I'm not comfortable yet with that 6-ish story IBC wood thing in Oak Park. Looks too fire-y to me.

This, while a beautiful design, looks like a death trap. Until I understand the engineering more, I am afraid of wood.

Well, not that wood. Some wood is pure Sunday morning magic.

It's not the wood per se, that I'm concerned with, it's the multitude of implied functionality/uses, that seem even more dream-like...

My uncle runs a business that fire proofs, mold proofs, termite proofs and laminates wood for structural applications. This would be a dream job. Certainly would be expensive to render that would non-combustible and structurally capable of supporting all that load.

Ralph presented it at the Cliff Dwellers event in August, and yesterday I saw the model of it being glued together in the Perkins + Will model shop. I suspect it will be on display this weekend during Open House Chicago. It's more in the realm of research P+W is doing for an eco-do-gooder group, rather than a building for a client with a program.

You can protect wood structures from fire in three ways:
1) cover the wood in fire resistant materials like doubled-up drywall, etc
2) make the wood so massive that the fire will only char the outside of the structure and doesn't cause failure (this is how timber lofts are built, and some new experimental wood high rises out of CLT)
3) install a sprinkler system to put out or control fires after they form

I'd be far more worried about fire in a wood 3-flat in Lakeview or single-family
home (which have none of these protections in place) than in a newly-built wood midrise.

But what about the TREES?!

we could put the cow at the bottom of it

From today. . .


. . .

Great progress shots! I think we can safely say that with this project which moves the downtown density in a totally new direction physically, that this boom is now bigger than the last one and the early 90s as well.

I'll be coming at the end of the month for the Bears game on Halloween and can't wait to see all the sites!

Ancora
https://s18.postimg.org/hxlbfz355/AN...from_Wells.jpg
https://s18.postimg.org/bu3qw2cvd/AN...ilding_Top.jpg
https://s18.postimg.org/oa0gpt67d/AN...l_Exterior.jpg
https://s18.postimg.org/q4db7jt7t/AN...ce_Cabanas.jpg
https://s11.postimg.org/o0xlnefgj/image.jpg

November 29, 2016

I signed up on the website a few times over the last 6 months and I still have not received any emails. Does it take a while for someone to contact you about condo sales?

I signed up as well and have heard nothing, but since the sales office also isn't yet open I've been assuming that there's nothing to send a message about?

I assume you are right and glad to hear I am not the only one.

Any chance they will start more than one building at the same time?

Assuming they still follow the 2023 completion timeline I would expect at least one of the phases to have a multi-skyscraper phase, but I haven't read the plan for a while, I thought someone had posted it in here somewhere

The tower crane for the first rental building is going up. :tup:

Seeing some tangible results on this site has me excited for how these whole area will look different in just a few years!

http://i.imgur.com/BqNpiZb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/03g5MnC.jpg

January 6, 2017

What's the timeline for the other buildings to begin construction?

Jan 14

Thanks for all the great updates harryc! I'm so excited about this project. This is really going to extend the central core of the city.

January 22nd 2017

https://i.imgsafe.org/6141e747b6.jpg

https://i.imgsafe.org/6141ecfe78.jpg

Awesome update all around, deebirch :cheers:

After daydreaming so long at would could have gone on these sites, I have mixed feelings about what is going up. That said, usable real estate beats blank land, so build baby build!

Definitely excited for this project. Its vastness alone is mind numbingly amazing. Its crazy how different the entire neighborhood will feel once its complete. This reminds me of the 00's mega-projects like LSE and Central Station.

Hopefully this puts market pressure on the proposed development on the huge lot to the south (Roosevelt/Clark/18th). With the South Loop moving further south, higher demand and property values coupled with less remaining vacant space aught to benefit it in the long term.

February 6, 2017

Are two towers supposed to be the same floor and unit count - 28 floors with 452 units? There was another permit issued the other day for a tower of those stats for the same address as two previous Riverline permits. This permit is for a full building with estimated cost of $50M. There was a permit from October for $100M..

amazing property that close to Loop

The city needs to finish the Wells-Wentworth Connector project so that site has a connection to the street grid. It appears that phase 1 is wrapping up, but there are still 2 more phases to go.

^The city won't do that just on spec. They'll have Related Midwest build Wells through the site south of Roosevelt as part of the PD—though TIF money might pay for it in some way.

Wow, how did I miss this? So glad they're finally developing that huge vacant plot of land. Ive always wondered why this plot of land only a few blocks away from the Sears Tower hasn't been developed until now, it would seem like this would have been prime real estate for the past 20-30 years for developers.

Feb 10

I was roaming different web pages yesterday but cant remember if it was curbed, dnainfo or something else but it was saying that tower two, not sure which one that would be, could start up this summer. They also were saying that they would work on the river shore ground this summer comparing to wolf point, which i would imagine is pile work? Which would lead me to believe its one of the towers along the river. Anyone else hear anything about this. Sorry i didnt save the link.

Feb 20


the man with the plan


A stressful point in the building

steel is used to take stress - concrete compression.

I was bored and went snooping around with marina city and prentice. Found out that Betrand Goldberg originally did have one massive riverfront park design for River City from Congress down to Roosevelt. Some cool scetches of his future proposals as well. I'm sure alot of you have seen this stuff but it was new to me. Pretty cool to see what could have been, but with this new massive proposal of Riverline I'm glad they waited.



http://bertrandgoldberg.org/projects/river-city/

Interesting read on the riverwalk, including some details on this project further in: http://www.surfacemag.com/articles/a...ago-riverwalk/

View from Skydeck, March 4, 2017
 

teohwp85 Thank you for all the shots - this one in particular.

You're welcome!

I concur w HC - this is a nice perspective

LVDR, these photos are awesome. Imagine a riverwalk wrapped all the way down from rooselvelt up to lake street and connect with the eastway. One can dream.

Park? What park?

Any update on when the sales office might open? I signed up - twice - with not even a response of "thanks for signing up". Just a black hole.

Does anyone know if the city has a plan (funds) to connect these privately developed riverwalks?

Yes! My thoughts exactly. I hadn't seen an overhead photo until now (Thanks teohwp85!) and suddenly, the space doesn't seem so daunting. I'm even more excited for this project then i was before. I want the delvelopers to rush heedlessly into building it all now, because i really like the the project as currently designed. :)

Feb 22

Trying to get back to construction....Have the developers hinted on which tower will be the second to break ground?

I believe it's supposed to be a condo tower just to the south of River City. But there haven't been any sign of pre-sales, etc. yet.

I have become incredibly unrealistic about this project. I want it all built NOW, as designed. I mean I REALLY WANT THEM TO BUILD ALL OF THIS NOW! NOW! As Designed!

I have no intention of living there, and it may not end up as terrific as it looks in renderings, but the team behind this, Ralph Johnson especially, have put together something very special. I just love this project. It is a game changer not just for the south Loop, but the city. And I have irrational exuberance about it.