Mayor Emanuel today announced the recently completed sections of the Chicago Riverwalk has been named a finalist for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA). RBA is a biennial design award recognizing transformative places that contribute to the economic, environmental and social vitality of American cities.

“I am proud that the Chicago Riverwalk is being recognized for its incredible impact in reshaping the way people are able to interact with the Chicago River,” Mayor Emanuel said. “The riverfront investments we’ve made throughout the City are increasing river access, increasing recreational opportunities and promoting economic growth.”

The Chicago Riverwalk is one of five finalists for RBA's 2017 Gold and Silver medal prizes. The Gold Medalist will receive $50,000 and four Silver Medalists will each receive $10,000 to enhance their projects. Finalists and medalists are chosen by a nationwide committee of urban experts through an in-depth evaluation process involving input from the award application, site visits, interviews with project participants and community members, and committee discussions. The committee will select the medal winners in June.

"The Riverwalk represents an extraordinary commitment from the City of Chicago to provide its citizens and visitors with a waterfront experience like nowhere else,” said Gina Ford, lead designer from Sasaki. “We are thrilled to see it acknowledged as one of the best of the nation's urban investments."

The three newest sections, or “rooms,” of the Riverwalk were completed in October of 2016 and include:

• The Water Plaza: A water feature for children and families to engage with water at the river’s edge. (From LaSalle to Wells.)
• The Jetty: A series of piers and floating wetland gardens with interactive learning about the ecology of the river, including opportunities for fishing and identifying native plants. (From Wells to Franklin.)
• The Riverbank: An accessible walkway and new marine edge creates access to Lake Street and features a public lawn at the confluence. It provides an accessible route from lower to upper Wacker and Lake Street. The City is continuing to explore possibilities for how the room can be developed. (From Franklin to Lake.)

The first three rooms opened in May of 2015 and extended the Riverwalk from its terminus at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at State Street. They include:

• The Marina Plaza: Restaurants and outdoor seating with views of vibrant life on the water, including passing barges, water taxis and sightseeing boats. (From State to Dearborn.)
• The Cove: Also includes a restaurant, a kayak information center, and docking for human-powered crafts enable physical connections to the water through recreation. (From Dearborn to Clark.)
• The River Theater: A sculptural staircase linking Upper Wacker and the Riverwalk offers pedestrian connectivity to the water’s edge and seating, while trees provide greenery and shade. (From Clark to LaSalle.)

The six-block section of the Riverwalk was designed by a team of architects including Sasaki and Ross Barney Architects and was constructed by Alfred Benesch & Co. Engineers and Walsh Construction. The project was funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (TIFIA) program which provided a loan of $98 million. Additionally, the project received $10 million in state funding. For more information on the Chicago Riverwalk, please visit www.chicagoriverwalk.us.

For more information about the Rudy Bruner award finalists, visit www.rudybruneraward.org/

###