Quote:
Originally Posted by Busy Bee
Get a spine people. When this project is completed everybody here will be wondering why in the world they bitched and moaned about a handful of nondescript facades coming down. This project is an all around plus for the neighborhood. Nobody is going to miss a couple old brick walls and what they contained inside. And nobody is gonna look at the completed project and think 'gosh what a waste, I wish we could have the old corner back.'
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I have little use for what is there now other other then the three story stone on Addison but for reasons that Hayward pointed out well I would just appreciate if the street wall would be broken up a bit (and not in a faux manner as is so often done) to reflect a bit of the diversity, not necessarily the style, of the buildings across on the west side of the street. Hopefully the store/restaurant fronts will be built with retractable windows to allow for open air dining like at Red Ivy given this is one of the most positive attributes of the present streetscape.
Whatever one thinks about the team or the yahoos that frequent the ballpark the fact is that I think its the second most visited destination in the city outside of downtown. It would be real nice to get this done right and have it be quality as opposed to at best adequate design. Whether one laments the fact or not this immediate area is perhaps the most routine
neighborhood face that is shown to visitors so some thought about what not only neighborhood but the largest city want it to represent should be in consideration. It doesn't have to critically acclaimed or progressive design by any means but hopefully it would be thoughtfully proportioned, non-banal, and balanced.
I would also think it would be much improved when Wrigleyville Sports submits and I assume that they can buy that out to replace it with a courtyard or restaurant. All in all I think the development is a net win even if flawed especially compared to the original proposal.