Frank Laterza can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Since the Wacker Drive reconstruction began, the owner of Custom Tailor at 211 W. Wacker Drive has seen his clientele drop drastically and had to fire all four of his employees.
“We had no street, we had no sidewalk, it was awful,” said Laterza, who moved from 175 W. Jackson Blvd. to 211 W. Wacker Drive 10 years ago because of the “better location.”
The two-year, $200 million project slashed profits in half, he said.
Now, with the massive undertaking slated to be finished by Thanksgiving, Laterza and other businesses along the Wacker Drive reconstruction site are looking forward to regaining a sense of normalcy.
“I hope to get new customers from people who never came this way,” he said.
In February 2001, the Chicago Department of Transportation began renovations on the deteriorating 75-year-old roadway.
The street, which saw 60,000 vehicles and pedestrians daily before the project began, became an ever-changing maze of orange rerouting signs and construction workers.
City officials said they tried to minimize the harmful effects the project would have on businesses.
Two years before construction started, the city began communications with businesses along Wacker Drive, said Brian Steele, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation.
Steele said that the damage to businesses was minimal because the “project was done in phases.”
In addition, he said, weekly meetings were held to update business owners on the progress of the construction. And directional signs were posted and temporary sidewalks put in place to help mitigate the effects.
None of these efforts helped Caffe Baci, however. The Italian cafe at 77 W. Wacker Drive had already seen a drop in business before the construction. But the combination of a weakened economy, office vacancies that cut back the lunch crowd and the construction surrounding the eatery forced it to close in April.
Even the most enterprising businesses felt the impact of the construction.
William LeCompte, co-owner of Catch 35 at 35 W. Wacker Drive, said the restaurant was able to curb the effects of the construction by pouring money into promotions that encouraged customers to eat there, despite the inconvenience.
The restaurant doubled its marketing budget to six figures, spreading the word by sponsoring traffic updates on radio and television stations and tapping into the existing market of theater-goers by offering free valet with all downtown tickets.
LeCompte also hired additional staff, had catwalks built and posted people at the four corners of the building to escort customers in.
We would “literally hold their hands if they wanted, and bring them to our restaurant,” he said.
Catch 35’s percentage of lost profits was in the single digits. LeCompte said they lost many customers because people from the suburbs didn’t want to deal with the hassle of dodging the roadwork.
When it comes to making the best of a bad situation, Hotel 71 (formerly the Executive Plaza Hotel) may have found the best way to capitalize on circumstance.
The hotel used the timing of the construction as an opportunity to begin a $20 million renovation.
“We’ve got the most beautiful view of the Chicago River,” said Dana Klein, hotel spokeswoman. “It’s a beautiful new showcase for our hotel.”
Klein said the Wacker construction will only improve business.
The new roadway is expected to last for 100 years. And although workers will be finished with roadwork Nov. 26, the city will continue work on non-roadway lighting, sidewalk decorations and landscaping into the spring.
And with construction nearly completed, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is touting the construction effort as a success.
“This is a huge project that needs to be celebrated,” said Jerry Roper, chamber president and chief executive.
Businesses will realize the benefits of the project once people begin flocking to the downtown area, he said.
“I think that the pain people felt or thought they were going to feel, well this was well worth it,” he said.
Janet Barnes believes it will be.
The head librarian at the Christian Science Reading Room said that despite the loss of patrons and revenue at the 55 E. Wacker Drive bookstore, she has tried to stay focused on the end result.
Barnes estimates that at times there was a 50 percent to 100 percent drop in customers. Before construction began, Barnes estimates, 10 to 20 customers passed through the reading room’s doors each day. During the project there were days when no one entered it.
“I’m only anticipating progress. I really do think it’s going to be a boon to the Chicago area,” she said.
Laterza, of Custom Tailor, is not convinced.
Although his establishment survived, Laterza says he does not see how the construction will help his business.
“I don’t think there will be any benefits whatsoever,” said Laterza, who has been able to hire back only one full-time employee.
“It was good the way it was before,” he said.
