You get an approval, and YOU get an approval, and YOU GET AN APPROVAL!
Yesterday, the Zoning Committed of the Chicago City Council signed off on the much-discussed changes to the Wrigley Field renovation and development plan. Those changes include the additional outfield wall bump-out, design changes to the hotel, and the “branding arch” that will span Clark Street. You can see details on the Zoning Committee’s approval here, here, or here.
The Committee on Transportation and Public Way comes next on December 10, and then a full City Council vote should come on the 11th. Assuming the plan clears those hurdles – and there’s no reason to believe it won’t – the Cubs will have received the same level of approval for the modified plan that they received earlier this year from City Council on the overall development. In other words, there will be no more major approvals to be received – unless the plan changes significantly again. And who knows, right?
As for actual construction, the Cubs continue to say publicly that they will not begin the real meat of the work until they know that the rooftops around Wrigley Field will not sue to stop construction. That will likely push major construction back to next year (though I hear persistent chatter that more will happen this offseason than people think, but that could just be wishful thinking), assuming some kind of agreement can be reached (if one hasn’t already been reached quietly behind the scenes, and all sides are simply waiting for the final approval from the City before announcing anything).