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In a letter to his constituents Saturday morning, 42nd ward alderman Brendan Reilly announced that he had persuaded Northwestern University to delay for 60 days their filing for a permit to demolish Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Hospital.At a meeting last week, the University told Reilly what its spokesman Al Cubbage told Sammy Caiola for a report in the Daily Northwestern, "When it becomes vacant we will begin taking the building down." The building's current tenant, the Stone Institute of Psychiatry, is scheduled to move out this coming September.
And where, you might ask, is the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in all this? As always when there's a real fight to be fought, MIA. Although the threat to Prentice has been clear ever since construction of the new Prentice was announced, the Commission has taken no action to protect the building. And since it's a modern building, it never made it onto the Commission's Historic Resources Survey, which means its not even eligible for the 60-day delay that an Orange-rated building on the survey would get once a request for a demolition permit was filed.
Reilly has become something of a hero among preservationists. He was instrumental to the fight to save Jarvis Hunt's Lakeshore Athletic Club at 850 North Lake Shore Drive, which was also owned by Northwestern, which wanted to sell it to a developer to be destroyed for a Lucien Lagrange highrise. Reilly also led City Council opposition to Richard M. Daley's drive to put the Chicago Children's Museum in Grant Park. Although Reilly ultimately lost, 33 to 16, in the City Council, his opposition made a major contribution to continuing the fight and drying up fund-raising to the point where the Museum now appears to have given up in favor of staying at Navy Pier.
And, of course, Northwestern loses nothing by conceding the 60 days. They can't begin demolition until the tenant moves out in September, anyway, and by making what is ultimately a meaningless concession, they can add to their false-front PR profile as a caring institution, covering over the reality on being hell-built on destroying Prentice from day one.
For more information on the importance Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Hospital, check out Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Chicago, the National Trust, Blair Kamin's recent piece in the Trib, and the Save Prentice page on Facebook. You can also read Brendan Reilly's full statement, after the break.
As you know, over the past four years of my first-term in office, I have worked closely with the Chicago and Illinois landmark preservation community to save a number of architecturally important historic buildings across downtown Chicago. I have come to appreciate the importance of preserving our city's most important architectural gems. In fact the first major controversy I faced was in Streeterville, concerning the impending demolition of Jarvis Hunt's 1927 Lakeshore Club at 850 North Lake Shore Drive.
During the deliberative process I conducted when weighing the future of 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, I relied heavily upon research and financial studies to determine whether the historic building could be re-used and saved from demolition. After reviewing the facts, I believed the building could and should be re-used. Three years later, a private developer is in the process of converting the building into luxury senior residences.
Since then, I have partnered with Preservation Chicago and Landmarks Preservation Illinois to landmark and save many other important structures in downtown's 42nd Ward. I am very proud of that track record and will continue to support the preservation of our important buildings, so long as they can be realistically repurposed to achieve the best use of the building without dramatically impacting the value and functionality of the property for future use.
Several months ago, I met with representatives of the preservation community to discuss their interest in protecting the Old Prentice Women's Hospital from demolition. At that meeting, we agreed that a Re-use Study should be conducted to determine whether or not the building could be repurposed and potentially re-used for future institutional use.
The Re-Use Study is being finalized and will be presented in the coming weeks. The Study will offer three potential options for the re-use of the Old Prentice Hospital site and will approximate the costs associated with those possible options. Unlike 850 North Lake Shore Drive, the Old Prentice site will not be sold to a private developer, but will be redeveloped for continued institutional use moving forward.
Earlier this week, I met with Northwestern University, the owners of Old Prentice Hospital, to discuss their preferred future plans for this site. During our meeting, Northwestern representatives informed me of their plans to immediately apply for a demolition permit to take down Old Prentice Hospital.
After lengthy discussion, I persuaded the University to suspend their plans to apply for a demolition permit for 60 days before filing any applications with the City of Chicago. I made it very clear that the Old Prentice Hospital building deserves a careful review and the Re-Use Study must first be presented, vetted and given the consideration it deserves.
Once I receive a Final Draft of the Re-Use Study, it will be shared broadly and made available for public review through a link on our website at www.ward42chicago.com. I look forward to the coming public conversation about the future of this site and am eager to review and consider the Re-Use Study once it is finalized and presented publicly.
In the coming months, we will review all of the facts and financial figures to determine whether or not the Old Prentice Hospital building can be redeveloped in a cost-effective manner that meets the institutional needs for a future research facility at this site.
I look forward to working with you during this transparent community process.
Community Update on Status of Old Prentice Women's Hospital at 320 East Huron
As you know, over the past four years of my first-term in office, I have worked closely with the Chicago and Illinois landmark preservation community to save a number of architecturally important historic buildings across downtown Chicago. I have come to appreciate the importance of preserving our city's most important architectural gems. In fact the first major controversy I faced was in Streeterville, concerning the impending demolition of Jarvis Hunt's 1927 Lakeshore Club at 850 North Lake Shore Drive.
During the deliberative process I conducted when weighing the future of 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, I relied heavily upon research and financial studies to determine whether the historic building could be re-used and saved from demolition. After reviewing the facts, I believed the building could and should be re-used. Three years later, a private developer is in the process of converting the building into luxury senior residences.
Since then, I have partnered with Preservation Chicago and Landmarks Preservation Illinois to landmark and save many other important structures in downtown's 42nd Ward. I am very proud of that track record and will continue to support the preservation of our important buildings, so long as they can be realistically repurposed to achieve the best use of the building without dramatically impacting the value and functionality of the property for future use.
Several months ago, I met with representatives of the preservation community to discuss their interest in protecting the Old Prentice Women's Hospital from demolition. At that meeting, we agreed that a Re-use Study should be conducted to determine whether or not the building could be repurposed and potentially re-used for future institutional use.
The Re-Use Study is being finalized and will be presented in the coming weeks. The Study will offer three potential options for the re-use of the Old Prentice Hospital site and will approximate the costs associated with those possible options. Unlike 850 North Lake Shore Drive, the Old Prentice site will not be sold to a private developer, but will be redeveloped for continued institutional use moving forward.
Earlier this week, I met with Northwestern University, the owners of Old Prentice Hospital, to discuss their preferred future plans for this site. During our meeting, Northwestern representatives informed me of their plans to immediately apply for a demolition permit to take down Old Prentice Hospital.
After lengthy discussion, I persuaded the University to suspend their plans to apply for a demolition permit for 60 days before filing any applications with the City of Chicago. I made it very clear that the Old Prentice Hospital building deserves a careful review and the Re-Use Study must first be presented, vetted and given the consideration it deserves.
Once I receive a Final Draft of the Re-Use Study, it will be shared broadly and made available for public review through a link on our website at www.ward42chicago.com. I look forward to the coming public conversation about the future of this site and am eager to review and consider the Re-Use Study once it is finalized and presented publicly.
In the coming months, we will review all of the facts and financial figures to determine whether or not the Old Prentice Hospital building can be redeveloped in a cost-effective manner that meets the institutional needs for a future research facility at this site.
I look forward to working with you during this transparent community process.
Sincerely,
Brendan Reilly
Alderman, 42nd Ward
Source: http://arcchicago.blogspot.com/2011/04/reilly-wins-60-day-delay-on-demolition.html
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