CHICAGO | General Developments

[Randomguy34]

I've been keeping tabs of downtown's proposed and U/C unit count since reading that article (read here). Short answer: downtown could easily gain more than 100,000 residents. I'll try to post a breakdown later tonight

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I've been keeping tabs of downtown's proposed and U/C unit count since reading that article (read here). Short answer: downtown could easily gain more than 100,000 residents. I'll try to post a breakdown later tonight

That would be amazing, thanks! I agree with 100k+ – it'll be exciting to experience Chicago take another step up in energy downtown, especially in some of the traditionally liminal areas.

[nomarandlee]

I have always thought it would be cool if the north/south sides of SF were demolished or at least made very accessible and open to the public. Or at least open up the north side of the stadium so it would view out onto the Field Museum as it originally was when first built.

Perhaps also knock down the upper level on the west side of SF so as to reveal at least the west side colonnades, while getting ride the worst of the UFO appearance, would be nice.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2...rlington-heights-working-group-lightfoot

Lightfoot asks working group to ‘reimagine’ Museum Campus — with or without the Bears
The 23-member group will be chaired by Mesirow Chairman and CEO Richard Price. Former Chicago Plan Commission Chairman Martin Cabrera, CEO of Cabrera Capital, will serve as so-called “athletic facilities lead.”

By Fran Spielman Feb 8, 2022, 2:26pm CST

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday asked nearly two dozen prominent Chicagoans to “re-imagine” the 57-acre Museum Campus and recommend ways to “maximize” its year-round benefits — with or without the Chicago Bears......
So Lightfoot is putting together a "commission" on ideas of what to do after the Bears leave Soldier Field. It will probably be a draft of vague, expensive, or unrealistic ideas but any here have thoughts on what should be done if/when the Bears leave?

Adelmann argued the possibilities for Soldier Field are endless — particularly if the Bears make the move to Arlington Heights.

“It’s an amazing location for cultural and sports events. Are there things that could continue? Should it be transformed? Should the new part of the stadium be removed and go back to the original? There are so many questions,” Adelmann said........
Noting Openlands was “not pleased” with the much-ridiculed renovation of Soldier Field, Adelmann even raised the possibility of maintaining the historic colonnades and turning the seating bowl into an open-air concert venue, akin to the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.......
..

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

I have always thought it would be cool if the north/south sides of SF were demolished or at least made very accessible and open to the public. Or at least open up the north side of the stadium so it would view out onto the Field Museum as it originally was when first built.

Perhaps also knock down the upper level on the west side of SF so as to reveal at least the west side colonnades, while getting ride the worst of the UFO appearance, would be nice.

Personally, I'd be delighted if the end result of the Bears moving to Arlington Heights is a downsized and retrofitted Soldier Field for the Fire and concerts and stuff while they get rid of the parking lots to the south in favor of another museum or more parkland. That would be a big win for the city IMO.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

Personally, I'd be delighted if the end result of the Bears moving to Arlington Heights is a downsized and retrofitted Soldier Field for the Fire and concerts and stuff while they get rid of the parking lots to the south in favor of another museum or more parkland. That would be a big win for the city IMO.

Another museum... already tried that with the Lucas Museum. Didn't go to good.

[ardecila]

A few people didn't like the principle of another building on the lakefront, but I think most people were turned off by the specific architecture of the Lucas Museum and the idea that a billionaire can just come in and buy a piece of lakefront. Also, that billionaire happened to be the creator of Star Wars and some people were worried it would turn into a tawdry theme park attraction. Other people were just Bears fans who didn't want to lose their tailgating. Really just the perfect storm of opposition.

If the Bears leave, and another museum comes along with better architecture and a nonprofit/government backing I think it is far more likely to succeed. Obama Center moved forward eventually, and the Peggy Notebaert museum was built in Lincoln Park with no controversy at all.

If the city wants to turn Soldier Field back into a concert venue, I could easily see a music museum getting built alongside to honor Chicago's contributions in blues, gospel, folk music. Assuming there was serious funding behind it, that would be a slam dunk even on the lakefront. FOTP will complain but nobody will care.

[Via Chicago]

isnt obama a different legal challenge tho? thought the primary thing with Lucas was the east of LSD issue

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

isnt obama a different legal challenge tho? thought the primary thing with Lucas was the east of LSD issue

There is no magical status to the land east of LSD. Pretty much all the lakefront parkland including Jackson Park is reclaimed land from Lake Michigan that is subject to public trust doctrine. This applies equally to both Lucas and Obama sites. All of it subject to Lakefront Protection Ordinance as well regardless of what side of LSD you're on.

It's hard to argue that a museum is not a public purpose, which is why the Obama lawsuits kept getting tossed. Lucas was slightly different in that it was basically a vanity project for a billionaire, but I think it too would have passed the public trust doctrine test in court so long as Lucas was willing to agree to basic operating rules to ensure that the museum served the public (free student admission, free days, etc).

There IS a magical status to Grant Park due to the Montgomery Ward decisions, there is a legal precedent for a ban on buildings between Randolph and 11th St. But that's been stretched too, the Art Institute always had a carveout, plenty of below-grade structures exist in the park and things like Petrillo Bandshell etc.

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

isnt obama a different legal challenge tho? thought the primary thing with Lucas was the east of LSD issue

It was a factor earlier because Public Dedication Trust (parks) is a weaker protection than Public Trust Doctrine (lakeshore), but the ruling for the Obama Presidential Library has cleared the way for any new museums whether on the lakefront or not.

The main issue with the Lucas Museum and OPC was that there had never been an official ruling in court concerning museums. Now, it’s state law, and the court agreed museums did not violate Public Trust. But somebody had to be the first.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

Personally, I'd be delighted if the end result of the Bears moving to Arlington Heights is a downsized and retrofitted Soldier Field for the Fire and concerts and stuff while they get rid of the parking lots to the south in favor of another museum or more parkland. That would be a big win for the city IMO.

Win-win, Bears games become enjoyable and the city regains some bad ass lakefront real estate.

[ithakas]

I'd be happy to see another institution on the museum campus, but there's no dearth of them – anything that activates more of the area and isn't a parking lot is a good thing in my book.

Is Northerly Island's development into a kind of wooded camping area still in progress? It seems like there's been some hiccups there, though I'm not really clear on the state of things... To the extent a hiking or wooded camping area can be fabricated I think it would be a major hit.

I'm not sure how lakefront restaurant spaces are negotiated, but the museum campus could use a couple. One idea would be to cut Solidarity Drive off to car traffic at Linn White Drive and use the western half off the median (between Linn White and Copernicus) to build a long terraced restaurant space that spills out onto the former road facing north. Probably will never happen though!

[ardecila]

I'm a big fan of concessions in parks... we should have a beer garden in every major inland park and dotted up/down the lakefront.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm a big fan of concessions in parks... we should have a beer garden in every major inland park and dotted up/down the lakefront.

God yes!

I would love for there to be a beer stop along the lakefront every 1/2 mile from Hollywood down to 79th st

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ithakas

I'm not sure how lakefront restaurant spaces are negotiated, but the museum campus could use a couple.

^ Ain't that the truth. The random dude selling hot dogs and tacos near Shedd Aquarium just ain't cuttin' it....

[Chi-Sky21]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

God yes!

I would love for there to be a beer stop along the lakefront every 1/2 mile from Hollywood down to 79th st

Now THAT sounds like a drinking challenge....about 19 miles...biking that distance on 38 beers, better make em coors light, and you are gonna need more porta potties...

[CaptainJilliams]

In other news, according to Placer.ai, it looks like Chicago has actually done pretty well compared to other major cities in terms of retail performance in light of the pandemic:

As Recovery Continues, Chicago Retail Outperforming Other Major Cities

"...Chicago has fared a bit better during the past few months than cities such as New York City and Los Angeles. Foot traffic in its retail outlets bounced back in the fall, a recovery which has continued into the winter, Placer.ai found.

Chicago retailers avoided these severe disruptions. Stores here were already outperforming their counterparts on the coasts as of last summer. Traffic in July 2021 was up about 2% over the July 2019 level, Placer.ai found. By August, traffic was up 4%. And after suffering a blip in foot traffic across much of the fall shopping season, by December retailers were back to equaling the market’s performance in December 2019, just before the pandemic’s onset."

Found this interesting given my perception was the opposite, especially with closures on Mag Mile. But I guess maybe good news going forward?

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by CaptainJilliams

In other news, according to Placer.ai, it looks like Chicago has actually done pretty well compared to other major cities in terms of retail performance in light of the pandemic:

As Recovery Continues, Chicago Retail Outperforming Other Major Cities

"...Chicago has fared a bit better during the past few months than cities such as New York City and Los Angeles. Foot traffic in its retail outlets bounced back in the fall, a recovery which has continued into the winter, Placer.ai found.

Chicago retailers avoided these severe disruptions. Stores here were already outperforming their counterparts on the coasts as of last summer. Traffic in July 2021 was up about 2% over the July 2019 level, Placer.ai found. By August, traffic was up 4%. And after suffering a blip in foot traffic across much of the fall shopping season, by December retailers were back to equaling the market’s performance in December 2019, just before the pandemic’s onset."

Found this interesting given my perception was the opposite, especially with closures on Mag Mile. But I guess maybe good news going forward?

Weekend and afternoon retail shopping did not seem much of an issue this past year from what I could see. There were some department stores with weak fundamentals prior to the pandemic that closed, but that’s up to businesses and landlords to deal with.

It’s mostly been restaurants impacted by the pandemic, particularly those that serve office workers. That will take some time to sort out.

[thegoatman]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

Weekend and afternoon retail shopping did not seem much of an issue this past year from what I could see. There were some department stores with weak fundamentals prior to the pandemic that closed, but that’s up to businesses and landlords to deal with.

It’s mostly been restaurants impacted by the pandemic, particularly those that serve office workers. That will take some time to sort out.

Pritzker just announced the mask mandate is ending and the city announced that the vax mandate will be gone by spring. This city should be at full speed by summertime.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Ain't that the truth. The random dude selling hot dogs and tacos near Shedd Aquarium just ain't cuttin' it....

I mean, even just a bunch of picnic tables and food trucks would work (though I don't know if food trucks are allowed to serve booze, but surely that could be made into a thing).

[marothisu]

A new 5 story building with ground floor retail and 27 apartments is being pitched in Logan Square for Fullerton & Washtenaw. It would replace a 1 story credit union and its parking lot next door. Although this is not too far from the California Blue Line stop, it will still have 27 parking spots.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/02/09/...h900hoU-9gxizdHi4Cac92SAYCfdxB5S6rkWEcYQ

Site in question:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caball...2309e6259!8m2!3d41.9246708!4d-87.6954784