CHICAGO | General Developments

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Some guy just spent time removing all the paint from a wonderful two flat facing douglas park and then the idiots painted it... Black...

WHY THE FUCK DO PEOPLE PAINT BRICK? WHY GOD, WHY??????????????????



sorry for the shouting, but it's one of my biggest pet peeves.

the whole goddamn point of bothering with the expense of building with brick is so that you never have to paint it, EVER!


#toomanystupidpeople

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Some guy on Twitter figured out that the guy who owns the RV Kunka building is just a landbanking jagoff who doesn't bother to put tenants in his units. Those type of guys are the other issue with Archer, which is why it feels like a ghost town... ugh.

^ I just don't buy this. Unless you are a property tax-exempt non-for-profit, there is nothing financially to gain from hanging on to vacant buildings and so-called "land-banking". I just don't think that private property owners are willingly doing this

[Bonsai Tree]

Originally Posted by Barrelfish

Good article in Block Club on the delays to the Calatrava sculpture on the river:

Hahahahahahahaha

[Chi-Sky21]

You guys are RACIST. #Blackbricksmatter

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I've always thought Archer could evolve into a south side version of Milwaukee! Gotta do a road diet first so it's not a drag strip, and certainly wider sidewalks. The Ashland intersection is a suburban hellhole also.

Some guy on Twitter figured out that the guy who owns the RV Kunka building is just a landbanking jagoff who doesn't bother to put tenants in his units. Those type of guys are the other issue with Archer, which is why it feels like a ghost town... ugh. I did see a recent zoning app to renovate the awesome building at 3022 S Archer into new residential units with a ground floor commercial space, so that's good.

The owner of the building is Joe Feng who i believe owns Topspeed autosport nearby. I could be wrong but the only other building I see him owning is 250 W 24th Pl in Chinatown, a small apartment building

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by chi-sky21

you guys are racist. #blackbricksmatter

claycist

[harryc]

Oct 15

[marothisu]

There is a car showroom coming to the building formerly known as the John Hancock Center. I am assuming in the former Best Buy space. Anybody know what it will be? My guess would be something showy and expensive, but who knows.

[ardecila]

^ Could be a luxury brand, that's the most obvious assumption.

However, it could also be a mainstream auto company looking to create a flagship, like a permanent auto show display. Mag Mile real estate is so expensive that it's hard to make a profit on sales alone - usually part of the rent is subsidized as a marketing expense. But car dealerships are operated independently so they don't have f***-you level marketing budgets to work with. That suggests the involvement of the automaker itself. The automaker is prohibited from selling direct to the customer, they can't compete with their own dealerships, but they can promote their products and provide a list of nearby dealerships.

The Best Buy space isn't really large enough to show physical cars anyway (and it's on two levels without an auto ramp) but they can do infographics, virtual displays, etc.

[marothisu]

I used to go to that Best Buy a bit when I lived nearby. While its not as big as a regular Best Buy, it can definitely fit some cars in it. The permit estimated cost is over $200K as well. If the Tesla showroom nearby can fit a handful of cars then so can this. Not the same set up but there should be a small handful at least. Also consider that the layout of BB made it seem smaller than it really is. The entire store is 35,000 sq ft. The Bentley, Lamborghini, etc dealership nearby is 11,000 sq ft and the Tesla one near that is even smaller.

As far as the brand goes I guess it could be anything. I won't put my money on a supercar dealership. Could easily be something like Honda or Hyundai or maybe even a brand from China like Geely or another foreign manufacturer trying to break into the American market. Although my money is on someone like GM...

[the urban politician]

I don’t see why GM, Ford, etc types would want a Mag Mile showroom

I see it being a company that really wants to get their name brand out there into the mainstream. I think it will be Tesla

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I don’t see why GM, Ford, etc types would want a Mag Mile showroom

I see it being a company that really wants to get their name brand out there into the mainstream. I think it will be Tesla

Tesla was supposed to have one at 800 N Michigan which fell through. They already have a showroom nearby at Delaware & Rush. I suppose they could move but I'm guessing it's not them.

I am saying someone like GM because they aren't as fashionable as a Tesla or others. My guess is a brand like that trying to win certain people over again. Perhaps a big brand pushing their electric brands to compete with Tesla.

Either that or a higher end type of car from another country like Geely, trying to establish a US footprint. Although my wife (probably rightly) points out not many people in the US currently would buy a brand like Geely.

[Fvn]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I am saying someone like GM because they aren't as fashionable as a Tesla or others. My guess is a brand like that trying to win certain people over again. Perhaps a big brand pushing their electric brands to compete with Tesla.

If not this, I'd say Rivian

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Fvn

If not this, I'd say Rivian

Yeah but they said they don't want showrooms. Unless they changed position..

[Fvn]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yeah but they said they don't want showrooms. Unless they changed position..

I think that was for dealers, I came across this quote in a Bloomberg article from September of this year:

Plug-in truck maker Rivian, which aims to begin selling its R1T pickup and R1S SUV next year without a franchised dealer network, likely will open its first showrooms in California and Illinois, states that are friendly to its business model, Chen said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ct-sales-fight

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Fvn

I think that was for dealers, I came across this quote in a Bloomberg article from September of this year:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ct-sales-fight

Nice. Might be them then...

[Busy Bee]

I've always thought that if French cars come back to the US, high end "design showrooms" like what we're talking about would be cool. I could totally see a Citroen showroom on Mich Ave, promoting them as unique and different.

[marothisu]

The link to my permit map in my signature was all messed up. Hope it works now..

[Mister Uptempo]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

I've always thought that if French cars come back to the US, high end "design showrooms" like what we're talking about would be cool. I could totally see a Citroen showroom on Mich Ave, promoting them as unique and different.

When the topic about an auto dealer moving into 875 N. Michigan came up, my first thoughts went to Peugeot, but they are not scheduled to re-enter the US market until 2023 at the earliest.

[marothisu]

I just read that Lucid Motors is planning to open up a Chicago showroom in 2021 along with a handful of other cities..