On Monday, November 16, 2015, Primera attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the McCormick Place Event Center in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood. The 285,000 square-foot venue on the McCormick Place campus will double as an arena for DePaul University basketball in addition to being utilized for concerts, special events, and general sessions for McCormick Place conventions. The $155-million project is part of a redevelopment plan to transform the surrounding neighborhood into a vibrant entertainment district with new dining and entertainment venues, hotels and streetscapes.

Primera is providing LEED fundamental and enhanced commissioning services for the Pelli-Clarke-Pelli-Architects-designed structure. Located at the prominent corner of Cermak and Indiana, the new event center will feature a 10,500-seat arena, 22 suites, club seating, team and support services, broadcast facilities, and food and beverage concessions. The arena will be wrapped in glass and other translucent materials to allow daylight to fill the interior space and provide views of the surrounding community. Moody Nolan is the Architect of Record and is tasked with completing the initial design scheme created by the Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects/AECOM team.

“It’s an honor for Primera to be involved in another exciting addition to the McCormick Place campus, particularly one that will help transform the neighboring community,” said Adam Stribling, Primera’s Commissioning Group Manager who was on hand for Monday’s groundbreaking.

Primera has become intimately familiar with the campus over the course of the past eight years. Primera provided master planning and facility assessment services for McCormick Place’s 2020 Master Planning and later provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) and fire protection (FP) design as well as LEED fundamental commissioning for the expansion of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place that opened in 2013. In addition to the Event Center, Primera is currently tasked with providing MEP/FP design, energy modeling and LEED fundamental and enhanced commissioning for the new 40-story Marriott Marquis that’s being developed across the street. The arena project is being built by Clark Construction and seeking LEED certification. Construction is scheduled for completion prior to the 2017-2018 basketball season.