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you can read the entire 17 page saga of evanston's now-dead fountain square tower in the following thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=166005 |
Glen Ellyn was only mentined one time indirectly in this thread. I've grown up in the Chicago suburbs and been to all the downtowns. This one is the best by far to me and has the most New England charm.
I love that no one talks about it and its off everyones radar yet it is still so close to the city and nearby Oakbrook/Schaumburg/Naperville. Perfect suburb. Best in Chicagoland. If I had to put a #2 it would probably be Geneva or of course a North Shore one. I tend to weigh against the North Shore suburbs in favor of the quieter Western Suburbs. |
Yeah, Glen Ellyn's a sleeper for sure. It's a nice place with great housing stock but I don't think it's as pleasant as Hubbard Woods or Hinsdale from an urban design standpoint. And other downtowns like Elmhurst and Naperville have more entertainment and bustle. I do love me some Barone's pizza though...
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LaGrange has compact downtown with plenty of local shopping centered around a Metra station with tons of service to the Loop, and a short drive to Midway if your a frequent business traveler. And some nice architecture including Sears catalog four squares and craftsmen.
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Relating back to the posts about Oak Park. I honestly don't know why anybody would want develop buildings for residential use. The way leases, and licenses are handled are SO DIFFICULT to even do. Plus the commercial taxes are through the roof, there is a building with a vacant spot for about 6 months now.
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4 Developers looking at South and Harlem sight (Oak Park)
http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles...South-project/
http://media1.oakpark.com/Images/2/2..._1_690x520.jpg http://media1.oakpark.com/Images/2/2..._1_690x520.jpg http://media1.oakpark.com/Images/2/2..._1_690x520.jpg http://media1.oakpark.com/Images/2/2..._1_690x520.jpg Quote:
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Went back to the hometown of Glenview today and snapped a few shots. I remember we were trying to get a suburban roundup thread going, but can't be sure I'm currently in the correct thread.
There is an urban multi-use project underway right next to the commuter station: http://i.imgur.com/lilEEN6.png Info and rendering for this project here: http://glenview.suntimes.com/news/mi...162014:article Equally exciting is a new grocery store in a surprisingly urban format, meeting the street with parking in the back: http://i.imgur.com/GAx3VRa.png http://i.imgur.com/jodFcQX.png Info and renderings about the project here: http://glenview.suntimes.com/news/bu...292013:article All in all, two pretty good developments for a suburban downtown that could use a little kick in the pants. |
Yeah Glenview is one of the few inner-ring suburbs with significant redevelopment pressure; the demand is enough to make things like structured parking work financially, so a whole range of smaller sites can be redeveloped. It's not all great, though... the much-debated Avon redevelopment is just more suburban crap.
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There is a multi-family building planned with 238 units across from the Golf station on the Avon property. The retail portion is a waste though.
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North ave in Melrose park is very urban. one spot on this street has a burger joint, hot dog stand, pizza place, Chinese food, sushi, Italian food, and gelato cafe all within a block of each other.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9087..._gesIdZl_w!2e0 |
^ I've been on the Metra a few times in the last few weeks, and observed that the Golf station project is already under construction.
I"m not sure if it's the same thing Ardecila is referring to, but right outside the Metra windows at the Golf station stop is a pretty sizable multifamily project U/C. I know that we aren't Washington DC, but I actually don't think Chicagoland is doing too bad with TOD in the suburbs. I have visited many suburbs over the years, and a lot of them have a good number of newish multiunit buildings near their Metra stations. Some towns are doing a better job at this than others, of course, but Glenview, Golf, Naperville, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Northbrook, Downers Grove are at least a few that come to mind that have really taken advantage of real estate around their trains stations. |
Oak Park
Yet another endangered surface lot ....
And a perfectly horrible garage along with a very forgettable 1 story set of shops ..... just a vague memory. |
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Des Plaines did see a notable population jump, but they have also made a compromise that most suburbs would find unacceptable, replacing long blocks of single-family homes with 6-8 story apartment buildings. |
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Auto centric as hades - I don't think I'd hold up North Ave / River Forest / Elmwoood Park as my top model in urbanity. A few miles west (across the river) is Melrose park and Wingate Plaza ;-) |
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I would agree with you on Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, and Glenview finally putting through plans to turn the corner. |
Ardecila, do you know anything about the decision-making process to do that in Des Plaines?
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