The legacy to preserve Chicago’s lakefront began in 1836 with the Illinois and Michigan Canal Commission’s declaration that the shoreline remain “forever open, free and clear of any buildings or other obstructions” and continued to Aaron Montgomery Wards’ twenty year struggle to create a lakefront park, reinforced by Daniel Burnham’s 1909 Chicago Plan, and again in 1973 with the adoption of the Chicago Lakefront Plan.  These visionary city forefathers strove to protect the lakefront as public space for future generations.

Today, twenty-four miles of the City’s thirty mile lakefront is publicly owned and managed by the Chicago Park District.  The lakefront park system provides a wide range of amenities from ball fields to field houses, bike trails, golf courses, concert venues, nature trails, and beaches.  It is almost unparalleled among major cities worldwide.  However, the goal for a continuous public lakefront is not complete.

Golden opportunity

In the fall of 2005, an opportunity arose to acquire a piece of lakefront beach property in the city’s Rogers Park north side community within walking distance from Loyola University.  At that time, the property owner received offers to purchase the property for residential development.    

Physically, the property is approximately half an acre, improved with a surface parking lot, and located at the end of Albion Street and Lake Michigan with 160 ft of lakefront beach.  The site is located immediately adjacent to Chicago Park District Hartigan Beach Park.  The site was originally built on lakefront fill material and the preliminary environmental site investigation indicated the property had never been developed with any structures for industrial, residential or commercial use. 

Opportunities to purchase Lakefront property rarely happen because property owners place such a high intrinsic value on the property and tend to hold on to them for a very long period of time.  Furthermore, properties that have never been developed are just as rare within an older urbanized city as the city of Chicago.  Recognizing the lakefront is undoubtedly the City’s greatest natural asset, the decision to pursue acquisition of this site for open space preservation was an easy decision.   

Making the deal happen

The property owner turned out to be John Hartigan, of the same Hartigan family Hartigan Beach Park is named after and residents on this section of Albion Street for nearly a century.  Though they were soliciting offers for their property, their preference was to sell the land to the City to be preserved in perpetuity as parkland. 

To assist in this transaction, the City turned to Corlands, a nonprofit land conservancy trust, to expedite the real estate acquisition process.  Recognizing the needs of the property owner to dispose of the property, Corlands secured a purchase agreement and took title to the property.  Pending City Council authority later this summer and securing grant assistance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Corlands will hold the property for sale to the city. 

Once acquired, the intent is for the City to transfer ownership of the property to the Chicago Park District for development.  Initial plans for the site include developing and restoring the beach and dune areas and integrating the site into the adjacent Hartigan Beach Park. (click on plan at right for a larger image)

No doubt securing this piece of lakefront land is another step in extending the lakefront park system adding incrementally more acreage, beach and riparian rights.  It is in this manner, city planners are continuing the legacy of the city’s forefathers to establish an open, free and clear lakefront. It is this vision that has created the lakefront park system that distinguishes the city of Chicago as one of the best. 

Nelson Chueng is a project manager with the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development’s Zoning and Land Use Division, whose responsibilities include open space and waterfront planning.