The City (Chicago Dept. of Transporation, CDOT) hired its contractor in Spring 2024 for the $5m design planning study for the Point. The Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Chicago Park District (CPkD) and CDOT are fully authorized and funded for the design phase and the $100m construction at Promontory Point. Through FOIA, the Conservancy learned that CDOT has a falsified condition study declaring the historic limestone revetment failed and CDOT attributes shoreline storm damage at Morgan Shoal to the Point. These false claims allow the agencies to bypass landmark protection and back into their plan demolition and replacement with new construction with limestone cladding veneer, costing $100m and closing the park for 5 years. USACE documents show construction starting in Spring 2027.
USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project:
USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project:
The original shoreline structures, built in the early 1900s, have deteriorated and no longer function to protect against storms, flooking 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".
Watch CDOT's "preferred solution" for the Point's limestone revetment (18 seconds. 2022). CDOT and CPkD’s 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.
The Conservancy wants the Point preserved the right way! The agencies' foregone conclusions contradict the findings of the Conservancy's community-funded, engineering studies: 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 that evolves with community input.
The Conservancy wants the Point preserved the right way! The agencies' foregone conclusions contradict the findings of the Conservancy's community-funded, engineering studies: 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 that evolves with community input.
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Right above: This USACE engineering drawing shows replacment with new construction by a two-step replacement revetment and platform replacing the limestone block structure. Two rows of limestone blocks are "repurposed" in the parkland as a wall between the park and the revetment. This design constitutes replacement and does not meet the Secretary of the Interior standards for retaining the historic materials and limestone block structure.
Left above: This rendering visualizes new construction with a two-step revetment and promenade with limestone cladding replacing the historic limestone block revetment and promenade. CDOT and CPD want a concrete platform for bikes, scooters and joggers, displacing sunbathers, swimmers, meditators and prayer groups. USACE and CDOT believe that the public cannot tell the difference between the existing limestone block structure and a replacement with limestone veneer. They call this "preservation", even though it's replacement and illegal. We want the Point preserved the right way!
Left above: This rendering visualizes new construction with a two-step revetment and promenade with limestone cladding replacing the historic limestone block revetment and promenade. CDOT and CPD want a concrete platform for bikes, scooters and joggers, displacing sunbathers, swimmers, meditators and prayer groups. USACE and CDOT believe that the public cannot tell the difference between the existing limestone block structure and a replacement with limestone veneer. They call this "preservation", even though it's replacement and illegal. We want the Point preserved the right way!
The conflict between what the community wants and the USACE, CDOT and CPkD's plan for demolition and replacement is succinctly presented in this video here (4:14) by Hans Friedl.