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Marina City Coasts Through Landmarks Hearing Without Opposition

By Ted Cox | October 16, 2015 11:35am
 There appears to be no opposition to Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City complex being designated a Chicago landmark.
There appears to be no opposition to Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City complex being designated a Chicago landmark.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

CITY HALL — Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City complex is coasting through the process to be designated a city landmark without opposition.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks held a public hearing on the matter at City Hall Friday, with no one raising opposition.

Mariah DiGrino, attorney for the hotel owners of what was originally a 10-story office building in the complex, testified Friday that "ownership is not prepared to support or object" to the landmark designation.

According to Eleanor Gorski, of the Department of Planning and Development, the House of Blues took the position that it does not consent to the landmark designation, but as a renter of the theater building on the site, not as its owner.

By contrast, Bonnie McDonald, president of Landmarks Illinois, testified that a recent survey showed a majority of the condo residents in the twin Marina City towers were in favor. She said Landmarks Illinois had been in "full support" on the move since 1990 to preserve and protect what she called "the corncobs."

Matt Crawford, of the Department of Planning and Development, testified that the complex meets five of the seven criteria for protection. He called Marina City "an icon of Chicago architecture" and "the defining project" of Goldberg's career as an architect.

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) suggested and supports the designation, Crawford said.

Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, called the complex "a city within a city," adding that it "greatly transformed" River North. He called the towers "revolutionary" with their "expressionistic ... petal balconies."

Commissioner Carmen Rossi acted as chairman of the hearing and said the proposal would proceed to the commission's next meeting, Nov. 5, for a final decision on whether to recommend that the City Council grant landmark status to Marina City.

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