Sterling Bay’s master planning team for the massive redevelopment of the Finkl Steel site boasts a roster of powerhouse talent. The 30-plus acre site also got a new name—Lincoln Yards.
CBT of Boston and SOM of Chicago will take the lead on the project and be supported by consultants that include Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates for landscape architecture and NelsonNygaard for transportation and mobility.
The 70 acres of riverfront between Lincoln Park and Bucktown will feature build-to-suit office developments, retail space, a public riverwalk, a multi-modal transportation hub, a 606 bike trail extension, recreation space, arts and culture spaces, and residential and hospitality opportunities, according to the development’s website.
“Lincoln Yards is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform an underutilized area of the city into a neighborhood built for the modern needs of Chicagoans,” said Andy Gloor, Managing Principal of Sterling Bay in a statement.
CBT has served as master planner on national and international projects that have turned industrial areas into integrated, mixed-use innovation communities. The company’s NorthPoint development in Boston is a new 5.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use. They’ve also completed major redevelopment projects in North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Abu Dhabi.
“It is rare to find a site of this magnitude in a great American city with such strong assets as the Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods, the Chicago River and the 606,” said Kishore Varanasi, Principal and Director of Urban Design at CBT. “Currently disconnected by infrastructure barriers and industrial uses, Lincoln Yards presents an opportunity to create a place that is vibrant and engages the surrounding communities through a combination of careful and bold moves that opens the riverfront to all Chicagoans.”
SOM is behind Chicago’s Millennium Park and Lakeshore East, and has been the master planner for projects in Sydney and Detroit. The landscape architect for Lincoln Yards, MVVA, has worked on a variety of scales and landscape types from public parks to university campuses to private landscapes. In New York City the firm led the landscaping team for the 11-acre Hudson Yards development and the redevelopment of a bulk cargo-shipping complex into Brooklyn Bridge Park. Consultant, NelsonNygaard has developed transportation systems around the globe in Chicago, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi and Moscow.
