for the Chicago Park District to connect, communicate and collaborate with the community that has advocated to save the historic limestone revetment for 25 years: preserving the limestone revetment preserves the community that has gathered at the Point for many decades.
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Attachments: 
Alternatives Design Study, summary/factsheet and cost comparison examples, McLaren Engineering Group, January 14, 2025
Coastal Vulnerability Analysis and factsheet, McLaren Engineering Group, January 14, 2025
Historic Structures Report: Promontory Point and factsheet, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, LLC, January 9, 2025
Condition Study and factsheet, McLaren Engineering Group, April 4, 2024
Landmark Designation Report: Promontory Point, City of Chicago, Dept. of Planning and Development, March 9, 2023
National Register nomination report, Promontory Point, November 2017
McLaren’s credentials on U.S. Army Corps waterfront projects