Photo Credit: Navy Pier
According to Crain’s Chicago, Navy Pier will begin renovations on the family pavilion near the main entrance after a two-year delay due to lack of funding.
Renovations for Navy Pier’s Centennial Vision plan were announced in 2013, and although much of it has been funded through tax funds from the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, as well as various donations to the pier’s nonprofit organization, cost overages from renovations to the food court and south dock led to funding shortages for the pavilion.
Photo Credit: Navy Pier
Construction on the pavilion is slated to begin in mid-September of this year, with completion anticipated for next spring. Renovation plans for this section of the pier include the addition of a grand staircase connecting the ground floor to the Crystal Gardens, a glass atrium that holds a one-acre botanical garden on the pier’s second floor. Vendor carts will also be removed and replaced with kiosks throughout the pavilion.
It’s likely that the work on Navy Pier’s family pavilion will be financed through a loan. The pier has been the subject of recent controversy, in which the Mayor has come under fire for allegedly paying for a portion of the pier’s renovations through funds that were meant to be allocated toward serving underprivileged neighborhoods, even though he publicly stated that the funds would be used for the new hotel development near McCormick Place.
