Clark Helps MPEA Transform McCormick Square with New Wintrust Arena

CHICAGO - Wintrust Arena, Chicago’s new premiere event space, and the latest addition to the city’s McCormick Square neighborhood, will open to the public this weekend as part the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago event. Clark Construction Group, lead member of the design-build joint venture team Prairie District3 Partners (PD3), successfully delivered the 300,000 square-foot facility in September. The multi-purpose arena will be home to DePaul University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, the city’s WNBA team, the Chicago Sky, and serve as an entertainment venue for concerts and special events.  

 

Developed under a public-private partnership between DePaul University and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), Wintrust Arena is an integral part of a master plan to transform Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood into a vibrant, year-round entertainment district and destination for both conventioneers and Chicago residents. The venue features a 10,387-seat arena with 22 suites, 479 club seats, team support services, broadcast facilities, and food and beverage concessions.

  

Clark broke ground on the arena in fall 2015, and worked under a design-build contract to deliver the $150 million facility, on schedule, and on budget, in just 23 months. Through an early and extensive evaluation of the project, Clark identified critical cost saving alternatives without reducing the building’s program requirements. These creative engineering solutions, 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.

 

As the nation’s largest convention center, McCormick Place has served a major economic engine for the city for more than 50 years. The latest addition to McCormick Square created opportunities for local and small businesses and will provide long-term jobs for many Chicago residents. With a proven track record for diversity on past McCormick Place projects, Clark looked for every opportunity to maximize local participation, awarding more than 30 percent of Wintrust Arena’s construction contracts to Minority Business Enterprises and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.

 

Clark has been working alongside MPEA to transform the McCormick Square neighborhood for a quarter century. Wintrust Arena, and the neighboring 40-story Marriott Marquis hotel, also being delivered by Clark under a separate contract, add to the company’s existing portfolio of work for MPEA at 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 original construction and 2013 renovation and expansion of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

 

Prairie District3 Partners is comprised of construction partners Clark Construction Group, Bulley & Andrews, LLC, Old Veteran Construction, McKissack & McKissack Midwest, and designers Moody Nolan, Inc., and Goettsch Partners. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects is the bridging designer and Moody Nolan, Inc., is the Architect of Record.