Chicago Premium Outlets

A 140-acre retail development located at I-88 and Farnsworth Road, this project has 80-acres of wetlands and floodplain, 60 acres and 435,000-square-feet of retail space, and involved complex engineering, traffic, wetland and watershed issues.

Approximately 3,500-linear-feet of adjacent public roadway were improved, including design of a signalized intersection.

V3 led detailed design and coordinated with the building and landscape architects.

Hardscape coordination, accessibility design, drainage design and balanced earthwork were all key components of the project.

Designated as “critical” for future regional flood storage, 70% of the property was regulatory floodplain and floodway with 23-acres of wetlands that included 1.6-acres of quality forested wetlands.

To achieve desired visibility from the interstate, 98 acre-feet of floodplain needed to be filled and 21.3-acres of wetlands were impacted.

The final design replaced the 98 acre-feet of storage and created an additional 300 acre-feet. Wetland impacts were mitigated, including restoring a 3,200-foot channelized farm ditch to a 4,200-foot meandering stream with in-stream habitat structures.

The 80-acre wetland/floodplain corridor was designed with five appropriate native plant communities and best management practices wildlife habitats. Also included were three years of program management and permit assistance through municipal, state and federal regulatory agencies.

The 40-acre expansion area will include 2,400 additional parking stalls and expanded stormwater management facilities. A key challenge will be to complete construction quickly and efficiently while minimizing disturbance to the extremely successful retail operation.

2008 Conservation & Native Landscaping Award, US Environmental Protection Agency and Chicago Wilderness.