Preservationists got a temporary reprieve last night with a public statement that demolition of buildings on the Michael Reese Hospital campus won’t begin until after October 2.

The Gropius in Chicago Coalition and Preservation Chicago have been pushing for adaptive reuse of buildings designed by pioneer modernist architect Walter Gropius on the proposed site of the Olympic Village.

Fourth Ward Ald. Toni Preckwinkle said Chicago 2016 president Lori Healy had assured her “there are no plans to do any demolition before October 2.” That’s the day the International Olympic Committee will announce which city will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The announcement came at the very end of a meeting for residents of Prairie Shores, who live adjacent to the site.  Residents raised many questions about dust, noise, hazardous waste, traffic, parking, and tree removal.  They also expressed fears that Olympics-related development could cause displacement by inspiring Prairie Shores owners Draper and Kramer to raise rents.

Asked about the enforceability of a Memorandum of Understanding setting goals for affordable housing and minority hiring and contracting, Cassandra Francis of Chicago 2016 said the standards would be written into contracts for the Olympic Village.

She said two requests for proposals were being developed for the project — one including an Olympic Village if the city wins its bid, and another without the Olympics.  “If we don’t get the games, we’ll have the same process happening on the site over a longer time frame,” she said.

A commitment by AFL-CIO pension funds to provide $500 million in financing for the Olympic Village development — which is currently projected to cost over $1 billion — is contingent on Chicago winning the bid. 

While Gropius coalition activists lined the back of the meeting room in the basement of Olivet Baptist Church, questions were restricted to Prairie Shores residents. A few residents expressed support for saving architecturally significant buildings and many of them wore gold “Save MRH” stickers handed out by the coalition.

“I question the scorched earth policy,” said one resident, calling for a “more surgical approach” that saves “influential buildings,” and saying “the rush to tear [the campus] down seems preemptive.”

Preckwinkle’s comment came at the end, after University of Chicago sociologist Terry Clark — a longtime Prairie Shores resident and a former professor of the alderman — said reusing some Gropius buildings “makes esthetic sense and economic sense.”

“Don’t preclude the possibility of using some of these historic Gropius buildings,” he said, adding: “If we don’t get the Olympics, we could be looking at mud and holes for years to come.”

Contacted later, Grahm Balkany of the Gropius coalition welcomed the postponement. He said he’s urged Chicago 2016 officials to ask abatement contractors — who will be operating under demolition contracts, which are due to be awarded this week — to “be gentle with the buildings” and “tell them that there’s a possibility the buildings won’t be coming down.”