As you know, Children's Memorial Hospital will be moving in June 2012 to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital complex.  Their current location on Fullerton and Lincoln will be sold and redeveloped.  The purchaser has now been identified and vetted.  The developer -- McCaffery Interests -- is a local firm with a long list of very impressive projects.  Alderman Michele Smith will be holding community meetings so everyone can become familiar with the developer as well as learn more about the projects that this firm has done.

It is important to note that, at the direction of former Alderman Vi Daley and the City's Department of Community Development and after extensive community input from the Lincoln Park residents, a Site Re-Use Feasibility Study was prepared in 2009. The study identified key community goals for the future development of this property, namely a mixed-use development consistent with the existing neighborhood and housing for a mix of income levels.  The conclusions of the Site Re-Use Study were very important in setting out guiding principles for the selection of the developer. The link shown below will allow you to view this study.

/Click to download the Site Study as a .PDF file – 155 pages/

In addition to the Site Re-Use Study, the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce has prepared an economic impact statement on the effect of the departure of Children's from Lincoln Park. It provides some rather eye opening statistics about the current hospital complex and the usage and traffic generated on a daily and yearly basis. For example, the hospital is now visited by 1.5 million individuals each year, with 4,100 people on campus each day. The hospital has 4,370 employees and an average of 1,332 cars per day use their garage. And there are approximately 5,000 ambulance transports to Children's each year. All neighborhood businesses will feel the impact of Children's departure after next June.

I encourage everyone to learn more about the upcoming move by visiting Children's website (www.childrensmemorial.org) and Lincoln Park Chamber's website (www.lincolnparkchamber.com).  I believe that the community is fortunate in that Children's has found a firm that wants to develop this site responsibly with a demonstrated sensitivity to the community's priorities. 

Rodger Owen
President
Lincoln Central Association