CHICAGO | General Developments

[mark0]

Regarding New City: If its a planned development cant the zoning allow residential above a big box? Isn't the zoning essentially negotiated?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by mark0

Regarding New City: If its a planned development cant the zoning allow residential above a big box? Isn't the zoning essentially negotiated?

Yes, but you might be mixing comments about the Maxwell and New City. The Maxwell is an attractive building that had originally be planned with apartments above the retail which was nixed by stupid zoning requirements. New City was in a much more receptive zoning environment and ended up being fugly anyhow because the developer apparently has no taste.

[mark0]

I was responding to SamintheLoop earlier who stated " that was nothing short of an epic fail on the part of the city, not allowing the residential on top" - thanks for clarifying though. I wish the New City wasnt so poorly thought out. Its a tragedy such an important area is being redeveloped so badly. It would be nice to let it develop more city like, with more street grid, and traditional massing. I guess once the land goes institutional aka CHA, only large scale developers can play with it. I wonder if a large parcel like that ever gets divided up and sold off in smaller bits. The city would be better off for it.

[Mr Downtown]

The city would be better off if developed in small parcels, but we're too impatient. The city wants to start collecting tax revenue, the developers want to get their money out of the project quickly, and we architecture buffs whine for decades about the area having scattershot development with ugly interim uses in between. Block 37, Finkl Steel, Michael Reese, and the "Riverside Park" site should be parceled out in hopes of getting some good solid singles and doubles instead of holding our breath for a grand slam.

[the urban politician]

^
I couldn't agree more!!!!

But as in all things, policy has increasingly been directed towards creating opportunity for BIG players rather than for smaller entrepreneurs. That has been the way of things in nearly every walk of life for far over a half a century.

I would love to see a large parcel broken up into standard city lots with zoning in place. Not sure why there are no vocal advocates for this.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by mark0

I was responding to SamintheLoop earlier who stated " that was nothing short of an epic fail on the part of the city, not allowing the residential on top" - thanks for clarifying though. I wish the New City wasnt so poorly thought out. Its a tragedy such an important area is being redeveloped so badly. It would be nice to let it develop more city like, with more street grid, and traditional massing. I guess once the land goes institutional aka CHA, only large scale developers can play with it. I wonder if a large parcel like that ever gets divided up and sold off in smaller bits. The city would be better off for it.

New City was a better design before the recession; two towers, one flat-ron style at the acute corner of Clyborn and Halsted. The site plan still had the internal courtyard but the design was overall more modern in scope.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ No doubt. Large mixed-use - particularly right now large mixed-use with dominant or at least very significant retail component - is still quite challenging to pull off financing-wise right now.....however, it's interesting that I don't think they really downsized the retail much if at all. Dropping a residential tower made very little sense - both in the urban planning/design aspect, but quite frankly for the developers/equity partners financially as well. And of course, the VE that took place here was just abominable.

^^^, ^^ I really agree with both you guys on this. The bias toward handing these large, critical sites over in whole to a single developer for a slam dunk is fraught with risks - timing, multi property type cycles not working in favor, execution risk, etc etc - and we've seen these rear their ugly head in practice now extensively....time to rethink how these work. Also, very much agree with the city's bias toward making things nice and greasy (in fact, they go too far - perhaps much too far - and dabble in full activist corporate welfare) for you the bigger the player you are - corporation, developer, etc. But it's as if they compensate by making things all the more difficult the smaller the player you are - entrepreneurial, independent, owner/operator, start-up, etc etc....much better balance is needed. Chicago does indeed need to make things easier on small and independent businesses....

[wierdaaron]

There was talk a while ago about the Prudential Building (the old one) getting some kind of new retail or a plaza atop their ~15th floor setback, as well as a new restaurant on their 40th floor roof.

I haven't heard or seen any movement on that front, but I just noticed that now from the street level you can see some kind of structures have gone up on the lower setback.

Click for big.




The glass railings along the south and southeast corners are new, as far as I know, and there's a little awning thing like you might find at a small bar.

I'm hoping the earlier news wasn't misreported and they aren't only doing a rooftop restaurant at the lower level. A 40th floor rooftop would be amazing at that location.

[Ryanrule]

Originally Posted by george

Yes it is, killer views.

you have a place there?

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

I haven't heard or seen any movement on that front, but I just noticed that now from the street level you can see some kind of structures have gone up on the lower setback.

Looks like window washing rigging to me.

[wierdaaron]

Oh the left side of the image, not the right.

[wierdaaron]

Doesn't someone here live in Aqua? They're doing some major-looking work to the south staircase from the motor court down to the lower ground level of LSE, but I can't tell what. It looks like maybe they're adding an elevator.

[george]

Originally Posted by Ryanrule

you have a place there?

I don't have a place there, was looking with a client.

[ardecila]

Chinatown Library

[ChiHi]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Rahm's going to propose a "Chicago River Corridor Special Sign District" to try to prevent more TRUMPs from happening.

Rahm Putting the Brakes on Large Signs Along Chicago River [Curbed Chicago]

On the topic of shitty signs, has anyone seen that the Optima building in Skokie now has a pretty bad "Optima" sign on the top facing the highway? I couldn't get a decent picture but it looked pretty awful.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by ChiHi

On the topic of shitty signs, has anyone seen that the Optima building in Skokie now has a pretty bad "Optima" sign on the top facing the highway? I couldn't get a decent picture but it looked pretty awful.

It's total shit. The signage for the self-storage across the highway looks 10 times better than that thing. First time I noticed the sign it made me feel sad.

[oshkeoto]

Some photo-less (sorry!) news from the South Side:

1. Two large courtyard buildings on King Drive just north of the Green Line stop on 63rd in Woodlawn, which have been boarded up and vacant for as long as I've known them, appear to be getting rehabbed. The one farther north has had all its boards removed and now has what appear to be new windows with permits in them; the one to the south still has some boards up, but most have been taken down. I saw some people going in - weren't wearing uniforms or hard hats, though, so I'm not sure who they were. (They were locking and unlocking the gate, so they weren't scavengers or anything.)

2. Just around the corner on 61st and Eberhart, a new cafe has opened in a formerly vacant storefront - Greenline Coffee. I went there around lunch today, and it was almost full. The cafe itself is something that wouldn't be at all out of place in Ukrainian Village or Logan Square.

3. The CHA-linked three- and six-flats on Calumet between 47th and 48th are nearly done, and have filled in nearly an entire block face right next to the Green Line stop.

4. Along State St., between 35th and 39th, several large buildings are under construction - also, I assume, CHA-related. They're filling in the State St. streetwall pretty nicely, though.

On the subject of South Side development: has anyone been by the Walmart mixed-use project at 47th and Cottage Grove recently? I'd imagine it's almost done by now.

[the urban politician]

^. Seeing development like that on the south side always makes my day

[killaviews]

Chicago Athletic Association - future hotel. Not much to see, but I'm excited for that roof deck.

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by killaviews

Is it me, or has the Gage gotten even worse as of late? I remember first noticing the sag of the northern part of the facade my first summer in the City, which would have been 2008. I'm surprised nothing has been done about it.