MPEA Begins Selection Process for Design Firm to Plan the Event Center

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority has recently announced it has started the process of choosing an architect to design the Event Center, a multipurpose project announced on May 16 by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the MPEA.

The Event Center will house large business and professional meetings, DePaul University men’s and women’s basketball and a venue for concerts and special events. The project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016 and is set to be one of the key features of the master planned McCormick Place Entertainment District which will also include a 1,200-room hotel to serve as the centerpiece for conventions and trade shows, a 500-room mid-market hotel and numerous dining and entertainment venues.

The evaluation committee which will oversee the selection process will include three representatives from MPEA, DePaul and the City of Chicago. The nine-member committee will be assisted by two non-voting staff members and advised by three non-voting, neutral experts from architectural and other relevant fields. A community input meeting will also take place and the finalists will have a chance to receive feedback from community stakeholders. The final design of the Event Center according to MPEA has to be as “feasible and functional as possible to McCormick Place and the surrounding neighborhood.”

Photo Courtesy of: www.mpea.com