Chip Taylor

Millennium Park

An earlier post about Chicago's Millennium Park sparked a bit of discussion about private parks.

Otis White reports (no permalink, scroll down to "Worth the Wait"):

But here’s something you probably don’t know about this 25-acre public space: It’s the product of a public-private partnership, with private donors paying nearly half the cost. In fact, much of the added cost of the park was the result of donors adding things, which they paid for.

...

Corporations, foundations, wealthy individuals and nearby real-estate interests wanted not a nice new park but something that could transform Chicago’s image from hog butcher of the world to world-class arts capital.

The "nearby real-estate interests" apparently hope to recoup their investment through an increase in property values attributed to the nearby park.

I feel a little better.