The Chicago City Council has approved the upcoming DePaul University Athletics building at 2300 North Sheffield Avenue in Lincoln Park. The proposal was introduced over a year ago and has undergone several aesthetic iterations since then. It also received Plan Commission approval approximately one month ago.
Site context of DePaul Facility by Antunovich Associates and HNTB
Site context of DePaul Facility by Antunovich Associates and HNTB
Located at the corner of West Belden Avenue, the three-story structure is being designed by Antunovich Associates and HNTB and will replace a handful of existing residential buildings often used by students. This development comes as the university aims to cut $27 million in spending, a move that led to the layoff of 114 staff members last week.
Updated rendering of new facility by Antunovich Associates and HNTB
The $42 million project will serve approximately 215 students and is expected to bolster the school’s athletic reputation and recruiting efforts. The ground floor will include a large weight room, a muscle rehabilitation clinic with a hot/cold spa, a nutrition bar, and office space. The project also features various sidewalk improvements and landscaping.
Floor plans of DePaul Facility by Antunovich Associates and HNTB
The second floor will be primarily occupied by locker rooms, a student workspace, a mental wellness clinic, and offices for the school’s athletic teams. The third floor will be anchored by two regulation-size basketball courts, along with team meeting spaces, a cardio room, and a player lounge located above a central mezzanine.
Rendering of new facility by Antunovich Associates and HNTB
The building will be clad in brick on the lower levels to align with the surrounding historic context, while the upper floors will feature metal panels and large-format windows surrounding the courts. With approval secured, the university can now apply for permits for the facility. Previous timelines indicate a groundbreaking after the current school year, followed by a two-year construction schedule.
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$27 million in cuts, but building a $47 million new practice facility that demolishes dozens of student housing units in fantastic old buildings? Man, this deal reeks. We need to tax the universities.
I get the argument you are trying to make that universities need to be taxed, but this will only further hurt the students and staff, as student aid and the staff cuts would be the result. Universities provide a huge benefit overall to the city, and already make decisions to invest in students and community services that would otherwise be unwise financial decisions, but are inline with their overall mission.
I am not against making Division 1 athletics and their related facilities non-tax exempt. Especially with the NIL landscape these have turned into separate profit entities that really don’t further the overall mission of the University. The same way that Universities still pay property taxes on retail buildings that they rent out, the athletic facilities should at a minimum fall under the same category.
Tax churches instead.
The building is tasteful and compatible with the contemporary-retro style of DePaul’s newer buildings. It’s a bit puzzling to parse out what the school wants its athletic profile to be. It’s been a peripheral competitor for decades, and this seems like a step aimed at changing that. But will it somehow attract more students with incrementally better sports teams?
This building only should have been approved with the condition DePaul brings back the 1980s logo.