Financial Effects of Millennium Park on Chicago When most people think of Chicago, what’s usually the first thing that pops into their heads?
The first answer most people will probably give you is that they think of the Bean. Of course the famous Bean is part of Millennium Park, which attracted over 4.75 million people in 2013-a five percent increase from the previous year. Millennium Park has both positive and negative financial effects on Chicago. Although the Park attracts millions of people, it also cost millions of dollars to construct. Many people criticize the expense of the Park to taxpayers and the additional financial effects it continues to have on Chicago. Not only was the initial budget a stain on the city's finances, but the upkeep continues to be a great deal of money as well. The financial effects of the Park aren’t all negative, as the park brings in an estimated $2.6 billion annually in tourist spending related activities. Interest to other attractions in the area have increased substantially since the park was built, and real estate prices with views of the park have increased as well. Although the initial expense was a large amount, some people argue that it was well worth the …show more content…
cost. Commissioned by Mayor Daley, the proposed budget was mesley $150 million with a promise of no cost to taxpayers. Yet, when finished, it was completed four years behind schedule and at the cost of $490 million, with $95 million coming out of taxpayer’s pockets. Not only was money taken from taxpayers, but several Chicago Park District parking garages were also sold by the mayor in an effort to pay off the construction cost of the park. Not only were the initial construction costs of the Park expensive and take a strain on the city’s budget, but the upkeep of the Park is outrageous as well. It’s approximately $FIND million dollars a year to keep the 24.5 arce park clean and managed-all from the pockets of the taxpayers of Chicago, and in 2013, Mayor Daley borrowed about $30 million just to cover the annual cost of running the Park. Park operations in the year 2014 cost the city $6.1 million, which was made from advertising on bus stops across the entire city. The Bean itself costs $70,000 annually just to clean off fingerprints. In an effort to pay off the Park’s construction debt, a new 2,126-space parking garage under Millennium Park was constructed, however, the revenues from the garage fell short and the city decided to lease the garage, and three others similar to it, to the banking firm Morgan Stanley for 99 years for a $563 million payment. Most of the money was used to pay off around $208 million from the initial construction debt, while the rest went to the Chicago Park District. In addition to initial financial troubles, Millennium Park’s only restaurant, The Park Grill, recently took quite a bit of heat the past couple years. Controversy surrounded the famous establishment when it was found that the Grill did not pay property taxes under Daley’s term. Since Millennium Park is indeed public land, and all business on public land must pay property taxes, and people started to wonder why the Park Grill doesn’t have to pay want all other businesses do. In addition to not paying property taxes, the Park Grill’s water, gas, and garbage bill get taken swept under the table as well. The cost of garbage pickup alone is $245,000 to taxpayers. The consequences for supporting The Park Grill’s finances certainly took a toll on the Park’s budget. The financial effects of Millennium Park on the people of Chicago are certainly not just negative.
Millennium Park doesn't just take from the city of Chicago, it also gives back. It holds over 500 free events every year. The Jay Pritzker Pavilion concerts are free on the lawn of the park, specialty membership seats in the Pavilion rage from $25-$85, bringing in revenue for the park and the artists. The Park brings in additional revenue for Chicago in a variety of ways. Not only does it encourage people to use public transportation like the Metra for events in the Park, but it also draws people to nearby attractions such as The Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing, which is conveniently located right next to the Park’s famous Lurie Garden. The BP Pedestrian Bridge links Millennium park to the new Maggie Daley Park, which attracts tourists to both locations. Revenue from private events in the Park brings in additional funds. In 2013 alone, private events in Millennium Park brought in $637,000. In addition to bringing people to other city ventures and resources, Millennium Park certainly brings in attraction to new real estate business. A simple condominium with views of Millennium Park was estimated to cost 29% more than neighbouring reality. Just in the last four years, ten new condominium projects, containing 3,600 units, are being constructed along the
Park. Millennium Park has brought many positive and negative effects to Chicago. The initial cost of the Park hurt the city and the upkeep of the Park continues to be a strain, however, the business and tourism the Park attracts creates revenue and boosts surrounding areas.
for the north side of Chicago and will be for many years in the future.
The emerald jewel of Brooklyn, Prospect Park is often called the borough’s backyard and has been a serene and idyllic retreat for Brooklynites for well over a century now. In fact, the park recently celebrated its 150th anniversary with great fanfare, attesting its historic importance and role it’s played in city life for generations. Few people, however, know the true history of the park, such as its connection to Central Park and the role it played in the development of Brooklyn real estate in the late 19th century. To that end, here’s a quick look at the hidden history of Prospect Park and the key role it’s played in the city’s history over the years.
Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing project is notorious in the United States for being the most impoverished and crime-ridden public housing development ever established. Originally established as inexpensive housing in the 1940’s, it soon became a vast complex of unsightly concrete low and high-rise apartment structures. Originally touted as a giant step forward in the development of public housing, it quickly changed from a racially and economically diverse housing complex to a predominantly black, extremely poor ghetto. As it was left to rot, so to speak, Cabrini-Green harbored drug dealers, gangs and prostitution. It continued its downward spiral of despair until the mid 1990’s when the Federal Government assumed control the Chicago Housing Authority, the organization responsible for this abomination. Cabrini-Green has slowly been recovering from its dismal state of affairs recently, with developers building mixed-income and subsidized housing. The Chicago Housing Authority has also been demolishing the monolithic concrete high-rise slums, replacing them with public housing aimed at not repeating the mistakes of the past. Fortunately, a new era of public housing has dawned from the mistakes that were made, and the lessons that were learned from the things that went on for half a century in Cabrini-Green.
The Pilsen Neighborhood is located Lower West Side of Chicago, extending approximately from Western Avenue and Blue Island Avenue to Sixteenth Street and Canal Street. (Pero.) Today Pilsen has transformed into a colorful, artistic, and beautiful community with the population majority shifted towards the Hispanic. Over the course of these years Pilsen has gone through many changes ranging from cultural to economic and societal changes that have shaped into its present day form. Pilsen’s residents have resisted attempts to gentrify their neighborhood, and have preserved the community as a gateway for Hispanic immigrants.
Echo Park, one of Los Angeles’s most well-known neighborhoods, was once associated with gang violence in the 80’s and 90’s. The crime rate in the area was to the point that many people would not dare being caught walking out after dark. Nowadays, people do not fear walking in the streets of Echo Park after dark. This new sense of safety in Echo park can be contributed to its nightlife scene characterized by Indie music venues and trendy bars. You may ask yourself how this change came about?
Chicago in the 1920s was a turning point for the development of ethnic neighborhoods. After the opening of the first rail connection from New York to Chicago in the 1840s, immigration sky rocketed from that point on. Majority of the immigrants to Chicago were Europeans. The Irish, Italians, eastern European Jews, Germans, and Mexicans were among the most common ethnicities to reside in Chicago. These groups made up the greater part of Chicago. The sudden increase in immigration to Chicago in the 1920s soon led to an even further distinguished separation of ethnicities in neighborhoods. The overall development of these neighborhoods deeply impacted how Chicago is sectioned off nowadays. Without these ethnicities immigrating to Chicago almost 100 years ago, Chicago neighborhoods would not be as culturally defined and shaped as they are today.
The “White City” was a vast collection of architecture and arts that were put on display in the year 1893. The Chicago World Fair, also called the “White City”, was a major event in American history that impacted America’s culture, economic, and industry. The Chicago World Fair was held to honor Columbus’ discovery of the New World. The real reason why it was made was to proudly have back their wealth and power. Larson said, “the tower not only assured the eternal fame of its designer, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel but also offered graphic proof that France had edged out the United States for dominance in the realm of iron and steel…”(15). To accomplish this, architects led by Daniel Burnham and John Root made numerous buildings and beautiful scenery
Gender and Race play the most prominent role in the criminal justice system. As seen in the movie Central Park 5, five African American boys were charged with the rape of the a white women. In class decision we’ve discussed how the media explodes when it reports cross-racial crimes. The Central Park 5 were known everywhere and even terms were being made up during the process such as wilding. Also, during one of the class discussions it was brought up that victims of crime are of the same race of the perpetrator. However, the media likes to sensationalize crime of the victim being of a different race, because it makes for a good story. By doing this, the media does create more of a division of race. As seen in the video Donald Trump was trying
The setting of the story is Chicago’s South Side. This area of Chicago was known as the “capital of black America” (Manning), and according to Andrew Wiese, Chicago used to be known as “the most segregated city in America” (118). These seriously contradictory statements are true. Chicago’s South Side was home to William L. Dawson, who was the most powerful black politician at the time, and Joe Luis, who was a boxing champion and was known as the most popular black man in America (Manning). It was the most popular place for blacks to migrate to during the Great Migration, and the population grew from 278,000 blacks to 813,000 blacks. Most of the neighborhoods located in the South Side were poor and highly segregated from the rich white neighborhoods located just outside the South Side (Pacyga). The housing in these areas was very poor as well. Most of the African Americans at the time lived in a small apartment called a kitchenette. These were cramped with a small kitchen and small rooms (Plotkin). Lorraine Hansberry describes the Youngers house as a worn out, cramped, and very small apartment (23). She also talks about the small kitchen, living room, and bedrooms (24). These apartments were not ideal, but it was all that many African Americans could afford. If African Americans tried to move nicer neighborhoods, whites would perform violent acts on them (Choldin). This violence was recorded in a African American newspaper, known the Chicago Defender (Best).
The Chicago Housing Authority is an agency that is at odds with its own true nature and goals. It is an agency committed to managing the welfare of the poor and disenfranchised. At the same time it is an agency with a commitment to the city of Chicago to "take care " of the Black poor problem. "Taking care" in this instance seems to mean by any means necessary. Whether Blacks are shuttled about from one part of the city to the next, stacked on top of each other like prisoners, or out and out murdered there seems to be an unspoken agenda to get rid of the problem. The dichotomy I see is that while some of the politicians and more upwardly mobile citizens of Chicago want to help poor people. They also want the problem to disappear.
Situated on the Monongahela River is the neighborhood of Southside Flats. Within it lays the entertainment hub of Pittsburgh. Numerous bars and nightspots line the main thoroughfare of E Carson St. The early history of the neighborhood saw it as a main point for industry with its proximity to the river and railway stations. At the end of the nineteenth century, the neighborhood would boast a major steelworks factory that employed a sizable portion of the residents of Southside Flats. Many of these residents emigrated from the countries of Eastern Europe and incorporated many of their traditions into the area and the neighboring Southside Slopes. This style of life would last until the early 1980s when the South Side Local Development Company was formed and the steel plant shut down. The area was absent of a major employer until the City of Pittsburgh Urban and Redevelopment Authority (URA) bought the land once occupied by the steel plant in 1993. The URA bought the land with money they borrowed from a developer that eventually led to the construction of the SouthSide Works. The complex officially opened in 2004 brought many national retailers to the Pittsburgh area. The construction of the SouthSide Works is one example of how cities have had to cope with the deindustrialization that has taken place in this country over the past 30 years. The emergence of Southside Flats as the hotspot of Pittsburgh for nightlife and shopping has caused problems for the local residents. Over the past years, there has been an increasing riff between the local residents and the patrons of the area’s bars and nightclubs. This riff grew to such an extent that the Pittsburgh police began instituting tight reg...
The Future for Chicago Public Housing In big cities across America, the consensus is public housing doesn't work. And in Chicago, it's coming down. Chicago began using federal housing dollars to blow up or knock down high-rise public housing in 1993. The plan shifted into high gear when the city signed a $1.5 billion deal with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Chicago Cubs are an interesting part of Illinois history, even if they are not always successful. The history of Wrigley Field, the famous players, and the stories behind every game are why Chicago loves the Cubs. It is the atmosphere of the friendly confines when you walk in through those gates. It is jumping out of your seat when the ball is being hit out of the park. It is things as little as singing the 7th inning stretch with all the other Cub fans around you. Rooting for the underdog is special, and that is why Cub fans are so loyal. The history, players, and stories of Chicago Cubs Baseball are the reasons why it is an important part of Illinois history.
Reshaping Metropolitan America provides an outlook of the next fifteen years for infrastructure development in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of the buildings that will be necessary to handle the projected half billion residents of the Untied States by 2030 are not built yet. We also need to reshape our cities to handle the inversion trend; families and the next generation want to move back and live near downtown. Richard C. Nelson, the author, supports this population shift but does not strongly support it. Instead of trying to create room and additional infrastructure in downtown areas, Nelson believes that metropolitan areas should start to urbanize its suburbs to accommodate desired urban living. The American population is also changing
DETROIT, known as the "Automotive Capital of the World," is the largest city in the state of Michigan. The city sits at the heart of an official three-county metropolitan region comprising Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.