City officials and private developers are planning to transform a murky, garbage-filled stretch of the Chicago River into a mile-long “eco-park,” a project they say would be the first in the world of its kind.
Planners on Thursday unveiled their first renderings of the “Wild Mile Chicago” park that would include new wildlife, recreational and educational additions to the river’s North Branch.
“Imagine a park that you can walk and kayak through floating along the banks of the Chicago River,” a project website touts.
Stretching along the east side of Goose Island between Chicago and North avenues, the idea was first included in the city’s North Branch Framework Plan, approved two years ago by the Chicago Plan Commission.
Click to view slideshow.That plan led to the installation of the first 1,500 square feet of the park in June 2017.
The completed park would include floating gardens, forests, wetlands, public walkways, educational learning stations and kayak access points.
The team behind the original installation was Urban Planners — a group of ecologists and entrepreneurs looking to convert ugly city rivers into wildlife havens.
What’s already been added — floating greenery that stands out among concrete retaining walls and dirty water — will be extended in a plan aiming to be complete by mid-2020.
Joining Urban Planners and the city’s Department of Planning and Development for the extended park are a new a team of developers and consultants — including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Urban Rivers; O-H Community Partners; Near North Unity Program; Omni Ecosystems; Tetra Tech; and d’Escoto.
Those groups discussed their ideas with residents Thursday night at Leslie Hall in Old Town, the second of three community meetings.
The city — which developers say has been supportive of the plan from the start — already dedicated $200,000 for educational programs on the river.
The groups are aiming to finalize plans by March.
