Chicago’s long-held vision for establishing a continuous Riverwalk along the Chicago River within the City’s Central Area is within reach following the conclusion of agreements and financial assistance with the federal government. As plans for the construction of the Riverwalk are being finalized, the City has begun to focus on operational considerations involving revenues and costs associated with the Riverwalk, and putting into place an entity to manage the operation and promotion of the Riverwalk. The City selected Camiros to head a multi-disciplinary consulting team to study the potential for revenue generation and likely maintenance/operations costs, and to delineate the structure of a management entity to operate the Riverwalk.
In financial terms, the City would like the Riverwalk to be self-sustaining, that is, for revenues derived from the Riverwalk to be sufficient to cover operating and maintenance costs, as well as debt service on the federal loan funding Riverwalk construction. Since the design and programming of the Riverwalk was not done with this goal in mind, the Camrios team was required to not only project revenues and costs based on current plans, but to assess the potential for enhanced financial performance through re-programming of those sections of the Riverwalk which have not yet undergone final design.
The Camiros study identified a likely revenue shortfall, but identified a number of creative initiatives to add significant revenue sources to bridge the gap. These initiatives included re-programming the largest section of the Riverwalk to expand associated indoor retail space and to generate revenue within outdoor space. Other initiatives suggested potential development of unused space in the area east of Michigan Ave.
