CDOT has already hired its contractor for the $5m design planning study for the Point. USACE and CDOT are fully funded for the design phase and the $100m construction at Promontory Point. Through FOIA, the Conservancy learned that CDOT has a falsified condition study declaring the historic limestone revetment failed. This allows the agencies to bypass landmark protection and back into their plan of new construction of a concrete revetment with limestone veneer cladding, costing $100m and closing the park for 5 years. USACE has not specified a date for when construction will begin. USACE’s earlier plans showed construction starting in Spring 2026.
USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project: "The original shoreline structures, built in the early 1900s, have deteriorated and no longer function to protect against storms, flooking and erosion. This project will replace existing infrastructure and construct new structures to protect the shoreline and critical infrastructure."
On its official project webpage, CDOT states: "the preferred design of the revetment is . . . concrete steps and promenade to replace the existing stones. This design maintains safe access to the shoreline while preserving its historic and aesthetic value". Watch CDOT's "preferred solution" for the Point's limestone revetment (18 seconds. 2022). CDOT and CPD’s public statements commit only to “repurposing", “saving and reusing as much of the existing limestone as possible”. "Replacement", "repurposing" and “reusing" are NOT Secretary of the Interior preservation standards.
Of course, these foregone conclusions contradict the findings of the Conservancy's engineering studies, Condition Study, Coastal Vulnerability Study and Alternatives Design Study, and its Historic Structure Report. These statements are also illegal because the Point is on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Chicago Landmark. The Point's historic revetment is protected by the Secretary of the Interior standards for preservation.
USACE publicly states on its official project webpage for the Promontory Point Project: "The original shoreline structures, built in the early 1900s, have deteriorated and no longer function to protect against storms, flooking and erosion. This project will replace existing infrastructure and construct new structures to protect the shoreline and critical infrastructure."
On its official project webpage, CDOT states: "the preferred design of the revetment is . . . concrete steps and promenade to replace the existing stones. This design maintains safe access to the shoreline while preserving its historic and aesthetic value". Watch CDOT's "preferred solution" for the Point's limestone revetment (18 seconds. 2022). CDOT and CPD’s public statements commit only to “repurposing", “saving and reusing as much of the existing limestone as possible”. "Replacement", "repurposing" and “reusing" are NOT Secretary of the Interior preservation standards.
Of course, these foregone conclusions contradict the findings of the Conservancy's engineering studies, Condition Study, Coastal Vulnerability Study and Alternatives Design Study, and its Historic Structure Report. These statements are also illegal because the Point is on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Chicago Landmark. The Point's historic revetment is protected by the Secretary of the Interior standards for preservation.
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Right above: This USACE engineering drawing shows a two-step concrete revetment and concrete platform replacing the limestone block structure. Two rows of limestone blocks are "repurposed" in the parkland as a wall between the park and the revetment. This design constitutes replacement and does not meet the Secretary of the Interior standards for retaining the historic materials and limestone block structure.
Left above: This rendering visualizes a two-step concrete revetment with limestone cladding and a concrete platform. CDOT and CPD want this concrete platform for bikes, scooters and joggers, displacing sunbathers, swimmers, meditators and prayer groups. USACE and CDOT believe that the public cannot tell the difference between the existing limestone block structure and a concrete revetment with limestone veneer.
Left above: This rendering visualizes a two-step concrete revetment with limestone cladding and a concrete platform. CDOT and CPD want this concrete platform for bikes, scooters and joggers, displacing sunbathers, swimmers, meditators and prayer groups. USACE and CDOT believe that the public cannot tell the difference between the existing limestone block structure and a concrete revetment with limestone veneer.
The conflict between what the community wants and the USACE, CDOT and CPD plan for demolition and replacement with concrete is succinctly presented in this video here (4:14) by Hans Friedl.