Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg Convention Center Feasibility Study And Site Selection 
A multi-disciplinary consulting team, headed by Camiros, Ltd., was commissioned to analyze the feasibility of developing a convention center for the Village of Schaumburg. Identifying an acceptable solution required the clear definition of the most appropriate kind of convention center. Market research was conducted to refine the project concept and identify the features needed for maximum market impact. Based on this information, a detailed development program was prepared which, in turn, led to the preparation of prototype models of the physical configuration, operational characteristics and financing structure of the project. A key component of the study was to identify possible sites based on a common set of criteria and select sites which appeared to be suited to accommodate a major convention center.
The site selection process began with the identification of fundamental characteristics for the future convention center site. These attributes included: the size and shape of the site, environmental features such as soil suitability, availability of municipal and other government services and utilities, traffic characteristics and market opportunities, such as visibility from arterials and expressways, and proximity to hotels.
Initially nine possible sites were identified by Camiros and the village staff. Information regarding the fundamental site characteristics of each of these nine sites was compiled to ensure that they could indeed have withstood intense development of the type proposed. Existing and planned water and sanitary sewer lines were inventoried, and traffic flows and future traffic improvement plans were compiled. Based on this initial screening, all of the nine original sites were deemed appropriate for consideration.
The nine sites were next evaluated against ten site selection criteria. These were viewed as the most important aspects in selecting the convention center site. The criteria included:
- Site size
- Market value
- Site and surrounding land use/zoning
- Site visibility
- Site access
- Expansion potential
- Mixed-use/joint development potential
- Existing linkages
- Potential linkages
- Shared parking potential
Value rankings were given for the criteria at each site, resulting in a composite scoring of the candidate sites. Utilizing this analysis, the team narrowed down the list of potential sites from nine to four.
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