The answers to the questions below were provided by the LG Pershing Sound Studios LLC development team in response to questions from the public. The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is reproducing the responses with light edits for clarity and conciseness.

What kind of vehicle traffic does the Pershing Studio proposal anticipate along Pershing Road?
Our plan calls for replacement of the Streets & Sanitation building at 1717 W. Pershing Road. Much of that land area will be replaced with the proposed sound stages, so the surface area dedicated to parking will shrink somewhat, to be replaced by some structured parking placed within the 1769 W. Pershing Building. Our impression is that there should be little net change in traffic relative to the current situation. However, we expect that this traffic will involve more standard automobile traffic and less truck traffic than that currently generated by Streets & Sanitation. Based on standard studio operations, truck movements represent less than 10% of trip generation. Studio-generated traffic: Cast and crew generally arrives between 5 and 7 a.m. During the day, there will be limited in and out traffic. Departures will likely be concentrated between 5 and 7 p.m.  

Has the Pershing Studios proposal team considered any sustainability measures to mitigate resource-intensive uses such as soundstages?
Inasmuch as soundstages are very large, open cubes with few interior walls and utility infrastructure, we are not certain that they are resource intensive. But as a general strategy we intend to:

• Use all possible means of using sustainable construction methodologies. For example, we will recycle the concrete from the partial demolition of the back of 1769 W. Pershing Road and use it for new construction of the sound stages. This will reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, minimize embodied carbon, and avoid transportation of such materials to landfills.
• Follow the City of Chicago’s Sustainable Design Guidelines regarding energy codes, stormwater management, landscaping, green roofs, water consumption, transportation, and rooftop solar.
• Seek to achieve LEED certification.
• Maximize on-site bike parking and establish an electric vehicle shuttle between the studio and the CTA Orange Line 35th Street station.  

Once the construction is complete, the ongoing operation will follow Cinelease’s Environmental Policy. Cinelease undertakes annual sustainability audits to assure compliance and to introduce new best practices.

How many square feet are dedicated for the community portion? Do you envision active public spaces? What would be the funding mechanisms for these public spaces?
Preliminary plans call for 13,500 square feet of interior space dedicated to community use. This will be on the first floor of the building facing Pershing Road, the entire length of the building.These spaces will be as active as the McKinley Park neighborhood wishes to make them, but we envision assembly space with capacity of up to roughly 300 people, perhaps a coffee shop, day care, or anything else that the community wishes to program into their space and that meets the City’s regulations. We are prepared to convey that space at no cost to what we assume would be a local non-profit entity.  

In addition to the interior spaces, our design calls for 14,500 square feet of active exterior plaza space at the east end of the site. We look forward to working with the community to program it withpublic art, murals and other amenities. This space would be directly accessible from the public sidewalk and would be completely open. We will also work to improve the public realm and pedestrian experience in front of the 1769 Pershing Road building through improved streetscaping and landscaping amenities. We also will work to improve the experience of crossing Pershing Road through improved crosswalks and other safety measures.  

What’s the approximate cost for Pershing Sound Studios proposal?
Pershing Road Studios are estimated to cost a total of $95,825,000, comprised of the following:  

Our preliminary capital stack is as follows:  

• Equity: $19,825,000
• Construction Loan: $53 million
• TIF request: $5 million
• New Market Tax Credits: $18 million
• Class L property tax treatment: TBD  

What is the plan for long-term local community (McKinley Park, Brighton Park, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, etc.) job creation that supports residents of the area?
The Pershing Road Studios development plan is specifically designed to create hundreds of permanent jobs for people residing in the communities listed in this question. Our proposal provided a conservative estimate of 600 jobs on site, but at full capacity we believe that number could exceed 1,000. Many of these jobs are well paying union positions. Moreover, few require anything beyond a high school degree.  

Will each development team commit to a Community Benefits Agreement to ensure construction jobs, small business opportunities and community involvement go to local neighborhood/SW side residents?
We look forward to jointly creating a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and we are prepared to engage with the community and Alderperson Ramirez to develop a program that assures the local community will have access to both construction and permanent Pershing Road Studio jobs. Our expenditure model implies the creation of 138 construction jobs. During construction, we will meet – and seek to exceed – 26%/6% MBE/WBE participation in hard cost expenditures.  

This CBA will also involve apprenticeship and internship programs similar to the CineCares Foundation at the Cinespace studio complex near Douglass Park. That program offers young adults in the Chicago area from under-served communities a 12-week job training program in the TV and film industry. The program has successfully led to 90% of interns finishing their training and 50% finding employment on the Cinespace campus itself. Another template would be the Group Effort Initiative ( https://groupeffortinitiative.com/ ). We look forward to working with th e City of Chicago and the greater McKinley Park community to customize a like-kind program.  

We envision inviting students at Horizon Science Academy and other local schools to participate and learn on site. We wish to investigate an arrangement with Instituto Del Progreso Latino that might add media/film production studies to their curriculum.