Citizens Park
Barrington, Illinois

In a multi-phase project, the Barrington Park District converted the 55-acre Jewel Tea property into a passive recreation park and supporting facilities. The project included demolition of a 650,000 sf food processing plant, and environmental remediation and cleanup. The new park includes 1.5 miles of paths, picnic groves, picnic shelters, playgrounds, an outdoor amphitheater, the first accessible tree house in Illinois, lighted athletic courts, and a nine-acre open meadow.

GHA provided parking projections and traffic impact studies, detailed drainage and flood studies approved by the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, offsite roadway improvements on US Rte.14, site grading, onsite roadways, design of water and sewer systems to service the park facilities, ALTA and topographic surveys, a Plat of Subdivision, and various plats of easement, vacation, and abrogation.

The site was designed in an environmentally sensitive manner to minimize the impact to over 1,000 existing mature trees and 10 acres of wetlands. Lake Zurich Road, which formerly bisected the property, was relocated. Funding for the project included grants from Lake County Brownfield, Illinois Brownfield, and Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD).

Loyola Academy West Athletic Campus
Glenview, Illinois

Loyola Academy purchased a closed construction products landfill site as a home for their proposed West Athletic Campus. The property falls under the jurisdiction of multiple governmental agencies, including the IEPA (Land, Water Supply, and Water Pollution), the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Northfield Township, and the Village of Glenview.

The campus includes five soccer, one lacrosse, two baseball, and two softball fields, all to IHSA standards, as well as concession stands, athletic field lighting, parking, and maintenance facilities. GHA provided boundary and topographic surveying, site planning, preliminary and final engineering, traffic engineering, permitting, construction staking, and construction observation.

Since this site was a closed landfill, all of the excavation for buildings, utilities, etc. fell under intense regulatory scrutiny. Clay cap integrity and future differential settlement were the major concerns. Challenges included strict excavation and utility installation specifications, and a highly aggressive design and construction schedule.

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
Bed Replacement Tower
Park Ridge, Illinois

Since 1981, GHA has been assisting Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (ALGH) with a variety of projects on the 77 acre campus, including the Cancer Care Center, Yacktman Children’s Pavilion, Emergency Department expansion, two parking garages, parking lot reconstruction, two major stormwater storage lakes, and a campus-wide dedicated sanitary sewer system.

Most recently, ALGH added a 380,000sf Bed Replacement Tower to the north side of the existing Hospital. The project included the relocation of roadways and utilities, garage and pedestrian access improvements, and incorporated permeable pavement, rain gardens, and a green roof.

GHA provided complete civil and traffic engineering and surveying services; stormwater and flood modeling; design of permeable pavement with stone void storage and rain gardens to limit stormwater runoff; detention under multiple criteria; traffic signal and intersection designs; phased parking, access, and roadway improvements; temporary offsite parking; and a redesign of the south campus primary access and parking.

Panduit World Headquarters
Tinley Park, Illinois

GHA assisted Panduit Corp. with the development of their 52-acre World Headquarters facility in the Tinley Park. The project involved construction of three buildings, two naturalized detention basins, internal roadways, parking lots with bioswale islands, and 15.7 acres of compensatory storage open space.

Numerous site constraints, including the intrusion of wetlands and inclusion in a Special Flood Hazard Area, left the property unviable to standard development. Previously the site of a campground and RV park, a portion of the site was occupied by a large recreational pond. Additionally, the Union Drainage Ditch runs along the southern portion of the site, and the Buckeye Natural Gas Pipeline bisects the entire eastern parcel. GHA created compensatory flood storage on the eastern parcel and developed natural areas dedicated to the Village for conservation easements. A bridge crossing over the Union Drainage Ditch eliminated the need for full-access off 80th Avenue.

LEED Gold Certification is being pursued. Green design elements include a roof garden, rainwater harvesting system, creation of wetlands for stormwater infiltration, pervious pavement surfaces, and bioswales.

Wildwood Subdivision
McHenry County, Illinois

This 115-acre planned unit development was designed to incorporate the natural features of the site and retain the existing topography, imposing minimal disturbance to the natural resources. Several sustainable design practices were incorporated in order to preserve existing tracts of late hardwood forests and wetlands.

GHA designed over one mile of permeable roadway, the first of its kind in McHenry County. An extensive underdrain system eliminated the need for roadside ditches throughout the subdivision, reducing the size and length of the storm sewer system. A series of rain gardens were also incorporated to work with the existing drainage and wetlands, filtering stormwater runoff.

GHA provided an extensive tree survey, construction layout and staking services for the permeable roadway, and coordination with McHenry County, the McHenry County Soil & Water Conservation District, and the USACE.