Built in 1974 with a generous and visionary donation from the Crown family, the Robert Crown Center has long served as an important social and recreational hub for the City of Evanston. The Center offers a valuable venue for hockey, figure skating, soccer, football, lacrosse, dancing, summer camps, pre-school and many other community programs. Now this vital shared resource is showing severe wear with a number of civil, structural, architectural and mechanical issues, and no longer adequately meets the growing needs of the surrounding community. To continue to provide innovative programs and services in a safe, modern environment the facilities must be re-envisioned.  For information on this project during construction, please visit Bulley & Andrews Robert Crown Community Center, Ice Complex and Library website.

To learn more about the history of the Robert Crown Community Center click here.

Construction Management Services: City Council approved release of Request for Proposal for Construction Management Services, and approved Schematic Design in September 2017. Schematic Design Presentation. Bulley & Andrews were approved by City Council on February 26, 2018. Robert Crown Construction Manager; Contractor Services Agreement with Bulley & Andrews: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Design Development: Summer 2018

Construction Documents: Summer 2018

Construction: Summer 2018 through February 2020

• August 2018 - Site Cleared
• November 2018 - Structure
• December 2018 - Exterior Walls
• March 2019 - Exterior Glazing
• June 2019 - Perimeter Site Work
• March 2020 - New Building 
• Spring 2020 - Demolition , Parking Lot Construction
• Spring 2020 - Field Construction, Landscaping
• Summer 2020 - Athletic Fields Complete

Opening: Building- late 2019 / Fields- July 2020

The City will be funding the $53 million project through a combination of General Obligation Bonds, existing fund balance transfers, and capital gifts through the Friends of Robert Crown Center Fundraising. The funding plan for the project can be found here:Crown Project Funding Plan. A debt service schedule for bonds issued on the project can be found here: Crown Debt Service Projection (updated June 17, 2019 to reflect final 2019A bond numbers). Detail on how the costs for the project have evolved over time can be found here. 

View the data View the data

ROBERT CROWN PROJECT BOND INFORMATION  

 2019A Bond Details

• $15 million project fund in 2019 (par amount not-to-exceed $18 million)
• Capitalized interest through 12/1/19
• 12/1/2043 final maturity to match 2018A series
• Principal amortization begins 2022
• No additional TEFRA authorization required; covered under prior (2018)

  Key Results	2019A
  Par	$12,750,000
  Total Interest Cost	$10,136,812.50
  Average Annual Debt Service	$935,109
  Total Debt Service	$22,886,812.50
  TIC	3.274429%
  Arbitrage Yield	2.487345%

Impact of the Project Debt Service on the City’s Property Tax 

M/W/EBE Participation most recent survey:
Bulley & Andrews MWEBE Participation Survey Spreadsheet - August

 
SOAR (Skills Opportunities And Resources) program (participants were already selected):

Week 7:

Alex Castro with the assistant PM from Air Design UIC labs.

Alex Castro, and the Air Design Systems team making operation Christmas child boxes for disadvantaged children. We made 144 shoeboxes filled with goodies for kids.

From a session on career path alternatives.                         From the estimating / scheduling training sessions.

Week 8-9:

Arthur Jones verifying parts and reviewing paperwork

Week 9-10:

Exploring a job at 333 Green Chicago down by Fulton Market with Sterling Bay as the developer.

Approved by the City Council: 

Naming Rights Agreement - Wintrust, $500,000 to name Field 3 "Wintrust Field" and multipurpose room 103 "Wintrust Conference Room"

Naming Rights Agreement - Valli, $250,000 to name lobby "Valli Produce Fresh Market Lobby"

Use Agreement - Chicago Young Americans Amateur Hockey Association

Use Agreement - Evanston Youth Hockey Association

Program Partnership Agreement - Northwestern University

MOU - Friends of the Robert Crown Center

Drafts
(Agreements below are tentatively scheduled for approval by City Council in September, 2019 - Subject to potential/additional changes) 

Draft Naming Rights Agreement- Northshore University HealthSystem

Meetings and Informational Events

The Friends of the Robert Crown Center is a volunteer-led nonprofit organization that is pursuing fundraising of the new Robert Crown Community Center, Ice Complex and Library .  This landmark initiative has received overwhelming early support from area families and institutions, securing millions in generous gifts and pledges! The campaign will continue reaching out to the entire community - including neighbors, community service groups, athletic teams, educational organizations, and all of the families and businesses with a stake in preserving and strengthening this vital shared resource.

www.friendsofcrown.org

Memorandum of Understanding with Friends of Robert Crown

Friends of Robert Crown Center

Projected gifts to City - as of June 3, 2019

The new Robert Crown Community Center and surrounding park will feature:

• Two full-sized ice rinks
• A new branch of the Evanston Public Library
• An indoor multi-sport athletic space
• An indoor running track
• Artificial turf fields for soccer, baseball, lacrosse, football, etc.
• Meeting spaces and multipurpose community rooms
• Redesigned locker rooms and other amenities
• Daycare and camp facilities
• Walking path
• Many more vital services and usable spaces for Evanston families

 Robert Crown Community Center Frequently Asked Questions

What is the status of the construction?   Is the project on schedule?

As of December 1, 2019, the contractor is working to finish the building.  They are also installing the stormwater detention basin located along the north edge of the site.  The building is expected to be complete in January. Demolition of the existing Robert Crown building is planned to occur beginning in late January.  The parking lot and artificial turf fields will be constructed in spring.

The project has been impacted by weather delays caused by the large amount of rain this area received in spring 2019.  On October 14, 2019, the City Council approved a time extension for the building construction, delaying the building completion by 53 days to December 27, 2019.  This does not affect the overall completion date of the remainder of the project (including the parking lot and the athletic fields) which are required to be complete by mid-summer. 

When will the facilities be available for public use?

There is a soft-open of just the ice rink facilities scheduled for January 4, 2020.  The entire building is planned to be opened by January 27.

Why are artificial turf fields being installed?  Why aren’t the fields being left as natural grass?

Natural turf fields cannot sustain the continual use our residents and programs demand, resulting in grass deterioration, poor field conditions and an inferior play experience. Additionally, field recovery following inclement weather is a significant problem as a result of rainfall intensity and the poorly draining underlying soils present at the majority of City parks. As a result, our athletic affiliate organizations operate with substandard playing surfaces and must often cancel games altogether.

Artificial turf fields are designed to accept significantly more intense and consistent use as well as to recover quickly following inclement weather. They have been selected for installation at Crown to provide higher quality athletic opportunities within the City’s public park system needed to support existing programs.

How many artificial turf fields will there be?

The athletic fields will address a variety of sports including soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball and softball. Each of these sports will use overlapping portions of the athletic field area. The total number of fields by sport are: three soccer fields, one football field, one lacrosse field, and two baseball/softball fields, however not all sports can be played at the same time.

What materials will the artificial turf be constructed of?  

The artificial turf is comprised of a system of components which taken together create a high quality athletic surface which simulates natural grass. Components include a 2-inch high tufted, monofilament fiber grass-like fabric, infilled with a layered system of 50% rounded silica sand and 50% recycled EPDM rubber placed above a 0.91-inch polyethylene foam shock pad. The entire system is constructed above a layer of drainage aggregate to carefully control field grades and provide drainage. A link to the Material Safety Data Sheet for the EPDM rubber can be found here.

How were the artificial turf materials selected?

The City hired Woodhouse Tinucci Architects to provide the design for the new Robert Crown Community Center.  Their team included a firm that specializes in the design of sports fields and artificial turf systems, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company.  The consultant evaluated multiple products and companies to design the artificial turf system. On May 21, 2018, before the contract for construction was approved, staff presented the City Council with a summary of the information provided by the consultant.  At that meeting, a concern was brought up about the use of crumb rubber as an infill material. Although staff has not been able to find any peer-reviewed, in-depth studies indicating a health hazard from the use of crumb rubber, members of the City Council expressed concerns about its use and directed staff to look at alternates.  On July 9, 2018 the staff made a recommendation to the City Council for award of the construction contract to Bulley & Andrews. At that time, staff recommended using an alternative to crumb rubber, which was recycled EPDM, in order to address the City Council’s concern.

What is recycled EPDM rubber?

EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) is a polymer elastomer with high resistance to abrasion and wear and will not change its solid form under high temperatures. The material is commonly recycled from sealants, tubing and roofing products. EPDM has proved its durability as an infill product in all types of climates. It has better than average elasticity and resistance to atmospheric agents and provides a stable, high-performance infill product. The recycled EPDM infill planned for use on the Crown project is compliant with the testing requirements of ASTM F3188-16, Standard Specification for Extractable Hazardous Metals in Synthetic Turf Infill Materials and EN 71-3, Safety of Toys Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements - Material of Category III.

What other artificial turf fields in Evanston use recycled EPDM rubber?

Evanston Township High School and Quad Indoor Sports both utilize EPDM rubber infill materials.

Where can I find more information about artificial turf?

Additional information on artificial turf systems can be found on the Chicago Park District’s website linked here. Please note that the Chicago Park District utilizes crumb rubber infill in its artificial turf fields, a material that the City of Evanston is not using.

I have heard that there was dust blowing off the site onto neighboring properties.  What is the contractor doing to control this?

During the fall the contractor excavated a large part of the site to install a stormwater detention system. That effort exposed a significant area of soil which was thus susceptible to windborne erosion in dry/windy conditions. It is anticipated that additional soil disturbance will occur again in the spring of 2020 when construction of the new athletic fields gets underway.

To help control erosion, the contractor is required to provide temporary seeding for all disturbed areas where activities have temporarily (14 calendar days or more) or permanently ceased. For areas that are actively being worked on, the contractor is required to wet down those areas to reduce windborne erosion as much as possible. The City will continue to work with the contractor to ensure that soil erosion from the site is minimized.

There are times when vibration from the construction can be felt on neighboring properties.  Is this causing damage to my house?

No. Vibration monitoring equipment has been placed near the Crown construction site in order to assess actual activity and alert the contractor in the event construction related vibrations approach levels which could potentially lead to damage. After reviewing the recorded data, the vibration monitoring engineer has indicated that to date all recorded vibration levels are considered extremely low and at worst approximately one-tenth the magnitude needed before even minor effects could occur on an adjacent structure. 

What is going to happen to the existing Crown Community Center building?

Once the new building opens in January, the existing building will be demolished.  This is expected to occur in February, although the demolition may begin earlier or later depending on the schedule of other construction activities and the weather.  

The first step will be to mitigate the asbestos in the building.  An evaluation of the asbestos has already been completed, and a firm specializing in asbestos remediation has been engaged for the removal.

The next step will be to demolish the building itself.  During the demolition, the contractor will divide the above-grade building into sections and completely disassemble each section by carefully cutting the structure into pieces.  Once that is complete, the contractor will excavate out the below-grade structure including the foundations.  

The contractor will work to minimize dust by keeping all of the material wet. The work is going to occur during allowable construction hours.  The contractor will try to reduce noise by cutting the structure at weak points, but there will be some noise and vibration, especially when the foundation is excavated.  There should not be any noise at night. In total, the work is expected to take approximately 6 weeks.

What is the status of gift agreements for the new center?  How would the public be able to see all of the agreements?

All agreements are presented for discussion at City Council meetings and are publically approved by the City Council.  However, agreements are only presented to City Council once both parties have agreed to all details. A list of user agreements is located on the City's Robert Crown website at: https://www.cityofevanston.org/residents/robert-crown-community-center-ice-complex-and-library under Naming Rights/User Agreements. 

I keep hearing different numbers about how much this project will cost.  What is the cost of the project and how does the fundraising help?

The total cost of the project is $53M and that includes design, construction, furniture, equipment and fundraising costs.  The Friends of the Robert Crown Center (FRCC) have committed to raising $15M for the project. The City has already received $5M from the FRCC, which went directly towards construction, reducing the cost of the project to $48M.

 The FRCC are set to give an additional $1M in 2020 and the rest in future years, which will go directly to pay back the bonds that were sold to fund the project.  The tentative schedule of repayment is on the City website at https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showdocument?id=49077