Park District Unveils Ambitious Plan For Northerly Island

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 3, 2010 4:00PM

The Park District released a 20-30 year plan yesterdayto transform Northerly Island into a nature preserve, complete with an outdoor hiking shelter, man-made reefs for snorkelers and divers, and a green outdoor concert pavilion to replace Charter One Pavilion.

But it's just a plan right now. The Park District didn't say how much the plan would cost to implement, but that they are putting out the new music pavilion to bid. For Mayor Daley, this could mean a positive bullet point in his legacy, which he sorely needs right now. Hard to believe that when Daley ordered the midnight destruction of the former Meigs Field in 2003 that we'd be talking about a possible nature preserve just outside of downtown.

Daley, naturally, loved the plan, telling media, "I think it's great."