The Lincoln Common – W.E. O'Neil's Lean Approach to Demolition

W.E. O’Neil broke ground last week on the Lincoln Common development project, which marked the start of construction activity for the new 1 million square foot mixed-use project in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

In the months leading up to the ground breaking, W.E. O’Neil completed the demolition of the old Children’s Memorial Hospital that previously occupied the site and sat vacant for years. Over the course of demolition, 100% of the concrete from the 800,000 SF hospital complex was reprocessed and used as back-fill on the site to prepare for redevelopment, and 97% of all other materials were recycled, including steel.

This Lean approach to a complex demolition project eliminated 12,000 trucks from entering and exiting the site and diverted a significant amount of material from landfills, resulting in environmental benefits, minimal neighborhood disruption and cost and schedule reductions.