Old Cook County Hospital

Location:
1835 W. Harrison Street City of Chicago

Project Value:
$140M

Engage Civil Role:
Civil Engineering Firm of Record for 2 separate contract phases (building and parking lot)
Building Utility Tie-in Coordination
R.O.W. Pavements
Stormwater Management
CDOT and DWM Approvals

Client:
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP
(Architect of Record for Civic Health Development Group)
and Walsh Construction

Timeline:
Renovated building opened summer of 2020

Dark for more than a decade, the lights are now back on in this 102-year-old icon, illuminating a new chapter after more than a decade since being shuttered. Engage is the Civil Engineering Firm of Record for the ambitious re-imagining of this historic building, now re-opened as a dual-branded hotel, medical office, and commercial space in 2020. As the first phase in what will be a $1 Billion+ redevelopment program of the public-private-partnership, the old hospital and surrounding environs aim to get a transformation worthy of its legacy as a beacon of service to the people of Cook County.

The first civil contract was tied directly to the building renovation phase, and included pedestrian pavement design, as well as new storm, sanitary, and grease sewer services and dual water services coordinated with new water mains being simultaneously installed in Harrison Street. A second contract was extended to Engage design a new layout for the parking area at the south face. With a goal of minimizing the stormwater infrastructure costs, Engage analyzed previous City stormwater approvals and worked with Walsh engineers to keep the parking lot design within extreme cost constraints.