Lori Healey, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), will be the guest speaker at the CISCO (Construction Industry Service Corporation) annual luncheon on April 22.
MPEA owns McCormick Place, the nation’s largest convention center; Navy Pier, Illinois’ top-visited tourist destination; and the 1,258 room Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.
The City of Chicago on March 23 issued a $150 million building permit for “full building review for proposed event center at McCormick Place as per plans.” See separate story.
In her role as CEO, Ms. Healey oversees the development of the McCormick Collection which includes a 10,000 seat event center and a 1,206-room Marriott Marquis Headquarters Hotel, scheduled for completion in 2017.
Among her many career accomplishments, Healey coordinated the organizational and planning activities for the 2012 NATO Summit, was president of Chicago 2016 where she was responsible for leading Chicago’s Olympic bid, and was Mayor Richard M. Daley’s chief of staff.
The development projects are part of Mayor Emanuel’s Elevate Chicago initiative announced two years ago by the City of Chicago, MPEA and Navy Pier to advance Chicago’s tourism and convention sector while also revitalizing city neighborhoods, spurring economic growth and creating jobs.
The ambitious tourism and tradeshow infrastructure redevelopment program combines nearly $640 million in new investments with $470 million of additional revenue to become a $1.1 billion program that will create 10,000 construction jobs, 3,700 permanent jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual economic growth.
The program features two major components: creation of a McCormick Place entertainment district (Marriott Marquis Chicago and the 10,000-seat Event Center included) and the redevelopment of Navy Pier.
Tickets are $75 each. The event takes place at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 1901 Woodfield Rd., Schaumburg. For more information and to purchase tickets, see the CISCO link.
