The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) hired a contractor in Spring 2024 to conduct a five-million-dollar design and planning study for demolition at the Point. CDOT, the Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the Chicago Park District (CPkD) and CDOT are already fully authorized and funded for their work. Doesn’t sound like a terribly objective study, does it?
In fact, through documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, we know that CDOT is operating based on a falsified condition study, which declares that the limestone revetment has failed, with virtually no evidence presented to the public to show it. They can’t even accurately describe the Point’s location and boundaries, attributing shoreline damage at Morgan Shoal – nearly a half-mile away – to Promontory Point. These false claims could allow them to bypass landmark protection regulations and shoehorn their plan through to completion at an exorbitant cost of $100M+. These documents indicate that construction is planned for the spring of 2027. There’s still time to stop them if we act now.
Look at what the agencies themselves are saying. USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project that:
In fact, through documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, we know that CDOT is operating based on a falsified condition study, which declares that the limestone revetment has failed, with virtually no evidence presented to the public to show it. They can’t even accurately describe the Point’s location and boundaries, attributing shoreline damage at Morgan Shoal – nearly a half-mile away – to Promontory Point. These false claims could allow them to bypass landmark protection regulations and shoehorn their plan through to completion at an exorbitant cost of $100M+. These documents indicate that construction is planned for the spring of 2027. There’s still time to stop them if we act now.
Look at what the agencies themselves are saying. USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project that:
The original shoreline structures, built in the early 1900s, have deteriorated and no longer function to protect against storms, flooding and erosion. This project will replace existing infrastructure and construct new structures to protect the shoreline and critical infrastructure."
. . . the preferred design of the revetment is . . . concrete steps and promenade to replace the existing stones. This design maintains safe access to the shoreline while preserving its historic and aesthetic value".
So much for community input. You don’t have to trust us — watch CDOT themselves describe their "preferred solution" for the Point's limestone revetment (18 seconds. 2022). Their public statements commit only to “repurposing", “saving and reusing as much of the existing limestone as possible”. "Replacement", "repurposing" and “reusing" are NOT Secretary of the Interior preservation standards. Point goers deserve better!
The Conservancy and the people we represent want the Point not just preserved, but preserved the right way. The agencies' foregone conclusions contradict the findings of the Conservancy's community-funded, engineering assessments, including a Condition Study, Coastal Vulnerability Study and Alternatives Design Study, and its Historic Structure Report. The agencies' intentions are also illegal, because the Point is on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Chicago Landmark, and requires a design process that evolves with genuine community input. Whatever CDOT and CPkD say about their plan, it’s clear that it’s not community input.
This USACE engineering drawing shows planned replacement in the form of a new revetment with just two steps, sitting above a simple concrete platform in the place of limestone blocks. Two rows of limestone blocks are "repurposed" in the parkland as a wall between the park and the revetment. This design constitutes replacement, not rehabilitation. As a result, it does not meet basic government standards for protecting registered landmarks.
For more historical context, the conflict between what the community desires and the USACE, CDOT and CPkD's plan for demolition and replacement is succinctly summarized in this video here (4:14) from Hans Friedl.