Promontory Point Conservancy Holds the City To Its Preservation Commitment at Promontory Point2/26/2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 26, 2024 Promontory Point Conservancy Holds the City To Its Preservation Commitment at Promontory Point Promontory Point Conservancy appreciates the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Chicago Park District’s (CPD) public commitment to “taking a preservation-based approach” to new designs and construction at Promontory Point. A genuinely preservation-minded approach at the Point creates an easy win-win for the City of Chicago (City) and the community: the City, CPD, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers get strong storm damage and shoreline protection, while the community continues to enjoy the limestone revetment and the lakeside park it loves so well. The Conservancy and the community will hold these agencies to their promise of creating a plan for genuine preservation. Earlier this week, CDOT issued a statement on behalf of the City about their intentions for the Point and its preservation at the behest of 5th Ward Alderman Desmon Yancy. The Conservancy applauds their commitment to genuine preservation through adhering to the rigorous legal guidelines set by the Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (SOI standards). Yet, we remain vigilant on behalf of the community. The Conservancy has obtained a recent drawing by CDOT and its preferred contractor, SmithGroup, of a so-called “preservation-based approach” for the Point that, in fact, demolishes the historic limestone revetment, replaces it with concrete, and arranges non-functioning, ornamental limestone blocks in the parkland. (See attached.) This is emphatically not the legal, genuine preservation that the City now says it is committed to carrying out. CDOT and CPD’s public statements commit only to “repurposing”, “saving and reusing as much of the existing limestone as possible,” a commitment that by itself does not meet SOI standards. We are concerned that the City’s commitment goes only as far as to open up a loophole big enough for a fleet of concrete trucks. In early April, the Conservancy will be releasing its own condition study of Promontory Point conducted by McLaren Engineering Group. Already completed in draft form, this study finds that the historic limestone revetment functions right now for adequate storm damage and shoreline protection. This study shows that all but a few dozen limestone blocks can be retained and repositioned. And if repaired and maintained, the historic limestone revetment has another 86- or more years of service Although CDOT publicly states this project is “not even at square one, we’re at square zero”, CDOT has not only issued an RFP for the design study but is already negotiating a full-scope contract. CDOT has not explained why it quietly issued its RFP to prequalified firms in December by task order and selected a contractor with whom it is now negotiating a contract. CDOT had informed the Conservancy that the RFP would be posted on the City’s Procurement Services website: it is not there. They have also declined to answer for the design study’s sky-high $5 million price tag. The Chicago Corps costed a design study of Promontory Point at $450,000. The Conservancy hired its coastal engineers McLaren Engineering Group for a condition study, preservation design planning study and a cost-benefit analysis for $252,000. We applaud the City and officials’ willingness to speak on the project, but the overall lack of transparency and communication to community members is disturbing. We look forward to further dialogue and the release of McLaren’s report, which we are confident will demonstrate viable alternatives for better preserving this local landmark. For written inquiries please contact Promontory Point Conservancy at [email protected].
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The City of Chicago is fully committed to the preservation of Promontory Point, which is designated as an official Chicago landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a beloved part of Chicago’s lakefront. The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Park District, as partners alongside the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the implementation of the Chicago Shoreline Project, are committed to saving and reusing as much of the existing limestone as possible, as part of a rehabilitation effort that is consistent with the Secretary of Interior Standards for Historic Preservation to protect Promontory Point for future generations.
The project approach to Promontory Point has evolved significantly since what was contemplated twenty years ago. The project partners are fully committed to preserving the Point’s historic nature while protecting it against erosion. The City of Chicago’s 2023 capital bond allocated $5 million to fund the planning and design of the Promontory Point segment of the Shoreline Protection Project on behalf of their project partners, the Chicago Park District, as owners of the property, and the Army Corps of Engineers, federal partners in the Shoreline Project. The City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in December for the planning and design work and the procurement process is ongoing, including cost negotiations. We expect the contract to be finalized in the next few months. The awarding of this contract does not finalize any changes at the Point. The study will encompass a broad scope of work over the next few years, including planning, preliminary design, a public engagement process, and the creation of detailed construction drawings and specifications. An extensive public process will be a critical part of this project, providing a platform for community input and collaboration. The Army Corps’ third-party review will complement the study by ensuring compliance with historic preservation and coastal storm risk reduction standards. Coupled together, this process will help ensure the project moves forward with a plan that preserves the limestone and historic character of this important segment of shoreline." — Erica Schroeder, CDOT Received from Marc Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald, [email protected] The Conservancy learned that the Chicago Dept. of Transportation (CDOT) issued its Request for Proposal (RFP) for the $5m design planning study of Promontory Point in December to prequalified firms clandestinely. We know that several highly qualified preservation architectural/engineering firms were omitted from CDOT's prequalified list. The deadline for receipt of proposals closed on January 26, and CDOT will select a contractor on February 26. We have FOIA'd for the RFP and the list of prequalified firms. We have also reached out to Alderman Yancy (5th Ward) to find out about his recent meetings with the Chicago Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Chicago Park District (CPD) and CDOT about this RFP and about recently announced community meetings for the construction at Morgan Shoal. (See flyer below.)
The Corps, CPD and CDOT are hosting a community meeting about the construction at Morgan Shoal on February 22, 5:30-6:30pm, Kennicott Park, 4434 South Lake Park Blvd. What CDOT and the Corps propose at Morgan Shoal will be a predictor for what they propose for Promontory Point later this year. Promontory Point and Morgan Shoal are funded for revetment reconstruction under a joint congressional funding authorization passed in December 2022. Community meetings for Promontory Point will probably begin late spring/early summer this year. Construction at Promontory Point will begin the moment construction at Morgan Shoal is completed in spring 2026. The proposed construction will close the Point for 3-5 years. The beginning of the community meetings by the governmental agencies means that it's now up to us to show up and advocate for what we want for our lakefront parks. Remember, when they ask you if you want pink or blue concrete, say "NO CONCRETE!" First, it's very important to know that the "locally preferred plan" is NOT the plan locally preferred by the community. As it currently stands, the “locally preferred plan” is demolition of the limestone revetment and new construction of textured concrete with decorative and ornamental limestone blocks in the parkland. This is what the City (CDOT) and the Chicago Park District (CPD) call the "locally preferred plan" and what they currently plan for the Point. We know that's what CDOT and CPD are planning from public information. First, on CDOT’s Shoreline Protection Project webpage, CDOT clearly states what the “locally preferred plan” is and what they mean by preservation: “The preferred design of the revetment is vertical steel sheet piles to replace the damaged wood piles, and concrete steps and promenade to replace the existing stones. This design maintains safe access to the shoreline while preserving its historical and aesthetic value.” (Promontory Point and Morgan Shoal are listed as "Reach 4-step stone revetment reconstruction from 23rd Street to 57th Street alongside Lake Shore Drive” on the same webpage.) Also, through FOIA, the Conservancy obtained CDOT's BRIC FEMA Pre-application, dated September 30, 2020. On page four of the exhibits, CDOT clearly specifies exactly what it means by "a preservation based approach" at Promontory Point: a new revetment of textured concrete with decorative limestone blocks in the parkland. CDOT engineers confirmed the "locally preferred plan" as recently as October 18, 2022 when the Conservancy walked the Point with CPD and CDOT commissioners and senior staff. In the exhibit pages below excerpted from the BRIC FEMA Pre-application, CDOT and SmithGroup (CPD's favored engineering/planning firm) layout the emergency storm erosion crisis project area and illustrate what the "locally preferred plan" looks like for Promontory Point. As you can see, Promontory Point -- where there is no storm damage erosion crisis and no threat to private property, DuSable Lakeshore Drive or human life -- is falsely bundled with Morgan Shoal as one emergency reach. And the color illustration spells out a purported "preservation based approach" of demolition of the historic limestone revetment and replacement with a concrete revetment. Here, like at 57th Street Beach's concrete revetment, limestone blocks are placed in the nearby parkland for decorative and ornamental purposes and do not function as the revetment. Illustration above: CDOT and SmithGroup's caption reads: "Promontory Point is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The City is committed to protecting and preserving this cultural asset and taking a preservation-based approach to shoreline protection. The image below is from shoreline protection installed at Diversey Harbor which takes a similar preservation-based approach. The specific design details for rehabilitation of Promontory Point shoreline will be developed as part of [the Morgan Shoal Project]. The City of Chicago, through its partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, has successfully built new revetments throughout Chicago including segments from 51st to 54th Street, 43rd to 45th Street, and 33rd to 37th Street." Obviously, the Conservancy, other preservationists and qualified marine engineering firms with preservation experience disagree with this assessment entirely. Map above: Bundling Promontory Point in a single reach with Morgan Shoal and calling it one project allow CDOT and SmithGroup (CPD) to inflate and exaggerate erosion, storm damage conditions at Promontory Point. CDOT and CPD lump Promontory Point into the second phase of work of the Morgan Shoal Project. Construction has already been awarded to SmithGroup and its partners to begin construction at Morgan Shoal. It's not clear whether that contract includes Promontory Point too in the scope of work. Right now, the City and CPD are fully funded for construction of the current "locally preferred plan" of demolition and a new concrete revetment at Promontory Point and Morgan Shoal. On December 15, 2022, the City won 65% federal funding for its "locally preferred plan". With the passage of the Defense appropriations by Congress, the City and CPD received federal funding appropriation to construct the "locally preferred plan": 65% funding for demolition and a new concrete revetment funnels through the Chicago Army Corps, and the City will pay 35% through its November 2020 General Bond Obligation offering which specifically names Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point as capital projects. The Army Corps, the Mayor's Office and CPD snuck this huge federal appropriation in without informing U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly in whose district the Point sits and who has persistently requested federal funds for preservation at the Point and without informing Alderman Leslie Hairston.
Based on circumstancial evidence and the agencies' ongoing obfuscations, the Conservancy believes that the Corps, the City and CPD are using the current General Reevaluation Study (GRR) of the Chicago lakefront, including Promontory Point, to back into CPD's SmithGroup study for demolition and a new concrete revetment at the Point. As confirmed by CPD last June, SmithGroup has completed Phase I (condition/assessment study) and Phase II (design/strategic action plan) for Promontory Point. CPD has refused to release these findings to the press, to elected representatives and to the Conservancy. Neither SmithGroup nor the Chicago Corps has any relevant preservation expertise to make a legitimate plan for a preservation approach at Promontory Point. The terminology "locally preferred plan" comes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which must distinquish between its plan (cheap rubble mound) and the plan preferred by its local clients, CPD and CDOT. Hence, the "locally preferred plan". If the CPD and CDOT were sincere about preservation and listening to the wishes of the community, a genuine preservation approach -- such as the Conservancy's preservation marine engineering studies -- could be adopted by the agencies as the "locally preferred plan". To date, neither the Mayor's Office, CPD, CDOT nor the Corps has supported genuine preservation -- repair and restoration -- at the Point. Cost Points: cost comparisons of the "locally preferred plan" and preservation construction11/1/2022 We recently discovered -- again -- that repair, restoration and rehabilitation of Promontory Point continues to be cost-effective and cheaper than the City's "locally preferred plan". As you may recall, the City's "locally preferred plan" entails demolition of the historic limestone revetment and new construction of concrete and steel. In 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' cost estimate for the "locally preferred plan" was $57m. Adjusted for inflation, the cost of the "locally preferred plan" today is: $75m In sharp contrast, preservation of the Point -- repair, restoration and rehabilitation per the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Historic Preservation -- continues to be cheaper than demolition and new construction. The 2002 Cyril Galvin preservation marine engineering report estimated the cost of repair, restoration and rehabilitation at $4.5m. Adjusted for inflation, that's currently $7.53m, 1/10th the cost of the "locally preferred plan". Given the storm damage erosion at the Point since 2002 and after conversation with four marine engineering firms with preservation experience, we estimate the cost of preservation construction and maintenance at 1/5 - 1/2 the cost of the "locally preferred plan" at: $17-29m Right now, the City is pushing a deception Point: demolition of the limestone revetment, new construction of a concrete revetment with limestone blocks on top as decorative and ornamental. Astronomical to build and to maintain, it is an over-engineered solution for $100m when repair, restoration and rehabilitation of the existing limestone revetment is feasible and multiple times cheaper. This is not a preservation-based approach and violates the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Historic Preservation. We don't need a new concrete revetment. We need the existing limestone revetment -- which still functions at 85 years -- fixed. But even if preservation costs as much as the "locally preferred plan" which it doesn't, Promontory Point would be worth it and park equity on the South Side would be served. |
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AuthorDebra Hammond is currently an officer of Promontory Point Conservancy. She has always been tall for her age |