The Salt Shed
Key Takeaways:
Significant project cost savings
No hauling off of situ contaminated soils
All required stormwater volume via bioinfiltration
Easily provided TACO Tier 1 compliant test results
The iconic Morton Salt warehouse has been a recognizable landmark for Chicago residents and visitors for nearly a century. Unbeknownst to the average concertgoer, The Salt Shed’s planting soils are entirely comprised of Omni Infinity Media, which proved to be the essential solution to economically redevelop this brownfield and manage the 4-acre site’s stormwater.
All of the site’s stormwater runoff is directed to bioinfiltration areas comprised of Omni Infinity Media before discharging from the site. While typical prepared soil has 25% pore space, Omni Infinity Media’s average pore space exceeds 86%. By using Omni Infinity Media, there was no need for any disturbance of the existing cap or the underlying contaminated soils.
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Location:
Chicago, ILInstallation Complete:
2022 - Chicago River side
2023 - Elston Ave sideType:
New Construction
Open Space
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Coverage Area:
10,076 sfDepth:
6” to 72”Stormwater Storage:
>16,035 cfUses:
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Developers:
R2 Properties
Blue Star PropertiesArchitect:
Lamar Johnson CollaborativeCivil Engineer:
V3 CompaniesLandscape Architect:
Greenprint Partners -
Awards:
News:
Morton Salt’s former warehouse moves closer to redevelopment
Chicago’s iconic Morton Salt building poised for redevelopment
Morton Salt warehouse redevelopment plans include office, entertainment space along Chicago River
Chicago River entertainment, offices planned for Morton Salt redevelopment
Developers want to turn the old Morton Salt warehouse into the “Salt District”
Rethinking a Brownfield
Omni CEO Molly Meyer shares the story behind the Salt Shed project—and how a challenging brownfield site became an opportunity to rethink what stormwater infrastructure could do. Recorded as part of the 2025 Innovation Rodeo “Saddle Up Again” series from Cyclone Energy Group.
In this video:
How GSI can help make brownfield redevelopment possible
How OIM helped avoid disturbing the site's existing cap and manage stormwater across a 4-acre site through bioinfiltration
Why pore space matters when you're designing for stormwater volume
Hydraulic Performance Over Time
Three years after installation, the plants are thriving—and the water is still moving fast. See how Omni Infinity Media maintains rapid infiltration as the living soil ecosystem develops at The Salt Shed.
In this video:
How quickly water infiltrates through OIM three years after installation
What happens below the surface as plants establish and roots develop
What long-term performance looks like in living GSI
