Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1956 [PAGE 44]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1954]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

41

4. Site at least 50 per cent buildable by July 1959. 5. Acquisition should not distort seriously the "priority program" of the Chicago Plan Commission. The 11 additional criteria as briefly listed below were used to differentiate the value of sites which met the five basic criteria: 1. Availability of existing facilities, such as auditorium, stadium, and employment opportunities for students. 2. Environmental factors. 3. Impressive and functional development possible. 4. Relative plant operating costs. 5. Acquisition cost. 6. Site development costs. 7. Public relations factors. 8. Effect on economic and tax base of Chicago. 9. Major public expenditures required. 10. Use of redevelopment funds required. 11. Effect on other programs for the improvement of the Chicago area. While in the Chicago area, there is an unlimited number of sites which could be evaluated against these criteria, practically the number is limited. In the first paragraphs of this section, it was pointed out that the location of a site would determine the type of construction among low, medium, and high rise buildings. This Committee, working with the Real Estate Research Corporation and the Chicago Plan Commission, has studied and examined five sites which are examples of the three types. In the following paragraphs are given brief descriptions of these sites. While the Committee feels that each of these sites deserves consideration, it wishes to point out that similar areas may be available and worthy of further investigation. 1. Low Building Density Sites a. Outlying As an example of this type of site, a tract in River Forest was studied. This is a 300-acre area almost all of which is the Thatcher Woods owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve. This area is bounded by North Avenue, Thatcher Road, Lake Street, and First Avenue. Except for a few small commercial enterprises, the area is unimproved, and, therefore, construction could be started with a minimum of delay. It is estimated that approximately 44 per cent of the student potential will live within a 10-mile radius of this site, and 50 per cent of that student potential will live within one hour's travel time on public transportation. This site provides ample ground for Physical Education, R.O.T.C., parking, and other functions requiring land as well as that necessary for expansion. The cost of the land, if available, should not exceed 50 cents per square foot, but its availability will be governed by the willingness of the Cook County Forest Preserve District to release the land. No loss of city or county revenue would result from the selection of this site. b. "Made Land" Sites An example of this type of site is the reclaiming of land from the lake front south and east of the Adler Planetarium and roughly at the foot of Roosevelt Road extended. Such a site could be in the form of an island, a peninsula, or merely an extension or expansion of the present lake front. F o r the purpose of this study, an area of 200 acres is tentatively assumed. Approximately 51 per cent of the future student potential will live within a 10-mile radius of such a site, and approximately 61 per cent of that student potential will live within one hour's travel time on public transportation. Land construction costs should not exceed $3.50 per square foot and may be as low as $1-75 per square foot. It is estimated that the required land can be constructed within two or three years. Selection of such a site will not result in any loss in the city's tax revenue.