Renderings of the massive outdoor park coming to Lemont, Ill., designed by a team of well-known Chicago tech entrepreneurs, reveal a larger-than-life development built for Chicagoland's adventure junkies—and particularly brave souls.
Slated to open this summer, The Forge: Lemont Quarries Adventure Park will feature a zipline that's about 1,000 feet long. Being the largest aerial adventure course in North America, The Forge will also have ropes courses, climbing walls, mountain biking, hiking trails and fishing.
The park, which sits on 300 acres of land, is being designed for all ages and abilities. It will also feature a restaurant, beer garden and amphitheater.
The Forge, which was first announced last year and is just 22 miles from Chicago, was devised by Chicago tech founders Chris Gladwin and Jeremie Bacon. Gladwin is the founder and CEO of Ocient, a big data processing startup. In 2015, he sold his other startup Cleversafe to IBM for $1.3 billion.
Bacon is also a serial entrepreneur and currently the CEO of Imagineer Technology Group, a fintech software company.
Gallery
Gladwin said in an interview that he wanted to build The Forge because he's an outdoorsman and activity-lover himself. He has competed in ultra-marathons, biking and other competitive adventure racing.
Having an adventure park near Chicago is also an asset to the city's business community, he said, as it provides an outdoor recreational experience in addition to their urban life and will ultimately help local companies hire talent to the area. It could make it easier to attract tech talent to Chicago, which is part of the mission of P33, a group spearheaded by Gladwin that aims to boost Chicago's tech reputation.
"Anyone who lives in Chicago who’s really into any kind of mountain biking, distance, endurance sports or ultra-marathons, you will find your way to Lemont," Gladwin said. "It's where all the big trails are. It's hilly. It's the one part of Chicago that’s not flat."
Down the line, Gladwin expects the park to offer tech elements to visitors, such as Pokemon Go-like augmented reality experiences that allow users to find and discover activities via a smartphone.
Throughout the year, The Forge will offer group classes, field trip and camp programs and outdoor educational programming. The Forge is selling annual memberships for adults and children for $225 and $185, respectively. Eventually, the park will sell individual activity and day passes.
Jim Dallke contributed to this report.
