Although the proposed Olympic Stadium at Washington Park for the 2016 Olympics has generated strong opinions from nearby residents, they remain indifferent when asked about the $1.1 billion Olympic Village.
A 37-acre McCormick Place truck staging area now stands at the site of the proposed village, but regardless of the Games, development of the area still will move forward.
Alfred Klinger, a member of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, opposes the Washington Park stadium but does not appear concerned about the Olympic Village.
"They're talking about just practically destroying (Washington Park) for this event that only takes place for two weeks," Klinger said. "The trucking area, that's a space that's been like that for years, and as far as I'm concerned they can do anything they want with that."
The U.S. Olympic committee unveiled plans to construct an Olympic Village south of McCormick Place along the lake that would house nearly 17,000 Olympic officials and athletes. On April 14, the USOC will choose between Chicago and Los Angeles as the host city, and the winner will enter the international bidding phase.
According to associate professor Kheir Al-Kodmany of urban design and physical planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, residents should weigh the developments' implications carefully.
"The project involves major construction work and may cause considerable interruption," Al-Kodmany said. "Careful planning, construction scheduling and informing and educating the public all need to be crafted out in order to minimize negative impact."
On Feb. 15, the Chicago Plan Commission confirmed plans to build the Olympic Village after 4th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle signed off on the plan after adjustments were granted. The Chicago 2016 Web site, www.chicago2016.org, says the village will be converted to mixed-income housing after the Olympics ends.
"The land where the village is proposed will be developed by the city but given that the plans may be different there's no construction start date," a Chicago 2016 spokeswoman said.
