Inside the $1B restoration of the old Cook County Hospital, ‘a city unto itself’
By Rachel Hinton@rrhinton | Chicago Sun-Times
The old Cook County Hospital’s grand, beaux-arts façade is mostly obscured by a white tarp-like covering these days as construction crews work at demolishing some of the old features of the historic building to make way for a hotel and office complex that county officials hope will transform the Illinois Medical District and Near West Side.
Efforts to restore the façade on the front of the building at 1835 W. Harrison St. started last fall. Once finished, it will be the extravagant face of a $1 billion plan to rebuild the 102-year-old building inside and out.
John Murphy, chair of the Murphy Development Group — which is one part of the Civic Health Development Group that was picked to redevelop the hospital — says the effort is on track to finish on time, by 2020, and they’re 70 percent through the demolition phase.
“What is old, and some view as ugly, is going to be restored to new,” Murphy said.
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