CHICAGO | General Developments

[ardecila]

^ Thanks for the photos! It looks amazing.

You'd be surprised what Landmarks will allow. Usually the key with this type of structure is that it clearly looks like an add-on, and it can be removed at any time in the future to restore the building to its original appearance. The applicant can probably argue legitimately that the hotel needs a canopy for doormen and valets to stand outside protected from the elements.

It doesn't hurt that the architects are Roman and Williams, who have OCD-like attention to detail. Look at all those little curlicues and fleur-de-lis on the metalwork - someone drew all those by hand and sent it for fabrication. The canopy looks like an add-on, but is extremely "sympathetic" to the original architecture. No PoMo mockery or imitation here, this is the real deal.

[wierdaaron]

Yeah I think it's spot-on. I had to check Google Streetview's history and some old photos to make sure there wasn't always a canopy there that I was just forgetting.

I'm still really curious how they're going to have a Shake Shack restaurant inside that building, when there's only one entrance and it leads straight into the big open lobby. I suppose it could just be up inside the hotel somewhere like many restaurants are, but I've never seen that done with fast food.

[Mr Downtown]

^There isn't just one entrance. There's an entry on Madison, to the annex building that just barely connects where the corners of the two buildings meet. That would be the logical place to put a Shake Shack.

[msu2001la]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Wow, sounds kind of like a public market concept. I was thinking about this a few months ago how many cities have these huge public market buildings or town square market areas. I realize Fulton Market was one of those places historically and now we have the French Market which is nice. But I was thinking something bigger. On a visit home over the past holidays I went to the farmers market in Flint, Michigan and the building was huge. Two stories of retail, restaurants, food stands, office space, an atrium for large performances, and rooftop dining. I figured Chicago could pull something off similar easily.

Fulton Market has never really been a public market. As others mentioned, Fulton Market has always been a wholesale/commercial market area that distributes directly to restaurants and stores. There are a few places that sell to the public (like Issacson $ Stein Fish Co) as well as wholesale, but for the most part the operations on Fulton are closed to the public.

That is changing, however, as more people, restaurants and offices move into the area. The city has been pushing to have more farmers market activities there, and Green City Market now has a saturday public market on Fulton during the summer.

Part of CDOT's efforts with the Fulton Streetscape project are to create a curb-less "flex street" zone between Green and Morgan that will allow the street to easily be closed to traffic at certain times to host more events like this on a regular basis.

The Flint farmers market is great, by the way. I've been to it a few times and am amazed, even in the winter, the crowds that they are drawing.

[msu2001la]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

I think Fulton Market is actually a huge missed opportunity in a lot of ways. I understand the value of real estate that close to downtown. On the other hand, it could have been such a cool diversion within walking distance to the loop had it been preserved and marketed right...instead its just gonna become another bland, faceless neighborhood with yuppie lofts and offices. In under 5 years there wont be a functioning "market" at all.

Agreed. Very few of the meat packers along Fulton own the buildings they are operating in, and therefore will get priced out of the area soon. It's been happening over the last 10 years already and will rapidly increase over the next few as several more move out. It's beneficial for these businesses to all be near each other to streamline distribution, so they will likely follow each other as they move.

Department of Planning and Development is proposing a historic landmark district for Fulton/Randolph that aims to preserve what is left of the current architecture and street configuration. While the uses will likely change from meat packing to more office/residential/retail, the loading docks, curbless and raised deck streetscape and historic buildings will remain and get rehabbed into new uses.

The Brooklyn Bowl development that is going in at 850 W Fulton is part of that landmark district.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/content...ict_052114.pdf

http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2...st-loop-crowd/

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^There isn't just one entrance. There's an entry on Madison, to the annex building that just barely connects where the corners of the two buildings meet. That would be the logical place to put a Shake Shack.

Oh dang, I didn't know that was the same building. I suppose that might not be a bad spot for it, I just pictured it as part of the changing face of Michigan Ave.

In other news, that Hyatt being built in 100 W Monroe will be open in April and it's going to use Hyatt's new "Hyatt Centric" flag. Some cheap renders here. It'll have a rooftop bar and a French cuisine restaurant, which I think will be an interesting change for a stretch of Clark that's been pretty boring for quite some time.

From its description, Hyatt Centric sounds a lot like Marriott Signature: high on style, low on amenities, in a central location. Seems to be the hot concept right now.

No word on how they're treating the cow path.

[the urban politician]

^ it would be a cool homage to history to place some of those 'cows on parade' cows at sequential intervals along the cow path, eternally preserving it for their passage

[caldor120la]

Thanks, wierdaaron for the fine images of the of new canopy on the CAA building first I've seen of it, think it fits perfect with the building. I try to follow hotel conversions this will be one of the best, among the many in your city.

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Thanks for the photos! It looks amazing.

You'd be surprised what Landmarks will allow. Usually the key with this type of structure is that it clearly looks like an add-on, and it can be removed at any time in the future to restore the building to its original appearance. The applicant can probably argue legitimately that the hotel needs a canopy for doormen and valets to stand outside protected from the elements.

It doesn't hurt that the architects are Roman and Williams, who have OCD-like attention to detail. Look at all those little curlicues and fleur-de-lis on the metalwork - someone drew all those by hand and sent it for fabrication. The canopy looks like an add-on, but is extremely "sympathetic" to the original architecture. No PoMo mockery or imitation here, this is the real deal.

Plus if you do a search of historic photos of the CAC, at some point in its history it did have a canopy over the entrance.

Like so: http://www.artadvisoryservice.com/wp...Historical.jpg

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Ned.B

Plus if you do a search of historic photos of the CAC, at some point in its history it did have a canopy over the entrance.

Like so: http://www.artadvisoryservice.com/wp...Historical.jpg

Old Chicago photos are just too great. Thanks for sharing!

[ardecila]

Oh, that makes sense. No need to debate the authenticity if the original design featured a canopy.

I wonder if they will bring back those awesome light posts flanking the door too.

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Ned.B

Like so: http://www.artadvisoryservice.com/wp...Historical.jpg

"These damn newfangled horseless carriages are clogging up my streets!"

[ardecila]

Pity they shaved those stone balconies off at the third floor, too. I wonder if those will make a comeback as well?

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Pity they shaved those stone balconies off at the third floor, too. I wonder if those will make a comeback as well?

We've been doing a lot of tours/interviews for these adaptive reuse projects at Curbed, but we haven't gotten in contact with anybody from this project. Maybe I can track down the PR person for the project.

Unless someone here happens to have a source they could connect me with.

[ardecila]

The owner of Urban Remains has done photo tours of the building during construction, not to record the progress so much as to document the original conditions. Still, the photos reveal the painstaking work that the development team has undertaken.

http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/n...-im-beginning/

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

We've been doing a lot of tours/interviews for these adaptive reuse projects at Curbed, but we haven't gotten in contact with anybody from this project. Maybe I can track down the PR person for the project.

Unless someone here happens to have a source they could connect me with.

Hey, 'weirdo':

So, first of all - kudos on all the great work tracking these project folks down and getting an inside look into these awesome adaptive reuse projects underway. Here are some additional ones, just to make sure they are on your radar for similar later this year and/or 2016:

- Hotel Indigo, 168 N. Michigan
- Canopy by Hilton, 208 S LaSalle (joining Reschke's early conversion in the same building - JW Mariott
- Yet Unnamed Kimpton Hotel, 39 S LaSalle (possibly the one I'm most looking forward to of all these
- Residence Inn by Marriott, 11 S LaSalle (yet another Reschke project)

In my book, the most exciting 'node' of all of the hotel projects in the Loop this cycle is in the very heart of the Loop - on and right around LaSalle.......the power and scale of this transformation into a mixed-use area is going to be immensely positive, and I think is going to surprise a lot of people......

[wrab]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The owner of Urban Remains has done photo tours of the building during construction, not to record the progress so much as to document the original conditions. Still, the photos reveal the painstaking work that the development team has undertaken.

http://www.urbanremainschicago.com/n...-im-beginning/

Wow - remarkable stuff.

[the urban politician]

Looks like the Dunkin Donuts at Clark and Belmont will close its doors after 8pm tommorrow.

Really looking forward here to the Belmont/Clark TOD project

[wierdaaron]

What? We don't get to argue about the number of floors or the design of the glass anymore?

[marothisu]

Just noticed a building permit from Tuesday with some good news. 5 story former storage building at 3141 N Sheffield next to the Vic, which is right near the Belmont Red/Brown/Purple line stop got a permit to convert to 80 units - loft style. I think there's supposed to be a retail component to this too.

This whole thing has been going on for a few years but it's awesome to see it moving along. Good conversion for TOD:
http://patch.com/illinois/lakeview/l...o-lofts-retail
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...plate=printart



It currently looks something like this: