Recreation Facility Planned for UIC

The University of Illinois at Chicago has announced it will build a $35 million student recreation facility at Polk and Halsted streets across from the Chicago Circle Center.

A showcase building at the northern gateway to the UIC campus, the facility will be configured around a three-story, central atrium lobby. Large windows will offer users views of the Chicago skyline and the campus.

The 152,000-sq.-ft. building will include swimming pools, gymnasium, fitness rooms, jogging track, climbing wall and multipurpose rooms.

Two firms - Peoria, Ill.-based Phillips Swager Associates and Columbus, Ohio-based Moody & Nolan Inc. - served on the architectural team.

Mall Demolition Paves Way for Waukegan Redo

Three months after approving Waukegan's master plan for downtown and lakefront redevelopment, city officials gathered to launch the $50 million Fountain Square of Waukegan at the former Lakehurst Mall site.

Demolition of mall buildings and the start of infrastructure improvements on the 98-acre site are paving the way for new commercial property to foster economic development for the city.

The development marks a public/private collaboration between Waukegan and Oak Brook-based The Shaw Co., with the value of investment in the site estimated to exceed $200 million.

Site improvements will make the location attractive for uses such as hotels, entertainment, retail and restaurants, banking facilities and commercial offices.
Fountain Square of Waukegan benefits from tremendous access to all major area arterial streets, making it a convenient destination for residents all over Lake County.

Site improvements, slated for completion late in 2004, include new utility infrastructure, a new street, landscaping, site lighting and pedestrian walkways/bike paths along the inner portion of the current Lakehurst Road ring road and on either side of Fountain Square Place; and Total investment in Waukegan's transformation is projected to exceed $1 billion over 20 years, with 70 to 80 percent coming from private sources and the remainder from public funding.

Additional projects under way include the Genesee Theatre renovation and downtown improvements. The city also is preparing to issue RFPs for several sites under its ownership.

Tall Buildings Council Moves to Windy City

After 35 years at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has moved to Chicago.

The headquarters will be housed at the Illinois Institute of Technology's S.R. Crown Hall at 3360 S. State St.

The move is part of the continuing growth of CTBUH and underscores its effort to provide more services and easier geographic access to its worldwide membership.

IIT's reputation as a leading school of high-rise design also provides opportunities for collaboration among faculty, students and council members.

For information, call the council at (312) 909-0253 of visit its Web site at www.ctbuh.org.

I-Pass Only Lanes Finished

The Illinois Tollway has opened dedicated I-Pass Only lanes at four mainline toll plazas that will now allow I-Pass users to travel the far west ends of the Illinois Tollway system without having to stop to pay tolls.

The eight new lanes, one in each direction, were converted at the DeKalb and Dixon toll plazas on the East-West Tollway and the Marengo and Belvidere toll plazas on the Northwest Tollway as part of the I-Pass Expansion Project.

These mixed-use lanes are located in the middle of the plaza between the automatic and manual lanes, available to cars and trucks with I-Pass, and require a 5 mph speed limit for safety.

Chewing Over Wrigley Building Redo

Upgrades to the Rush Street entrance and lobby of the Wrigley Building at 410 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago were expected to be finished in December and additional construction is coming.

A new entrance with bronze doors and storefronts, a canopy and security station were added in the lobby. Renovations to the south entrance and elevator lobbies included new lighting and marble flooring.

Portions of the building's ornate limestone facade were restored and signage, sidewalks and planters were added.

The renovations represent the first in a series of improvement projects that are being performed for The Wrigley Co., the building owner.

Homewood-based Graycor Construction Co. Inc., along with subsidiary Capitol Construction Services L.P., completed the finished project. Chicago-based McBride Kelley Baurer served as the renovation architect.

Music, Dance Theater Performs Completion

The $40.8 million Joan W. & Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance was recently completed in Chicago.

Located on the north end of the city's Millennium Park project, the theater seats up to 1,500 patrons. The venue serves as the performance space for a dozen mid-sized music and dance companies, including the Chicago Opera Theater, Music of the Baroque, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet.

Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Construction Group served as the general contractor, and Hammond Beeby Rupert Ainge of Chicago was the architect.