Creating A Magical Loop

Michael Edwards sees the Chicago Loop as Disney sees its theme parks.

When people go downtown to those 35 blocks and 1.58 square miles that make up Chicago’s central business district, what they experience needs to exceed their expectations and encourage them to return, he said.

That’s the Disney approach to its theme parks, said Edwards, president and CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance.

“It has to be cleaner and feel safer than they expect. Things need to be in their place,” Edwards said. “If there's graffiti, if there's broken sidewalks, if there's trash overflowing, people get a creepy feeling and they don't come back.”

Edwards was a panelist at an event earlier this year put on by Northwestern Engineering’s Master of Science in Executive Management for Design and Construction (EMDC) program. The event was called BuiltX, short for Northwestern’s Built Environment Exchange, and featured an all-star panel of those in the built environment.

Joining Edwards on the panel were:  

• Dave Alexander, senior vice president of F.H. Paschen 
• Jeff Breaden, executive vice president of The Prime Group Inc. 
• Linda Goodman, founding principal of Goodman Williams Group 

The event’s theme spoke directly to Edwards’ passion: “Reactivating the Loop.” It was hosted in partnership with the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). 

“I thought the event was terrific,” he said. “The Loop is changing, and we have a new customer base.”  

That new base is made up of fewer office workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a sudden transition to more work-from-home jobs. Now, those coming downtown are more likely to be tourists or regional residents taking in a show than they were before the pandemic. 

“The Loop can no longer be solely a business district,” Goodman said. “It needs to contain a mix of uses bringing people who want to live, work, and play there." 

Edwards’ mission is to help correct what he said are some misperceptions about the Loop – that it is overrun with crime and that its entertainment and dining options close early. Neither, he said, are true.  

The BuiltX event provided a forum for Edwards and others to inspire those who could help in the future development of the Chicago Loop and other downtown areas. EMDC students could be pivotal in forming and executing plans that help bring more people to the Loop, the panelists said.  

Edwards said he enjoyed talking with the EMDC students in attendance.  

“I was impressed with their knowledge and their background and the kind of projects that they're working on here in Chicago and beyond,” he said. “The folks who are graduating from EMDC will bridge the gap between what architects want and what contractors want.”  

Edwards himself serves in such a role. His job involves trying to convince city leaders to make worthwhile investments that build positive momentum. The ability to build relationships is key, Edwards told the students.  

“It takes a person who likes to work with people and who people like to work with,” he said. “Then it becomes fun, how you can advance things through the system.”