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Originally Posted by Steely Dan
i've never been opposed to the project in general because of the trees, but i do wonder if it was really necessary to clear cut the whole damn site into a moonscape.
i understand that a cleared site makes it MUCH easier from a construction standpoint, but still, wouldn't have been nicer if they could've found a way to save at least save some of those existing mature trees?
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I think yes because of the underground parking. The parts of the building you can see in renderings are just the tip of a large, parking garage iceberg that will cover most of the site. If you remember, the original plan had a half-buried 2-level parking deck structure in the Midway between 59th/60th/Stony/Metra tracks, where it would not have impacted very many trees, but people protested so they moved the parking to a single level with twice the footprint, fully buried beneath/around the OPC. The old Women's Garden between 59th/60th/Stony/Cornell is not part of the enlarged parking garage footprint, but I wonder if they are using the space below to build an underground stormwater basin...
Also, a lot of the trees in Jackson Park were intentionally planted to line the roadways (tree "allees") but if the roadways are getting widened then the trees have to go. As I mentioned upthread the tree removals associated with the roadway widenings are more than those for the OPC itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by woodrow
Finally, I was walking through Millennium Park yesterday and enjoying the large trees found throughout the 17 year old park. I know 17 years is a long time (it isn't) but it certainly isn't 50 years.
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This is a good comparison as Millennium Park was also largely built on structure, with either parking garages or the Metra station below. I believe the limited soil does put a cap on the growth of trees, but I could be wrong.
Maggie Daley Park is similar as well, maybe even moreso since MVVA worked on that and it hasn't had as much tree-growing time as Millennium. Personally I don't feel like Maggie Daley is a moonscape, the trees are not enormous yet but the park does not feel barren. Soldier Field is about as old as Millennium Park and there too, much of what appears to be landscape actually conceals underground parking.