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Probably be over 300 million before it ends.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority is negotiating with a general contractor for the proposed DePaul arena near McCormick Place, but the two sides are struggling with a price tag that has soared to as much as $250 million, about 75 percent more than the original estimate, according to people close to the bidding process.
McPier next week is expected to award a design-build contract for the arena and an adjacent 1,200-room Marriott hotel to a venture led by Bethesda, Md.-based Clark Construction Group, those sources tell Crain's. The cost of the 51-story hotel is expected to be in line with previous estimates, or a total of roughly $400 million.
But a sticking point is the "dug-in" design of the 10,000-seat arena, which places its playing floor well below ground level. That feature has pushed construction costs above the $140 million that McPier and city officials optimistically projected when they announced the project in May 2013, sources said.
Although a final price has not been set, the cost of that design, by New Haven, Conn.-based Pelli Clark Pelli, could be as much as $250 million, sources said.
The escalating costs of the arena, called the McCormick Place Event Center, have complicated the selection, sending McPier and DePaul University officials looking for new financing options and changes to the design that would lower the cost.
One option under consideration is scrapping the below-ground design in favor of a wholly above-ground structure, a source said.
Neighborhood residents aren't prepared to support construction of an above-ground arena because it would be too obtrusive, said Tina Feldstein, president of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance.
"Part of the process by which (the arena design) was approved was the fact that it was sunk into the ground and it was not this monstrous building that's going to overwhelm the neighborhood," she said.
An above-ground design would be "not fair to the community and not fair to anybody who weighed in and approved the project, including City Council members," she added.
Mary Kay Marquisos, a McPier spokeswoman, declined to comment on the selection of the Clark venture or if the agency has received bids in the range of $250 million.
But the final construction cost will not be near $250 million and the project “will be within the budgetary parameters as established and will maintain the spirit of the original design," she said.
Marquisos declined to elaborate, but her statement might signal a shift from last month, when outgoing McPier CEO Jim Reilly, in a brief interview after last month's board meeting, said he "would not anticipate any dramatic changes" from the authority's original plan.
Under budget pressure, McPier may have no alternative but to shift gears.
Extensive below-ground construction is very expensive, especially in Chicago, said Bob Schock, president of Case Foundation in suburban Roselle, which did foundational work for the McCormick Place north, south and west halls, as well as the Hyatt hotel on site.
"The problem in Chicago is generally that the soil is very soft, especially just south of the Loop” he said. “This neighborhood has a deposit of glacial clay (such that) you can't dig a hole more than 4 to 5 feet without having to shore it" with elements such as a concrete wall, he said.
In addition to its below-ground construction, the Pelli Clark design also features glass exterior walls, an undulating roof and space designated for retail such as restaurants and coffeehouses.
FINANCING QUESTIONS
DePaul committed $70 million toward the arena, where it will be a tenant paying $25,000-per-game rent for men's basketball games and $15,000 for women's games. McPier pledged to finance the remaining $70 million cost. Its portion would be drawn from the proceeds of earlier bond sales that are now held in reserve. Those bonds are being retired using McPier revenue from hotel taxes, among other sources.
A DePaul spokeswoman did not return a message yesterday seeking comment on the prospect of increasing the university's financial commitment to the project.
The cost of the arena already has stalled the bid process. McPier initially received a mix of bids from about a dozen suitors for both the arena and the hotel and recently narrowed the field to two teams:
• Clark Construction, a venture that includes two architectural firms, Chicago-based Goettsch Partners and Columbus, Ohio-based Moody Nolan.
• A venture led by Chicago-based Walsh Construction that includes two Chicago-based architectural firms, A. Epstein & Sons International and VOA Architects.
McPier officials had hoped to award the construction contract in September, with work to begin early next year. Construction is expected to take 22 months. DePaul plans to play its home games in the new arena in 2016-17.
A spokesman for Clark Construction, which built the McPier-owned Hyatt McCormick Place hotel as well as the convention center's west and south buildings, declined to comment on the status of the contract. A spokesman for Walsh Construction could not be reached for comment late yesterday.
_________________ Frank Coztansa wrote: conns7901 wrote: Not over yet. Yes it is. CDOM wrote: When this is all over, which is not going to be for a while, Trump will be re-elected President.
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