CHICAGO | General Developments

[k1052]

Originally Posted by MultiModal

The only existing buildings that could fit McDonald's in (>400,000 SF available) are;

515 N State
227 W Monroe (The Franklin)
71 S Wacker
131 S Dearborn (Citadel)
130 E Randolph (One Prudential Plaza)
233 S Wacker (Sears Tower)

I have heard rumblings about them moving into Sears and I do think it makes the most sense

My fingers are crossed that they'd consider the Post Office if the fix is truly in between Sterling Bay and City Hall.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Kumdogmillionaire

I'd be okay with about half of those biting the dust

Washington Park Bank needs to be preserved.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

The old chinatown block is one of my favorite in the city. Chicago boosters love to espouse chicagos grit, but then advocate for its sterilization in the same breath.

Good riddance to old chinatown. Congress Parkway is already enough of a gulch between the Loop and South Loop, we don't need a whole block of blighted buildings to make it worse.

None of those buildings are especially notable, either.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Good riddance to old chinatown. Congress Parkway is already enough of a gulch between the Loop and South Loop, we don't need a whole block of blighted buildings to make it worse.

None of those buildings are especially notable, either.

Areas and buildings are preserved for their historical significance as well as architectural. Among other reasons, historical areas are important to visitors (think tourism) to the city and potentially in this case to Asian immigrants.
Meanwhile, whatever would replace these buildings, like the vast majority of what is constructed, would likely be of no interest to anyone.

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by ithakas

That's exactly what I've hoped they would do with an HQ relocation to Chicago. They wouldn't even need to tear down the Rock N Roll if they wanted to build a new HQ there though – there's a half block parking lot right next to it. The area to the west (Ed Debevic's/former Planet Hollywood) is being quickly redeveloped but somehow the Rock N Roll/Rainforest/Hard Rock area has avoided any changes so far.

At any rate, it sounds like they're looking at Sears Tower? I'm guessing wherever they end up will be closer to the suburban commuter lines.

Most of the holdup is with leases, a developer actually bought the Rainforest property, but they have a lease with renewal option that extends to 2020 IIRC. I've always joked that McD's should just cantilever their HQ over the RnR.

Speaking of the Sears, someone posted about a redevelopment of the base a week or two ago. Has anyone heard any other rumors regarding this?

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by gallo

To be clear, the image shown below is of the Addison Park on Clark development, which will be replacing Starbucks and 7-11 on the Addison Street side and just about everything on the Clark Street side all the way down to Goose Island.

About that....

Foreclosure suits stall big development near Wrigley Field
Ryan Ori - Crain's Chicago Business - 3/3/2016

A long-planned retail and residential project along Wrigley Field could face a further delay with two new foreclosure suits hitting one of its developers.

The suits are against ventures led by Steven Schultz, who owns several Clark Street buildings that would be demolished to make way for the development, Addison Park on Clark.

The complaints come as Chicago-based M&R Development and Bucksbaum Retail Properties, led by former General Growth Properties CEO John Bucksbaum, are ready to buy the properties from Schultz's Preferred Equities.

...

The M&R-led venture has construction financing lined up and was close to completing the acquisition of the properties from Preferred Equities, which would maintain an ownership stake in the development, M&R President Tony Rossi said.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...-wrigley-field

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Areas and buildings are preserved for their historical significance as well as architectural. Historical areas are important to visitors to the city (think tourism) and potentially in this case to Asian immigrants. Whatever would replace these buildings, like the vast majority of what is constructed, would likely be of no interest to anyone.

It's a vestige. There's no coherent district, and none of the five remaining buildings have any kind of significance to the Chinese community that I'm aware. No Chinese-owned businesses or institutions are here. The only good thing is Sky Ride Tap.

Of course, I'm not sure there's much demand for redevelopment right across the street from the jail and under some gloomy L tracks.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by k1052

It is my sincere hope that Lakeside Center lives on in perpetuity if only to spite Blair Kamin.

Lose Lakeside and Arie Crown also goes. I don't know how much value it has or if MPEA would seek to replace it. But AC is notable as the highest capacity hall in the city (e.g. I believe the NFL draft wanted to use AC although it would still have been far smaller than its normal 6K capacity Radio City home).
Years ago there was interest in having a larger home for organizations in cramped quarters. I wonder if there would be interest in either trying to create something new as part of the area entertainment district (though it is outside the current area frequented by Loop theater-goers) or if even an enhanced Arie Crown could be used more fully (obviously also removed from the typical theater area).

[MultiModal]

Originally Posted by ChickeNES

Most of the holdup is with leases, a developer actually bought the Rainforest property, but they have a lease with renewal option that extends to 2020 IIRC. I've always joked that McD's should just cantilever their HQ over the RnR.

Speaking of the Sears, someone posted about a redevelopment of the base a week or two ago. Has anyone heard any other rumors regarding this?

They major overhaul of the base and 150,000 SF of retail is suppose to begin Q1 of 2017.

Extensive renovations to the interior (such as new tenant amenities and elevator modernization) will start very soon and is expected to be finished by August.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Good riddance to old chinatown. Congress Parkway is already enough of a gulch between the Loop and South Loop, we don't need a whole block of blighted buildings to make it worse.

None of those buildings are especially notable, either.

well, good riddance to your opinion. i disagree. im not saying these buildings should somehow remain blighted forever. but theyre perfectly serviceable, handsome, and "chicago-esque" for lack of a better description. they can be rehabilitated into other uses. what, we need another anonymous block long, blue glass lobby doorman condo (with a parking podium and rooftop dog park to boot)? these buildings offer far more fine grained urban fabric than those do, that much i sincerely believe.

Originally Posted by ardecila

It's a vestige.

so what? everything is a vestige in one way or another. thats irrelevant.

i dont think it needs to be preserved because it happened to be the old chinatown (although its an interesting footnote). i think it should be preserved because they are unique buildings in their own right, the types of which basically no longer exist in or near the Loop, and which just so happen to cater to a demographic that has been all but whitewashed from downtown and which people would prefer to sweep under the rug or pretend dosent exist.


once again, perfect example of "I love Chicago's grittiness! Yea, we're so big shouldered and down and dirty and tough and all about the common man. Now please erase it all!"


its a corny quote but, if we accept it as true, then this block certainly has a hell of a lot to say if youre willing to listen



i actually did such a thing, and photographed the block and its people as a personal project almost every day for several months a couple years ago. you can learn a lot about the city you live in by doing such a thing. its one of my favorite corners of Chicago precisely because of its flaws and daily struggles. and i believe flaws and quirks are far more interesting than perfections. perfection is sterile and boring. its initially what drew me to Chicago, and its what I love in other cities. forget the tourist shopping districts. bring me to the underbelly, post-haste.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by MultiModal

They major overhaul of the base and 150,000 SF of retail is suppose to begin Q1 of 2017.

Extensive renovations to the interior (such as new tenant amenities and elevator modernization) will start very soon and is expected to be finished by August.

Source?

[MultiModal]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Source?

Telos, who is handles the office leasing for the building, gave a presentation regarding the interior renovations and new amenities for tenants. They also talked about the plans that CBRE has for the new retail.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Lose Lakeside and Arie Crown also goes. I don't know how much value it has or if MPEA would seek to replace it. But AC is notable as the highest capacity hall in the city (e.g. I believe the NFL draft wanted to use AC although it would still have been far smaller than its normal 6K capacity Radio City home).
Years ago there was interest in having a larger home for organizations in cramped quarters. I wonder if there would be interest in either trying to create something new as part of the area entertainment district (though it is outside the current area frequented by Loop theater-goers) or if even an enhanced Arie Crown could be used more fully (obviously also removed from the typical theater area).

I think it's too isolated to have much other practical use unless as a component of a larger reuse (museum, etc).

[spyguy]

http://www.colum.edu/news-and-events...l#.Vthj1JMrJZ0

Student Center Program Completed
Evan Kleekamp / Mar 01, 2016

...Current plans for the student center call for a 104,000 square foot, four-level building with a rooftop garden and lounge (outdoor square footage not included in overall total). SCB used nine categories to define the building spaces:

...With programming complete, the college now enters into the design phase. The next step for the college will be to complete the cost estimate of the new center and to issue a national request for qualifications (RFQ) in the selection process for a design firm.

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://www.colum.edu/news-and-events...l#.Vthj1JMrJZ0

My understanding is that Columbia is currently suffering some financial hardship, so I'm a bit surprised to see that they're moving forward with a new development.

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

Lose Lakeside and Arie Crown also goes. I don't know how much value it has or if MPEA would seek to replace it. But AC is notable as the highest capacity hall in the city (e.g. I believe the NFL draft wanted to use AC although it would still have been far smaller than its normal 6K capacity Radio City home).
Years ago there was interest in having a larger home for organizations in cramped quarters. I wonder if there would be interest in either trying to create something new as part of the area entertainment district (though it is outside the current area frequented by Loop theater-goers) or if even an enhanced Arie Crown could be used more fully (obviously also removed from the typical theater area).

I don't think Arie Crown would be missed. It was basically closed for a couple years and still doesn't get much use. And if that place closed, that just means more demand for places like the New Regal, Uptown, Auditorium.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by k1052

It is my sincere hope that Lakeside Center lives on in perpetuity if only to spite Blair Kamin.

fyi:
Kamin has an article ou describing thoughts from Jahn on repurposing Lakeside

[Kumdogmillionaire]

Originally Posted by k1052

It is my sincere hope that Lakeside Center lives on in perpetuity if only to spite Blair Kamin.

That's true, anything to make that little goober mad would be worth it

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by MultiModal

The only existing buildings that could fit McDonald's in (>400,000 SF available) are;

I have heard rumblings about them moving into Sears and I do think it makes the most sense

Can we then call the building "Big Mac"?

[aaron38]

Was in the city today, and saw that a lot had been cleared at Belmont and Ridgeway. Don't figure it's anything big, but was wondering if anyone knew what was being built there.