Featured Capital Projects

Grant (Ulysses) Park, proudly referred to as “Chicago’s Front Yard,” is a 313-acre Chicago Park District site bounded on the north by East Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road, on the east by Lake Michigan (Monroe and DuSable Harbors), and on the west by Michigan Avenue. A few of the park’s most iconic and notable features, today, include the Art Institute of Chicago, Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, and the Museum Campus (which includes the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium). Its beginnings date to 1835, with the original intent of the park being to prevent lakefront development and to protect the open space. The park’s original area east of Michigan Avenue was “forever to remain vacant of buildings”. Officially named Lake Park in 1847, the entire park is built on landfill, much of which consists of the charred rubble of the Great Fire of 1871. The park was renamed Grant Park, in honor of the 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, by the South Park Commission (later to become the Chicago Park District) in 1901. Renowned American/Chicago architect and urban designer, Daniel H. Burnham, is credited with the park’s reconceptualization as a formal landscape including museums and other civic buildings, only to be contested by the Chicago based mail-order magnate, Aaron Montgomery Ward, who sought to protect the park’s open character. 

In 2002, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners adopted the Grant Park Framework Plan. It outlines recommendations and principles to guide land use and management for Grant Park based on the Grant Park Design Guidelines of 1992. Since the plan’s publication, the Park District has accomplished a number of objectives within the proposed framework. These include the development of Maggie Daley Park, the adjacent Millennium Park, as well as the Skate Park on the southern end. However, twenty years hence, areas of the park such as Upper and Lower Hutchinson Fields and Columbus Drive, warrant reconsideration because the park, its communities, and the City have evolved in the past twenty years. Other areas, such as Butler Field, which was intended as a temporary structure, have aged out of use in their current forms, while others, such as the Lakefront development, have yet to be realized. 

Starting in spring of 2022, the Chicago Park District began the efforts to renew the Grant Park Framework Plan to provide an updated and contemporary vision for future improvements to the park over time. The updated framework plan will serve as a tool for the Park District and the greater community to prioritize improvements as resources to invest in the park become available.  The plan will address Grant Park’s role as a neighborhood park, a city destination, and as public open space with national significance as a historic park. The plan will be the guiding document that outlines priorities and ensures that improvements are implemented in a coordinated manner with respect to the historic integrity of the park and the evolving needs of the community.

The Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the largest and most stunning conservatories in the nation. Often referred to as “landscape art under glass,” the Garfield Park Conservatory occupies two acres of public greenhouse space and 10 acres of outdoor gardens.  In 2022, the Conservatory welcomed nearly 300,000 visitors. The Conservatory is an attraction that serves the local East Garfield Park community and attracts visitors from around the globe. In a typical year, 30% of visitors are from Chicago’s west side, and 58% are from the City of Chicago.

The warm tropical environment is an attraction for many families to visit and learn about plants and nature – especially in the cold winter months.  The southwest section of the facility features a 6,000 square foot indoor children’s garden.  Our partner, the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, has raised funds from private and government sources to completely renovate the room and build the new Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden. The project is designed to use nature to inspire and engage children, creating an immersive space of natural wonder where children can elevate their expectations, explore their possibilities, and discover their future. The new garden and playscape will provide a free, year-round, accessible adventure playground for Garfield Park and Chicago families.

The project scope includes the complete reconstruction of the children’s garden with new planting beds, new family restrooms and a new indoor playground that is designed specifically for the space. Play structures will be built with materials that can withstand the wet environment of an indoor greenhouse. A wheel-chair accessible spiral ramp will make its way up to the top of the Conservatory’s historic glass roof, providing views of the Conservatory grounds and the exhibits below. The playground will feature numerous play elements that provide children with opportunities to explore ways that plants are important for human health and ecosystems, along with opportunities to use both fine and gross motor skills. The centerpiece of the playground is a one-of-a-kind climber that will connect with the accessible ramp at the top of the greenhouse. 

In July 2016, the Obama Foundation announced that Jackson Park will be the site of the Obama Presidential Center (OPC).  In addition to the construction of the center itself, the project includes a number of site improvements in and around Jackson Park. Anticipated site improvements include roadway reconfiguration to accommodate the OPC, the construction of new bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and the relocation of certain recreational uses that will be displaced to accommodate the OPC. Because the proposed project area is located on property listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of both the Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and Midway Plaisance and the Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District, the project is subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. As part of this process, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Federal Highway Administration, the Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation was executed in December 2021.  The MOA identifies feasible measures to resolve any adverse effects identified in the Section 106 process that could impact the historic integrity of the project area. For more information on the federal review process, please visit the City’s project website.

The scope of work of this project addresses one of the mitigation measures identified in the draft MOA: Replacement of recreational use area within Jackson Park that was restored in the 1980s using Urban Park and Recreation Recovery (UPARR) grant money.  Because the footprint of the OPC development will modify the original UPARR boundary within Jackson Park, the City is required to dedicate replacement recreation property elsewhere. As part of a UPARR Amendment executed in May 2021 between the National Park Service and the City of Chicago (Grantee) and the Chicago Park District (Subgrantee), the recreation replacement will be partially addressed through the dedication of recreation area at the east end of the Midway Plaisance.  To replace lost recreational opportunities and respond to community requests, the recreation replacement site will accommodate a combination of play area, open space, and rehabilitated walkways.  

The new park development started design in 2021 under Site Design Group as team lead. The project includes development of approximately 3.3 acres to include a new, fully inclusive 21,000 square foot playground that integrates nature play into the design. The one-of-a-kind playground and the first of its kind in a Chicago Park features an environment that welcomes children and adults of all ages and abilities to play and interact together, allowing people of varying skills sets to play side-by-side in a thoughtful, well-designed, and sensory rich environment that challenges individuals at their own level.

Other park improvements include restoration of the historic Cheney-Goode Memorial and associated site drainage and utility work.

Addams Park is an existing 9.24-acre park located in the Near West Side Community.  The new ComEd Recreation Center includes the construction of a new community fieldhouse and improved outdoor athletic fields. The new 98,776 square foot recreation center houses an artificial turf field, multi-purpose hard surface courts, and community room for meetings and classes, restrooms, offices, reception and storage space. The site has been improved with landscaping, a parking lot and loading area.

This project is made possible through a generous donation by Exelon and partnerships with the Chicago Housing Authority and local schools.

In 2013, the Millennium Reserve Steering Committee identified the creation of a southeast side nature center as one of 14 priority initiatives for the Millennium Reserve. The Chicago Park District received a $35,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust in 2014 to conduct a Feasibility Study which outlined the need, purpose, and program of a new center and recommended it be located at Big Marsh Park. In 2016, the Chicago Environmental Fund (CEF) dedicated $3.7M to the project, with funds originally provided to CEF by Ford Motor Company. Design of the building, to be called the Ford Calumet Environmental Center (FCEC), began in 2016. The project was completed and opened to the public in August 2021.

The Ford Calumet Environmental Center includes two large multi-purpose community rooms, educational exhibit displays depicting the history and ecology of southeast side natural areas, bike rentals, office support, and public restrooms. The building incorporates bird-safe design and an innovative wastewater wetland instead of City sewer for wastewater disposal on site. 

Learn more about the Ford Calumet Environmental Center. 

The Ford Calumet Environmental Center is housed within Big Marsh Park, an award winning approximately 300-acre park on the southeast side of the city. Once an active industrial property, the site was acquired by the Park District in 2011 and opened to the public in 2016. From fort-building and bug-catching, to birding and BMX bike jump lines, there is something for all ages, interests, and abilities. Roughly 45 acres are developed for eco-recreation opportunities including BMX single track courses, pump tracks, and paved bike trails. Other acreage is reserved for more passive recreation such as birding and nature observation. All acreage is being developed to protect or further enhance the overall natural habitat of the park property including sensitivity to flora, fauna, and wetlands.

In 2017, Big Marsh Park won a Phoenix Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Phoenix Awards recognize outstanding achievements in Brownfield redevelopments and honor innovative and sustainable solutions to transform abandoned properties into productive sites.

Through much planning, investment, and local stakeholder input, Big Marsh is now a safe, open, and inviting park space for Chicago and the neighboring communities.

Learn more about Big Marsh.

The Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center at Gately Park is a world-class facility with the area’s first hydraulically banked 200-meter track. The 139,000 square-foot facility has a seating capacity of 3,500 and includes supporting amenities such as a meet management control room, concessions, multipurpose rooms, and locker rooms. Additionally, the facility features a 4,000-square foot warm-up area, eight sprint lanes, two long and triple jump runways and pits, pole-vault runway and pads, a high jump area, and scoreboard(s).

In addition to sporting events and programs, non-sport events are also held throughout the year. To accommodate this need, this facility is flexible with 70,000 square feet of usable space that can be programmed for recreational basketball, volleyball and other non-sporting events.  

Also in the new facility, After School Matters (ASM) programs 22,000 square feet of program space including a dance program, full culinary kitchen and multi-purpose labs for art, science and technology. The new Gately facility is both a world-class sports complex and a year-round community center for wellness, culture and after-school programming.

This project is made possible due to a generous donation by Exelon and partnership with After School Matters.  

Located on the city’s Northwest Side, the 606 is a transformative project that turned an old railroad embankment into a recreational trail and park system. Several ground-level parks - Churchill Field Park, Walsh Park, Park No. 567, and Julia de Burgos Park are included in the system. Above the street, the Bloomingdale Trail accommodates walkers, runners, and bikers. An observatory for spectacular views of the sunset over our city was made possible by a grant from the Exelon Corporation. The trail also includes various art installations, educational programming, and other amenities. Serving as a community connector for some of Chicago’s most densely populated neighborhoods including Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park, the 606 has turned the physical barrier of old railroad embankments into a unifying park and elevated trail system. In addition to serving more than 100,000 people who live within walking distance, the 606 attracts patrons from around the City and visitors from around the world.

The Lakefront Trail (LFT) is one of the busiest non-motorized trails in the United States. It is used daily for commuting and recreation by diverse users including bicyclists, joggers, rollerbladers and people walking to enjoy the lakefront. The different types of users and speeds can cause confusion and congestion along the trail.  Starting in 2017, the Chicago Park District separated the entire 18-mile LFT into two distinct trails, a bike trail and pedestrian trail.  The bike trail accommodates primarily faster-paced patrons who want to cycle through the park without having to weave in and out of walkers.  The pedestrian trail is for people using the park for walking, jogging, and pushing strollers; no bikes are allowed on the pedestrian trail. The trail design and implantation was developed in partnership with the Active Transportation Alliance and Chicago Area Runners Association.

The project is made possible due to a generous donation by the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund.

Within the City’s effort to enliven the Chicago River as a recreational outlet and economic driver for the City, the Chicago Park District constructed four new Chicago River Boat Houses.  Located along the length of the river at River Park, Clark Park, Ping Tom Park, and Park 571 (Eleanor), these facilities provide new access points to the river and offer new river programming opportunities. Clark Park and Park 571 are the largest of the facilities, both have boathouse and boat storage facilities including indoor ergometer rowing training rooms, community rooms, office space, and locker rooms.

Located in Grant Park between Millennium Park and Lake Michigan, Maggie Daley Park is one of the largest green roofs in the country.  A new multi-functional 27-acre park developed to replace Daley Bicentennial Plaza and Peanut Park, Maggie Daley Park is the cap to the 3,700 car underground Millennium Lakeside Garage completed in 1976. The Millennium Lakeside Garage completed extensive garage roof renovations which required the removal of the existing park in its entirety, providing a generational opportunity to envision a new design and use for the prime site.

Reopened in 2015, the new Maggie Daley Park includes a ¼ mile long skating ribbon, 40-foot high outdoor climbing walls, 3-acre children's play garden, tennis courts, and a great open lawn for passive recreation and events.    

Maggie Daley Park was made possible multiple generous donations to the park.  A wall listing the private and corporate donations to the park is located inside the Daley Bicentennial Field House at Maggie Daley Park.  

Learn more about Maggie Daley Park.

La Villita Park is an impressive 21 ½ acre park in the Little Village neighborhood of the South Lawndale Community.  It occupies a former brownfield called Celotex in reference a former industrial complex that had polluted and degraded the site.  Designated by the EPA as a Superfund site, the property went through remediation. The cleanup process was completed in 2009 and the Chicago Park District acquired the site in 2012. The new park is extremely significant to the surrounding Little Village neighborhood.  Not only does this area have one of the highest needs for open space in Chicago, but its residents long-contended with the negative consequences of living near a polluted site.  

For years, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) had advocated for cleaning up this site and converting it to parkland. The Chicago Park District worked closely with LVEJO and Little Village community members to develop plans for the new park. Designed by Smith Group JJR the $ 18,920,000 park (including acquisition costs) has two artificial turf athletic fields with lighting; three natural grass athletic fields; a skate park; basketball courts; community gardens; passive landscape areas; a large playground with a water spray feature; a picnic pavilion; comfort stations with concessions; a multi-use trail with fitness stations; and environmentally-friendly utilities.

LVEJO conducted a democratic and inclusive process to identify an appropriate name for the new park.  The organization discussed possible names at several community meetings and then engaged more than 700 residents in an online survey.  There was strong consensus for naming the site as La Villita Park. The name recognizes the vitality of a great immigrant neighborhood as well as the contributions Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have made to Little Village and the city of Chicago. 

The Park District developed a 17-acre vacant site at 4800 S. Western Avenue into a community asset bringing boundless recreation opportunities to the children and families in the area. The new Brighton Campus features a 20,000 square foot multi-story, public field house with a gymnasium, fitness center, bathrooms, locker rooms, community multi-purpose rooms and office space for the District’s administrative staff. Additional amenities include two artificial turf athletic fields with lighting, a grand lawn, walkways, a playground, spray pool, natural area and parking.  

Prior to this project, Brighton Park ranked among the city’s top five community areas in need of open space according to the City Space Plan. The development has boosted the availability of parkland for Brighton Park, but also neighboring McKinley Park, Back of the Yards, Gage Park and Archer Heights. Located just steps from the CTA Orange line and Western Avenue bus route, the campus is easily accessible by public transportation. 

This investment in the neighborhood is a catalyst for lasting change and proof of the City's commitment to investing in our historic neighborhoods.