SOUTH LOOP — Newly released renderings of Fred Anderson Park showcase added highlights to the dog park and surrounding landscaping, including concrete "streams" a few inches deep and waterfalls controlled by buttons for park visitors to activate themselves.
The Chicago Park District began moving forward with plans to upgrade the park at 1629 S. Wabash St. in the South Loop last summer after six years of planning. It's set to be completed by this fall.
Lizzie Schiffman walks us through the "futuristic" design elements of the park:
The park was designed by architectural firm Altamanu and is being built by Robe Construction Inc. Altamanu the week released new renderings of the planned park, which includes a dog-friendly area with artificial turf for both large and small dogs, and a dog drinking fountain.
"I wanted to thank you and congratulate you ... for naming the park for Fred, for getting it funded, for getting it designed, for working with the neighbors and the musicians to say 'This is gonna be Fred Anderson Park," said Andy Pierce, a supporter of the park, addressing the park district board last summer after it voted to begin a construction on the park.
After famed Anderson, a famed Chicago jazz saxophonist, died in 2010, fans rallied for the new South Loop park to be named in his memory.
Other improvements planned for the park include planters, concrete walkways, lighting, benches, picnic tables, shade canopies, ornamental fences and a community area where Park District Supt. and CEO Michael Kelly hopes to see "jazz music in some way, shape or form."
Pierce said programming plans will be similar to performances at the jazz-focused Tuesdays on the Terrace series at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
"That's the quality we're shooting for," he said.
