31st Street Harbor

The 31st Street Harbor project, just south of downtown Chicago, included the creation of a 1.5-acre waterfront park integrated in a 2,200-foot-long stone revetment structure in Lake Michigan. The project opened in May of 2012 and created significant waterfront and traffic calming/pedestrian circulation improvements to the area, including the elimination of all four conflicts between the Lakefront Trail and vehicular traffic. Renovation of the existing concrete revetment shoreline protection system into a softer and greener edge created a more welcoming waterfront promenade interface between the new green roof covered parking facility and the water’s edge. Construction of a new regional playground, picnic areas, and reconfigured regional bike paths integrated the project into the community.