CHICAGO | General Developments - v2.0

[mh777]

Good infill. Another Sterling Bay lot bites the dust.



Source

[catb]

Originally Posted by mh777

Good infill. Another Sterling Bay lot bites the dust.



Source

Wasn't this site approved to be a 30-story podium tower at 1200 W Carroll? Or is this further west of that? I personally think these types of developments are much more handsome and contribute more to urban fabric of neighborhoods, but I'm confused.

[mh777]

Originally Posted by catb

Wasn't this site approved to be a 30-story podium tower at 1200 W Carroll? Or is this further west of that? I personally think these types of developments are much more handsome and contribute more to urban fabric of neighborhoods, but I'm confused.

I believe this development will be on the plot of land on the top left of this image, and the one you're referring to is at the bottom. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. I may have also put the wrong address in my initial post, the article states it's at 1133 W. Kinzie St, but then mentions 1220 W Carroll is the same address.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Jstange059

https://chicago.urbanize.city/post/mixed-use-development-proposed-2758-n-mozart

Quite nice looking brickwork, really hope it doesn’t get value engineered. Like the townhouse units along Mozart

I LOVE this..... Very sleek and sexy looking.

There seems to be a trend lately of more brickwork like this, and I'm here for it. These sorts of developments look nice, and age well over time.

[catb]

Originally Posted by mh777

I believe this development will be on the plot of land on the top left of this image, and the one you're referring to is at the bottom. Someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. I may have also put the wrong address in my initial post, the article states it's at 1133 W. Kinzie St, but then mentions 1220 W Carroll is the same address.

Thank you! Just gotta keep up this type of infill until all those grassy patches are gone... Love to see it. The top left is 1201 W Kenzie, which seems to already have a plan http://https://chicagoyimby.com/2026/03/...esidential-development-in-west-loop.html. If it's listed as 1133, maybe it's the top right?

[left of center]

Its a nice proposal, but seems like a waste of such a large plot of land. Could have easily gone with a much larger and denser building considering this is one of the most in demand neighborhoods in the city. I guess it speaks to the difficulty that developers have had as of late getting larger projects off the ground locally.

[HiRiser]

Originally Posted by twister244

I LOVE this..... Very sleek and sexy looking.

There seems to be a trend lately of more brickwork like this, and I'm here for it. These sorts of developments look nice, and age well over time.

I Love this too. The use of brick in contemporary architecture. Such as classic look.

[Chicago Shawn]

I'm sorry, but that concept for 1220 W Carroll is completely unacceptable for the location. We are planning for an eventual "downtown" Metra station immediately northwest of here, and on this prime location for what could be one of the best transit centric sites in the city, we see this waste of space?

There isn't even a ground floor function to engage the large quantity of pedestrians that would likely be walking through here in the future. Ground floor residential behind a front lawn of mowed grass? No thanks, keep in this in outlying neighborhoods or the suburbs. This is not even appropriate for a outlying neighborhood retail corridor. Sure, the rendering looks to offer a nice masonry facade, but that is lipstick on a pig.

The development scene in Chicago for the last few years truly has been a big disappointment for much of the time, but as we are seeing financing starting to flow to some of the projects we have been anticipating for a while, we can demand better. 400 N Elizabeth one block away is a go, proving we don't need coping to settle for such a low bar for future downtown development just because it is a "tough time". The city really should have a zoning overlay with density minimums if we are serious about spending a couple billion in public funds to modernize the A-2 rail junction and build a large new station here.

[Randomguy34]

I feel like people are forgetting height and density, while correlated, are not the same thing. 1133 W Kinzie is a pretty small lot (125 ft x 250 ft) and 109 units will easily get you above Manhattan level densities (>75k ppsm). Do I wish it was taller, yes. I care more though about getting a very dense downtown and 1133 W Kinzie gets us there.

[cloudbod]

I think this is a solid use of the 1220 W Carroll lot-- ground floor activation seems like a tall order for a building directly abutting a busy diesel rail corridor. I agree it could use a few more stories, but I think the stepping-up layering effect it'll give to the taller towers behind it will be far more interesting and engaging for residents than the earlier proposal-- a 300ft glass box atop a parking podium almost identical to the buildings behind it.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Ground floor residential behind a front lawn of mowed grass? No thanks, keep in this in outlying neighborhoods or the suburbs. This is not even appropriate for a outlying neighborhood retail corridor.

I don't think the lawn is deliberate. The building comes right up to the lot line, but the city owns that strip of grass as part of Kinzie St and the long term plan (I think) is to eventually widen the street like the block between Peoria and Green Streets. The developer probably doesn't want to sink a bunch of money into some elaborate plaza design on city property if the city is just gonna rip it out in 5 years.

The lack of retail doesn't offend me, the ground floor is activated with residential units and patios and all the surrounding buildings along Kinzie there are pretty closed-off, this isn't some vibrant walkable retail street.

[catb]

Originally Posted by cloudbod

I think this is a solid use of the 1220 W Carroll lot-- ground floor activation seems like a tall order for a building directly abutting a busy diesel rail corridor. I agree it could use a few more stories, but I think the stepping-up layering effect it'll give to the taller towers behind it will be far more interesting and engaging for residents than the earlier proposal-- a 300ft glass box atop a parking podium almost identical to the buildings behind it.

Completely agree, like Randomly said above, this is still plenty dense. And not some vertical suburb that is being being left and right around the city. These types of buildings add to an urban fabric in a way that is beyond measurable.

[Jstange059]

Will be 70 units when complete
https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate...htclub-sold-for-conversion-to-apartments

[Busy Bee]

Crains: MHub is planning a massive West Side campus bigger than The 78

[catb]

Originally Posted by Jstange059

Will be 70 units when complete
https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate...htclub-sold-for-conversion-to-apartments

Gorgeous building with true vintage River North character. Love to see it

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Crains: MHub is planning a massive West Side campus bigger than The 78

Render from the article:


I don't quite yet know what MHub does, but hopefully, this gets a lot of traction. Would be amazing for the west side of the city.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Render from the article:

I don't quite yet know what MHub does, but hopefully, this gets a lot of traction. Would be amazing for the west side of the city.

I"m not sure about the full extent, but they tend to focus on being an incubator for hard-tech solutions. So.... Think about things that make manufacturing more efficient, or more environmentally friendly, etc, etc. I know there are some climate tech folks trying to build out some solutions in there.

Basically, it's focused on actual things to make energy/manufacturing/etc work better as opposed to the Quantum efforts on the South side aiming to make Quantum computing work for tech entrepreneurs and large companies.

To me, things like MHub feels a little more like what you would expect in a city like Chicago. Given our history of being a major hub for supply chain logistics, manufacturing, etc, etc - It feels like a natural fit for us. Of course I want to see the Quantum effort take off here, but having this is a great complimentary effort to bring the Chicago economy into a post-industrial age......

[twister244]

I would also add..... This (MHub expansion), along with the 1901 project really does make me wonder how long it will be before you see Garfield Park turn over, and not just the Eastern parts. We're starting to see more and more small construction projects go up in East Garfield Park given how close it is to this growing cohort of activity from Ogen to Damen.

The other thing to remember is how transit-accessible this area is: Blue/Green/Pink lines, the expressway, and multiple Metra lines funneling in... Seems like such a natural spot for growth.

[ardecila]

Interesting. I wish them the best, but these tech park things don't have a great track record in Chicago. There was a time in the 90s when Northwestern tried to build their own Kendall Square in Evanston, the ISTP in Skokie failed, Sterling Bay tried and failed to build a biotech cluster, etc. Then Covid came and killed office demand for the "soft tech"/FAANGs and startups etc. Even Google's move to the Thompson Center is gonna be a reduction in office space vs their existing office in Fulton Market.

I have some faith in the quantum park because it seems like Chicago is first to the party in that market sector and because the nature of quantum research needs a physical facility, but the location kinda sucks. It is miles away from everything that makes Chicago a desirable place to live. I doubt it will ever grow into something resembling a real neighborhood like Kendall Square, it'll just be Argonne Lab 2 but in the city.

[BrickellBased]

Notable, from the article

Millard said the nightclub, where a security guard died in 2019 after a shoot-out between patrons, will vacate the building in eight months, but the firm plans to begin construction before then. Sound Bar is in the building’s basement, Millard said, and that, coupled with the nightclub’s operating hours, means it shouldn’t be impacted by the construction.

The neighborhood has been trying to get rid of that club for many years given the commotion and frequent police presence it attracts on weekends. As a former resident of the area this is pretty significant news for the better.

Originally Posted by Jstange059

Will be 70 units when complete
https://chicago.suntimes.com/real-estate...htclub-sold-for-conversion-to-apartments