In the Spring of 1999, U.S. Equities was retained by Millennium Park, Inc., a non-profit donor group, to act as owner’s representative for the more than $100 million donor-funded enhancements to Chicago’s new world-class park, located within Grant Park between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive along Lake Michigan. Commissioned by some of the most important architects and artists in the world, the enhancements include the Frank Gehry-designed music pavilion, trellis and pedestrian bridge, the McCormick Tribune ice skating rink and plaza, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain, Cloud Gate, a monumental public sculpture by Anish Kapoor, recreation of the original 1917 Grant Park peristyle, and the two-acre Kathryn Gustafson-designed Shoulder Gardens. U.S. Equities was originally retained to negotiate the Gehry contract, which led to the prestigious program management assignment.

The Pritzker Music Pavilion, intended as a focal point for the new park, is a highly sculptured design element, clad in stainless steel panels, visible from surrounding city streets. Designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, the Pritzker Pavilion accommodates a 120-piece orchestra and a 150-member choral terrace. Huge glass doors closing off the proscenium arch allow the pavilion to be used during winter months for special functions, including banquets, receptions, and lectures. A decorative lighting system will enhance evening performances at the pavilion with colored light washes.

Performance sound is reinforced and enhanced by speaker-clusters located in front of the Pritzker Pavilion. In addition, a distributed sound system was suspended from the trellis, in the shape of a flattened dome spans the entire 600-foot length and 300 foot width of the Great Lawn. The sound system provides a fuller sense of the onstage performance and control the sound level in surrounding neighborhoods.

Seating is provided in two areas: main fixed-seats located immediately adjacent to the Pavilion accommodate up to 4,000 people and the Great Lawn area accommodates another 7,000. Additionally, a Gehry-designed BP Pedestrian Bridge spans Columbus Drive and links the Pritzker Pavilion and the Great Lawn to the eastern portion of Grant Park and Lake Michigan. The pavilion and pedestrian bridge are unique in that they were designed and constructed utilizing CATIA software, a 3-dimensional modeling software originally devised for the aircraft industry.

In addition to management of the design and construction of the Pritzker Pavilion and the BP Pedestrian Bridge, U.S. Equities oversaw the following components of the park:

• engineering and fabrication of the 110-ton Cloud Gate sculpture, including directing the strategic approach and handling of all regulatory issues concerning on-site assembly of the California-fabricated sculpture;

• development, including design and construction of the Plensa-designed Crown Fountain, a one-of-a-kind water feature using cutting-edge engineering and technology that combines water effects, high-definition video images and varied lighting effects;
• cost control and analysis of all enhancement projects;

• architecture and engineering of the recreated 1917 peristyle;

• bidding and procurement of the specialized sound system for the Pritzker Pavilion;

• bidding and procurement, including order management, of specialized refrigeration equipment for the ice rink; and
• acted as the donor group’s advocate on all city-administered work and construction affecting the enhancements.

Millennium Park officially opened to the public on July 16, 2004.