Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
I have a lot of confidence in Onni Group, they seem like a well oiled machine. Their multi-tower project at Wells/Division was pretty smooth sailing.
They seem to like multitower projects that are big enough to give them years of work, but just small enough to be able to pull off in one fell swoop; ie they aren't going to be left holding the bag on a half developed parcel due to bad planning, changes in market conditions, politics, unexpected financial issues, etc which can often occur with these really huge mega-projects like Lakeshore East, 'The 78', Lincoln Yards, etc.
I applaud Onni for their "Wham, bam, thank you Ma'am" approach, even if their designs aren't the best. They get towers built, and that matters.
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We'll see. Old Town Park is at the doorstep of two long-standing entertainment areas and a Red Line stop. 3 supermarkets nearby plus a 4th in OTP itself. Walkable to the lakefront. Truly an excellent location once they figured out how to handle the existing Atrium Village affordable housing. The only reason it hadn't developed earlier was Cabrini stigma. If they couldn't keep the towers going up continuously it would be because they f'ed it up.
The Greyhound site is much more isolated. Hefty walk to the Blue Line, although it does have Halsted bus to West Loop and Chicago bus to Mag Mile. No real amenities within an easy walking distance. I think if they want to keep the towers going up they will need to do whatever it takes to bring some amenities in Phase I (grocery store) even if they need to subsidize it for a few years.
More likely they will just front-load a ton of parking into Phase I so the first residents can just drive to get what they need. The renderings did show some weird glass skybridges that suggest some kind of shared parking garage. Overall the development has a 53% parking ratio but I think Phase I will be closer to 100%. As future phases go up they can re-allocate some of the existing parking to serve those phases.