The $223-million redevelopment of the area directly in front of Wrigley Field and an adjacent property across Clark Street has been touted as a new economic engine for the East Lakeview neighborhood as well as a long-term investment in club facilities by the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs.

The challenge facing architect Stantec was to develop a design that would both respect the area’s historic character and support the modern office and event space that Hickory Street Capital desired. 

“There were ideas floated around before that filled the entire area with either buildings or concrete,” says Rebel Roberts, practice design leader at Stantec.

Instead of filling the space entirely, Stantec designed a park that resembles a gigantic outdoor living room with a 30,000-sq-ft open-air plaza flanked by two six- and seven-story buildings that house the Cubs’ front office (Triangle Building) and the Hotel Zachary. The Triangle Building has a jumbo screen television that shows Cubs games when the team is away, and the plaza itself is used for a variety of events in the offseason, such as concerts, ice skating and a holiday market. The Triangle Building also contains event spaces, including a second-floor terrace and the American Airlines Conference Center. Across the street, the Hotel Zachary fulfilled the desires of both the club and out-of-town fans for a nearby hotel with more pre- and post-game bars and restaurants.

With different general contractors working on the buildings and stringent historical preservation demands for Wrigley Field, each day of construction was a closely coordinated symphony of personnel, equipment and materials conducted by owner’s representative Icon Venue Group. Subcontractors and trades established zones of influence and communication protocols to identify potential pinch points and opportunities to improve efficiencies. The schedule wasn’t impacted by another unplanned event: an extended 2016 Cubs postseason that ended with a World Series Championship.