300 KSF Chicago Arena to Open at McCormick Square

By Keith Loria

Wintrust Arena

Clark Construction Group, part of the design-built joint venture team Prairie District 3 Partners, has delivered Wintrust Arena, a 300,000-square-foot facility in Chicago’s McCormick Square neighborhood.

The multi-purpose arena will open the weekend of Oct. 20-22 as part the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago event. The arena will serve as home to DePaul University’s basketball teams, the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and serve as an entertainment venue for concerts and special events.

The facility boasts a 10,387-seat arena with 22 suites, 479 club seats, team support services, broadcast facilities, and food and beverage concessions. Originally called the McCormick Square event center, the $150 million project broke ground in 2015, as part of the $841 million McCormick Square entertainment district. It was developed by a public-private partnership between DePaul University and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

Early on, Clark identified critical cost saving alternatives without reducing the building’s program requirements, and coupled with the firm’s early and aggressive procurement of key subcontractors, provided essential savings and allowed the project to move forward under MPEA’s original budget. Clark also sought out opportunities to maximize local participation, awarding more than 30 percent of Wintrust Arena’s construction contracts to Minority Business Enterprises and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.

Breathing Life into The Loop

The hope is that Wintrust Arena will help transform Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood into a vibrant, year-round entertainment district and destination for both conventioneers and Chicago residents.

Clark has been working alongside MPEA to transform the McCormick Square neighborhood for a quarter century. Currently, the company is also building a neighboring 40-story Marriott Marquis hotel under a separate contract for McCormick Square. Additional projects include the 2.9 million square-foot McCormick Place South Hall and 2.6 million square-foot West Hall expansions, and the 2013 renovation and expansion of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, to name a few.

PD3 is comprised of Bulley & Andrews LLC, Old Veteran Construction, McKissack & McKissack Midwest, designers Moody Nolan Inc. and Goettsch Partners.

Photo courtesy of Clark Construction Group