Greetings, all, and Happy 2018!
2018 is off to a busy start on Jackson Park issues.
Federal agencies review OPC and CDOT plans:
Update readers will recall that the federally-required reviews of the massive proposed changes for Jackson Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, began on December 1. The initial focus is on Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and an accompanying review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) that will begin soon.
JPW among many others signed on to be a “consulting party” to the Section 106 process and was at that December kickoff meeting. At that meeting, a proposed list of historic park features and maps of the “Area of Potential Effect” (APE) that would be evaluated during the review were presented, and consulting parties were invited to submit feedback for the public record by January 5. To date, we have been able to review the submissions by Save the Midway, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Midway Plaisance Advisory Council, Openlands, Landmarks Illinois, National Association of Olmsted Parks, Blacks in Green, and Preservation Chicago – and our own, of course. Some major concerns and themes that we found repeated again and again include:
- Requests for a one, holistic, comprehensive review of all the proposed plans for the Park, stemming from frustration with the siloed attempt to assess the impact of the various proposals (OPC, golf course, road changes, Park District elements) separately, in isolation.
- Requests that full information about all planned projects be revealed (especially those for Obama Presidential Center and the golf course) along with questions as to how a possibly premature review aimed at a moving target could be productive.
- Deep concerns about the ways in which the OPC plan and in particular the road changes that it requires distort or destroy Frederick Law Olmsted’s design and vision for Jackson Park.
- Numerous recommendations that the APE be expanded to include all of the Midway Plaisance (not just the eastern tip) and additional suggestions to include Washington Park as well to fully respect Olmsted’s original concept of the three parks as a single South Park System.
- Substantial opposition to the above-ground parking garage on the Midway Plaisance as proposed by the Obama Foundation, along with multiple suggestions for an underground garage under the OPC buildings.
We want also to highlight some additional points from these individual submissions (with apologies for omitting other excellent points in the interests of space):
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation strongly critiqued Obama Presidential Center plans, including the design of the high rise “Tower” and the proposed changes to the Olmsted road network that contradict the original Olmsted intent. TCLF president Charles Birnbaum stated many of the concerns in a Huffington Post op-ed piece.
- Openlands proposed a statement of principles to guide the Section 106 review including: minimize building in the parks; replace any land used for buildings with new or reclaimed park acreage (with the added note that the greening of vacated roads does not constitute new park land); provide convenient public access and transportation; exploit synergies with existing community and cultural institutions; and restore and revitalize all of the parks – Jackson, Washington, and the Midway Plaisance.
- Landmarks Illinois called for expanding the APE to include both the Woodlawn neighborhood in light of potential economic displacement impacts there and the Jackson Park Highlands Historic District, and, within the APE, for acknowledging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers GLFER Project on and around Wooded Island as a national model for balancing ecological needs with historic preservation goals.
- The National Association of Olmsted Parks called for designation of Cornell Drive and Hayes Drive themselves as historic resources within Jackson Park.
- Preservation Chicago added concerns about the proposed removal of the May McAdams Perennial Garden between Stony Island Ave. and Cornell Drive where Jackson Park meets the Midway and the impact on the Park’s many and invaluable trees, green spaces and gardens.
- Finally, Jackson Park Watch asked that the review area include the entire golf course project and challenged the claim that the existing 1999-2000 Framework plans calls for closing Cornell Drive, points raised also by Blacks in Green.
We believe all would benefit from reading in full the thoughtful statements from all of the consulting parties noted above. We hope soon to be able to post these documents and others Section 106/NEPA materials on our Jackson Park Watch website. Stay tuned while we work this out.
Also ahead in 2018:
JPW is also tracking other strands of the Jackson Park story and will keep you informed:
- The Park District has said it will hold community meetings on the golf course project in the first quarter of the year but there is as yet no schedule. Park District CEO Mike Kelly recently noted that the project is stalled by private fundraising difficulties and the high public cost of the necessary infrastructure improvements ($30 million for underpasses; TBD for shoreline revetments), but he vowed to continue to push the project.
- Whether the golf course project discussions will be under the umbrella of the South Lakefront Framework Plan process is unclear. Next steps and the end date for that process is unclear, but we expect that the Park District will hold additional public open houses on the Framework Plan in the first part of this year.
- Throughout 2017 the Obama Foundation repeated its intention to present the plan for the OPC to the City Council and Chicago Plan Commission by November. Now there are references to making that submission in the first half of 2018. In the meantime, the Obama Foundation has just awarded its construction management contracts, while it has continued to refuse to work with the Obama Community Benefits Coalition on a written community benefits agreement. The possible construction start date is now set for the end of the year.
PLEASE DONATE!
The Section 106 reviews will continue for many months, and much is at stake. Your donations help us bring outside expertise to maximize our effectiveness. Please consider a contribution. Your check can be sent to Jackson Park Watch, P.O. Box 15302, Chicago 60615. We thank you!
Brenda Nelms and Margaret Schmid
Co-presidents, Jackson Park Watch
www.jacksonparkwatch.org
jacksonparkwatch@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/jacksonparkwatch