- Ken Redeker
- The Chicago Park District received $120,000 to allow the PNC bank branch to set up in Grant Park.
How much is a piece of Grant Park worth? The question looms after officials turned over a slice of the park to a private company for $120,000.
“The Chicago Park District seeks creative ways to raise revenue to support its parks and programs in neighborhoods throughout the city,” Jessica Maxey-Faulkner, a spokeswoman for the district, wrote in an e-mail. “We have largely received positive feedback on our efforts to maximize non-tax revenues.”
Park District officials say the PNC pop-up branch was only temporary, which Maxey-Faulkner defined as “a short term, removable promotion or structure.”
Bob O’Neill, president of the Grant Park Conservatory, said he wasn’t bothered by the pop-up bank and heard only a couple complaints about it. He said the park can struggle to bring in vendors and other sources of revenue, and that promotions like the bank can be helpful as long as they stay “within reason.”
Francis is also in the early stages of a battle over the location of the George Lucas museum, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel has designated for a stretch of public lakefront property south of Soldier Field. There’s a good chance that matter will end up in court.
