Construction update March 2023: Library and Forum trade work begins

Two construction workers wearing bright orange and yellow vests and white hard hats appear to unload planks of wood. They stand in a cavernous room of concrete filled with insulation and other building materials.

March 14, 2023

The floor slab on the underground level of the Forum and Library Buildings is almost completely poured and work has begun to build the support deck for the street level floor of the Forum Building. Floor slabs for both levels of the two-story parking garage have also been poured and the roof at the northern end of the garage has also been installed.

As the Center continues to take shape, we are thrilled to reach a new milestone in its construction: There are now spaces in the Forum and Library where other construction trade work can begin! In the lower level of the parking garage, piping from the geothermal wells that were drilled at the start of construction are being extended and collected together in a set of “manifolds” that will support all of the Center’s heating and cooling equipment.

Additionally, at the northeast corner of the underground level of the Museum Building, one of two major mechanical rooms that will serve the building is now being built.

Two construction workers wearing bright orange and yellow vests and white hard hats appear to unload planks of wood. They stand in a cavernous room of concrete filled with insulation and other building materials.

At the end of January, progress towards ambitious workforce and business diversity goals for construction reflected the following:

  • 54 percent of construction contracts have been awarded to diverse vendors.

  • 31 percent of the workforce hired live in the South and West Sides of Chicago.

  • 228 candidates in jobs around the city.

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Construction update March 2023: Library and Forum trade work begins

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