Ryan Field West Parking Lot, Northwestern University
project management
A complete reconstruction of a 7 acres of land. Development included numerous meetings with neighbors’ groups and alderman. The design for the site included extensive landscaping, LED lighting, storm water volume control facilities included 2 underground vaults, permeable pavements, and rain gardens. Working closely with the City of Evanston, and the MWRD. We obtained the approvals in a timely manner.
The existing West Parking Lot at Northwestern University’s Ryan Field did not feature any on-site stormwater management. Reconstruction and expansion of the parking lot was designed to comply with both the City of Evanston and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) requirements for both detention and volume control. The traditional detention was easy to design; however, volume control requirements prompted several challenges on this project, particularly due to the height of the seasonally high groundwater table. The final design for the volume control facilities included a shallow underground vault with perforated pipe, permeable pavements, rain gardens, and aggregate voids. Working closely with Northwestern University, the City of Evanston, and the MWRD permit engineers, we obtained the WMO permit in a timely manner, despite facing many design challenges. Construction of the facility was completed in approximately 12 weeks, in time for the 2016 football season.