Since 2018, the Metropolitan Planning Council has been highlighting the progress of riverfront projects funded through The Chicago Community Trust’s support for Great Rivers Chicago and the Our Great Rivers vision. So far, 25 projects have been supported by The Trust, and are continuing to make major changes throughout the river system. Learn more about these projects in MPC’s interactive story map.
Chicagoans along the lakefront enjoy easy access to the natural and cultural amenities of Lake Michigan, but many residents along the Chicago Rivers North and South Branch do not have the same river accessibility. Projects receiving an Our Great Rivers grant for this cycle led by the North River Commission and the McKinley Park Development Council seek to activate and connect communities to their Chicago riverfronts.
North River Commission: Confluence
Design for the updated plaza at Ronan Park’s southern entrance along Lawrence Avenue. Source: Block Club Chicago
The North River Commission (NRC) is a 61-year-old community development non-profit and chamber of commerce in Albany Park. NRC initiated Confluence building off their 2018 North River Communities Neighborhood Plan to engage community members on site improvements in River Park and Ronan Park. The project counters historic disinvestment in Albany Park by positioning the Chicago River as a gateway for recreation, community gathering, and economic development in the neighborhood.
In 2020/2021, NRC initiated the planning process with community members, Perkins & Will, Omni Ecosystems, a steering committee, and partners including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Park District, and the Chicago Department of Transportation. The planning process resulted in new designs for RiverLab and the adjacent boat launch located River Park, and designs for expanding the Global Garden Refugee Training Farm and the Lawrence Avenue entrance to Ronan Park. Now in the third year of participating in the Our Great Rivers Cohort, Confluence is in the implementation phase. The new designs will be realized in tandem with neighboring Chicago Park District projects with funding from the Lawrence/Kedzie Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. The City of Chicago designates TIF districts where new tax revenue can be used to finance and promote public and private infrastructure, like park improvements. These TIF funds are generated by retaining the projected tax growth of the properties within the designated district over a period of 23 years.
Check out the full list of Chicago Park District projects on the North Branch on their interactive StoryMap here.
RiverLab is a nature center that operates out of a building along the Chicago River that was originally built to be a hotdog stand. RiverLab offers a slate of educational programming on Chicago Rivers’ ecosystem in tandem with the Chicago Park District’s River Park Boathouse and launch for paddle boats. The updated design blends the lab and boathouse into the riverbank and expands space for boat storage and educational programming. In Ronan Park, the Global Garden Refugee Training Farm provides produce to residents, restaurants, and farmers markets in the area. The urban farm's planting medium will be renewed thereby improving essential plant nutrients that will enhance production. New gated entrances and water access are also included as part of the updated design. The southern entrance of Ronan Park along Lawrence is also getting an upgrade, transforming a simple concrete pad into an inviting plaza and pavilion.
McKinley Park Development Council: Planning for Bike and Pedestrian Connectivity on the Chicago River
Above: Completed riverwalk behind the Prologis Warehouse, adjacent to the Halsted Orange Line stop.
McKinley Park Development Council (MPDC) is a community and economic development organization in McKinley Park and a first-time recipient of the Our Great Rivers grant. The organization is developing a framework plan for a connected bike and pedestrian riverfront path from Ping Tom Memorial Park to the Daley Boat Launch on Western Avenue.
Above: Limited access to the river east of Halsted. Source: McKinley Park Development Council.
Currently, there are short riverwalks adjacent to the Halsted Orange Line stop and along Chicago Park District property, but these paths do not connect, and it is otherwise challenging to access the riverfront along this section of the South Branch. Cyclists and pedestrians in McKinley Park, Bridgeport, and Chinatown have limited options to avoid busy traffic and safely travel to adjacent neighborhoods and downtown.
The project builds on the momentum of existing projects, including the city’s 2017 Chicago River Edge Ideas Lab that conceptualized an extended path from Lake Street to Ping Tom Memorial Park, neighborhood plans (McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan, Bridgeport and Canaryville Priorities Plan, and the Chinatown Community Vision Plan), the updated Chicago River Design Guidelines, and Chicago Department of Transportation’s South Branch Parks Access Study. MPDC is working with Openlands and Living Habitats to engage community members on design concepts for the connected riverwalk. Graduate students from University of Illinois’ College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs supported MPDC’s Our Great Rivers grant application and will work with the project this spring semester in community outreach and design development. Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community and Bridgeport Alliance are also community partners. The goal is to create a plan for a connected riverfront with accessible designs and amenities that align with community interests. Developers will be able to review these designs and hopefully use them as a guide to comply with the Chicago River Design Guidelines that require any new development or renovation along the riverfront to include a publicly accessible river path. The plan will also map out the places where there are gaps in the riverfront path and possibilities for filling them in. To fill in some of these sections, MPDC is engaging private landowners without riverfront paths to have conversations around proactively opening their riverfronts to public access.
Looking toward the future, the South Branch Connectivity Project is a step toward a connected riverfront path that allows residents to recreate and safely walk or bike from McKinley Park to downtown, away from busy traffic along Archer. In the long-term, MPDC hopes to see more activation of the space with attractions, businesses, and amenities that draw people to the space.
North River Commission and McKinley Park Development Council are building new avenues for communities to interact with the Chicago River, expanding opportunities for recreation, community connection, and economic development into the future. MPC looks forward to how these projects will shape the riverfront for current and future generations.
This is the second blog in our four-part series where we highlight the projects that are included as part of this cycle’s Our Great Rivers grant program. Stay tuned for future updates about all these projects.
Looking for information about past Our Great Rivers grantees? Find the summary pages for those years here: