Alderman again asks Plan Commission to delay Wolf Point discussion

(Above) Rendering by the architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli of the proposed Wolf Point complex, looking north at the west tower with its 510 residential units. More images.

December 7, 2012 – A frustrating ten days with prospective developers have ended with 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly asking the Chicago Plan Commission to remove Wolf Point from its December 20 agenda.

Despite five months of discussion with Houston-based Hines Interests L.P., Reilly says he was surprised by a proposal “at the eleventh hour” to build 1,800 hotel rooms in a complex of three office and residential towers near Merchandise Mart.

On November 27, Reilly asked the Chicago Plan Commission to remove from its agenda that day consideration of the proposal. Although he did not elaborate at the time, the alderman said documents submitted to the city on November 26 by developers did “not accurately reflect the significant changes to the proposal” that he and his office had negotiated.

“To make matters worse,” wrote Reilly in an update to constituents on Thursday, “the filing did not include the long list of previously negotiated changes and improvements to the proposal.”

Reilly (left) says he spent the week meeting with members of various city departments and representatives of neighborhood associations near Wolf Point, including River North Residents Association.

He wants developers to agree to build no more than 450 hotel rooms and he wants any hotels on Wolf Point to be “limited service” without conference or ballroom space that would affect traffic in the area and require more parking. And there is more. When developers are ready to build the project’s second and third phases, Reilly wants to require them to meet each time with the Chicago Plan Commission at public hearings.

“Requiring these additional hearings before the Chicago Plan Commission is uncharacteristic of how we process all other planned developments downtown and throughout the City of Chicago,” says Reilly. “However, based upon the uniqueness of this site, the complexity of this proposal, and the track record of the development consultants, I feel obliged to require these additional layers of accountability on behalf of the constituents I was elected to represent.”

According to Reilly, both Hines and the Kennedy family, owner of the land, have been “aggressively lobbying” to secure the necessary city approvals by the end of the year. “In light of the recent events,” says Reilly, “I have informed the development team that their preferred timeline is simply no longer feasible.”

Reilly says he will co-host a third public meeting on December 20, the date developers had hoped the project would be approved.