(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The agency that runs McCormick Place has put out a formal request for ideas to revive the convention center’s oldest building, the Lakeside Center.
Lakeside Center opened 51 years ago to replace the old McCormick Place that burned down in 1967.
Now, Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, says the building needs an update and she’d like ideas. McPier, as the authority is sometimes called for short, has put out a Request for Information.
Clark explains: “Many of our attendees ask, ‘What can do in between sessions?’
“We send them to the Gold Coast or to downtown or to Navy Pier, but maybe they only have an hour or two. So, it would be great if we could combine that business opportunity that they have or that educational opportunity with an experience right here on our lakefront.”
She says some ideas she’s already heard include adding a lakeside restaurant, a spa or even temporary work spaces where convention-goers can get work done between convention sessions.
“The most dramatic idea was putting a heliport on top of Lakeside Center. That wouldn’t necessarily be an experience for all, but if someone’s in a hurry and they need to get here from the airport, they could just take a helicopter.”
Clark expects to hear from developers, design engineers and even architecture students but anyone can submit an idea.
“There are probably many ideas out there that we haven’t heard, and we want to give everyone an opportunity to send those ideas our way.”
Deadline for the Request for Information is Dec. 22.
Clark says there are 250 events scheduled over the next 10 years at Lakeside Center and Arie Crown Theater which is inside the building. Those events would bring in about $12 billion to the city and the state, and McPier would not want to lose that revenue.
Developers with ideas would need to suggest replacement space for events.
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