CHICAGO | 108 North State (Block 37)

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Jibba

^I really wish something would be done about that TV. It seems rather pointless. That area of Dearborn doesn't really have that high a level of pedestrian traffic (save for Daley Plaza, which really doesn't count for all that much IMO), so why even have a screen there? I would rather there be nothing and have more of that nice metalwork to look at.

yeah... i love galvanized steel too


but, i asked some cbs guy outside what the deal is with the screen and he said that it will go all the way around, and it isn't finished... any reason to doubt this camera tech guy with a cbs name badge or whatever he was? banana.

[harryc]

[intrepidDesign]

I couldn't find the thread for B37 or I would have posted there, but I heard on WGN radio today that they are putting a Loews Hotel (350 rooms) in B37. They also mentioned that some of the money generated from it (i don't know when/how this will work) will go towards the B37 superstation.

So it would appear that the city is still committed to getting the station built, i don't know how they plan on a private hotel chain funding it though. But good news none the less I suppose.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Is there a single square block space in the US (beyond ground zero in NYC) that is a better example of underutilized land with world-class potential?

I have not heard anything about Block 37 in months now.

Is Mills Corp going to pull it off?

Will my dream of Block 37 living up to its potential be fulfilled or will we have to wait another decade?

TUP wrote this 4 years ago to start off the thread

We've come a long way.

And the damn thing is still, indeed, underutilized!

[Jibba]

I must say, though, that when those wavy metal bands reflect the blue of the Joffrey sign across the street, the lighting spectacle that ensues is positively DAZZLING!

[Chicago3rd]

Originally Posted by harryc

On the east side the weaving was taking on color. Are they painting it or is the silver we see in this photo some sort of protective covering?

[honte]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

TUP wrote this 4 years ago to start off the thread

We've come a long way.

And the damn thing is still, indeed, underutilized!

Well, TUP did allow us a decade...

[the urban politician]

I think a giant retail center with major brand names, a multiscreen cinema, an office tower, a streetside TV studio, a hotel tower, and pedway shops take us about 2/3 the way there. We can argue the architectural shortcomings till we're blue, but in sheer substance I don't think we're getting such a bad deal.

I'd like to see perhaps 3 towers instead of 2, and I'd prefer something taller. Oh, and that airport express station would be nice. Oh well..

[shaberko]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I'd like to see perhaps 3 towers instead of 2, and I'd prefer something taller. Oh, and that airport express station would be nice. Oh well..

I think there are still plans for a third tower (residential) down the road.

[ardecila]

No, there aren't. The residential was converted to a hotel tower because of the difficulty in selling condo units in the current market. There's only one place on the podium where the foundation can support a tower (the northwest corner).

Possibly, depending on the robustness of the foundation, the hotel tower might be built so that it can be expanded upwards at a later date. But this is highly unlikely.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I think a giant retail center with major brand names, a multiscreen cinema, an office tower, a streetside TV studio, a hotel tower, and pedway shops take us about 2/3 the way there. We can argue the architectural shortcomings till we're blue, but in sheer substance I don't think we're getting such a bad deal.

I'd like to see perhaps 3 towers instead of 2, and I'd prefer something taller. Oh, and that airport express station would be nice. Oh well..

The heart of the loop is zoned for an FAR of 16.0. When all is said and done, even the mall + office tower + hotel/residential tower will be an FAR of what, maybe 9?

Underutilized!

It should be at least 50% denser ...

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by ardecila

No, there aren't. The residential was converted to a hotel tower because of the difficulty in selling condo units in the current market. There's only one place on the podium where the foundation can support a tower (the northwest corner).

Possibly, depending on the robustness of the foundation, the hotel tower might be built so that it can be expanded upwards at a later date. But this is highly unlikely.

Actually yes there are. This has always been a 2-tower deal. When Golub was slated to be the developer, it was a condo and a rental. It was the condo that was changed to hotel. Rental is still the plan for a second tower (actually I think it will be connected to the first (hotel), because from the plans I've seen, it seems as though they will need to share an elevator core), all the way along Randolph to State St. If you don't believe me, check out caisson construction documentation or go up to the top of Macy's and look down - you can make out where the rental tower will go.......also, if by some massive screw-up you're right and the Randolph Side/NE corner of the block does not have foundations capable of supporting a tower, Joseph Freed is going to be mighty pissed off, because they paid for the right to build it!

[VivaLFuego]

Sounds like it would technically be one tower with both rental apartment and hotel components?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Actually yes there are. This has always been a 2-tower deal. When Golub was slated to be the developer, it was a condo and a rental. It was the condo that was changed to hotel. Rental is still the plan for a second tower (actually I think it will be connected to the first (hotel), because from the plans I've seen, it seems as though they will need to share an elevator core), all the way along Randolph to State St. If you don't believe me, check out caisson construction documentation or go up to the top of Macy's and look down - you can make out where the rental tower will go.......also, if by some massive screw-up you're right and the Randolph Side/NE corner of the block does not have foundations capable of supporting a tower, Joseph Freed is going to be mighty pissed off, because they paid for the right to build it!

Oh... I thought "two-tower" always referred to the office tower and then a residential tower. Renderings do only show two towers on the block. I did not know that the second tower would be mixed-use, and split down the middle into hotel/residential.

When the announcement came about the switch to hotel, I thought that referred to the entire second tower... which would, admittedly, be quite a large hotel... but the Loews here in New Orleans is huge.

[jjk1103]

............I think everybody is going to be pleasantly surprised when they light up this building next year (assuming it ever actually opens)......the huge windows and all the glitzy lighting will make the actual building fade into the background.......

[hartss]

http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/20...le_of_the_Loop

Chicago to Get Loews Hotel Smack-Dab in the Middle of the Loop

November 10, 2008 at 12:57 PM

How strong is our love for Chicago, called "Second City" and "City of Big Shoulders," yet sadly lacking the nickname "Rising-From-the-Dust-of-the-Midwest-to-Achieve-Awesomeness City." Known more for its restaurants and recreation than for any hip hotels, these last few years have seen a flurry of activity to correct this and bring some new meat to the hotel scene. And the new, hip properties continue to multiply; last week it was announced that the construction hole in the middle of Chicago's Loop Downtown, a site known simply as "Block 37," will be capped off with a 354-room Loews Hotel.

Since the entirety of Block 37 is tax-subsidized, the Loews property has been allotted $12 million to build itself as a nexus of tourism and business for the district. The sure-to-be-sleek Loews will sit above a new shopping center, which itself is plopped atop a fancy new underground subway hub (architectural dork note: the complex is being designed by Gensler, who also did Jetblue's new Terminal 5). And in a fun bit of hospitality rivalry, the Loews will find itself neighbors with the almost-finished (and very hot) Wit Hotel.

Although the Block 37 hotel won't see its first guests until 2013 (they have yet to finish the shopping center part), that gives it plenty of time to work in all the latest hotel technologies. But maybe it's just about having awesome parties, if the local Alderman is to be believed: “Loews is a proven and tested brand in the luxury hotel market and would offer the largest ballroom within their competitive set within the Loop.” That has to be pretty massive, since we've seen the ballrooms of The Drake and The Marriott Magnificent Mile and they are nothing to shake a stick at. We'll believe it when we see it.

[Chicago3rd]

^^ Great news.....of course the technical point this writer is missing is that the Drake and Mariott are NOT located in the loop...so this ballroom will not have to be as large as those two's are.

[honte]

Wow, that hotel sounds totally killer awesome. It's a good thing Chicago doesn't have any totally killer awesome hotels yet to compete with it.

[Dr. Taco]

^haha, honte, I think the weather must be getting you down lately

[harryc]

Heavy duty sidewalk




Fall colors