CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[ChiND]

That’s a great looking tower.

[The Lurker]

Replaces a 1 story Walgreens and adds some bulk to the north side skyline filling in a sore gap. No complaints here.

[mark0]

Originally Posted by ChiND

That’s a great looking tower.

? That is seriously ugly as f. What is with this crowd and butt ugly buildings? Can't this city make a building people enjoy looking at for once? The density is great the design is god awful

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by The Lurker

Replaces a 1 story Walgreens and adds some bulk to the north side skyline filling in a sore gap. No complaints here.

It would replace the surface parking lot on LaSalle too. It would stretch the entire north side of North Ave from LaSalle to Wells and gobble up the 1 story Walgreens in the process.

[Randomguy34]

Nice, but Fern Hill sure wanted to go through a lot of work just to propose a 36 story building

[takascar]

Originally Posted by mark0

? That is seriously ugly as f. What is with this crowd and butt ugly buildings? Can't this city make a building people enjoy looking at for once? The density is great the design is god awful

Like I say, whenever you want to invest $100mm's of dollars to build a masterpiece, go right ahead. Otherwise, people build buildings to make money, not to satisfy blog posters.

Cracks me up every time folks somehow think that developers have to consult Skyscraperpage before designing their building

[mark0]

Originally Posted by takascar

Like I say, whenever you want to invest $100mm's of dollars to build a masterpiece, go right ahead. Otherwise, people build buildings to make money, not to satisfy blog posters.

Cracks me up every time folks somehow think that developers have to consult Skyscraperpage before designing their building

That's not what I'm saying. They are spending a lot of money on terrible and expensive details that contribute nothing appealing to the tens of thousands of taxpayers that have to live with this building every day. Frankly I don't blame the developers I blame the designers telling them this is a good idea. It's freaking turquoise and yellow flanked by brick structures that try to "relate" to the neighborhood while insulting it. Just a visual mess all around.

[Toasty Joe]

From a color standpoint, it'd look a lot better with darker teal on bottom getting progressively lighter towards the top. Axe the golden yellow streaks.

Otherwise it looks decent (from what we can tell)

[pilsenarch]

Looks to me that it is a very sublime project inspired by Wells, The Moody Church, Lincoln Park, and the lake...

(BTW, I am a taxpayer too although I don't see how this has anything to do with this project)

[r18tdi]

No mention of the architect in the Crain's story. I wonder if David Adjaye had any hand in it (now that he is persona non grata)...

[west-town-brad]

I thought the plan was originally for multiple towers?

[r18tdi]

Urbanize is reporting GREC is behind the design. I still wonder if any of Adjaye's earlier design work filtered down into this version. We'll probably never know.

https://chicago.urbanize.city/post/f...1600-n-lasalle

Hopefully the Committee on Design doesn't chicken out on the color selection, like they did for 800 W. Lake.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

I thought the plan was originally for multiple towers?

I believe it was for 3 towers--this is one. The original plan also called for a building at the site of the BP gas station at Clark/LaSalle (although some groups are trying to preserve it) and the bank building at Clark/North.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Handro

I believe it was for 3 towers--this is one. The original plan also called for a building at the site of the BP gas station at Clark/LaSalle (although some groups are trying to preserve it) and the bank building at Clark/North.

One high-rise was supposed to replace the grocery store but they backtracked early in the process when the septuagenarian NIMBYs at Americana Tower melted down extra hard.

It does look like they are redeveloping the BP site with a low-rise, contextual addition that matches Moody.


Urbanize

[Dasylirion]

It definitely would be nice to see the surface lot go, but losing the Stanley Tigerman Walgreens would be a shame, IMO.

[BVictor1]

https://www.costar.com/article/12740...-office-market

Chicago Developer Lands $233 Million Construction Loan, a Rarity for the US Office Market

Fulton St. Cos. Plans 11-Story Building To Be Investor Harrison Street’s New Headquarters

By Ryan Ori
CoStar News

September 27, 2023 | 2:13 P.M.
A developer focused on Chicago’s Fulton Market district has landed $233 million in construction financing for a new office building, a rare feat nationally and a project that's expected to be the first of its kind to break ground in Chicago in more than a year.

Chicago-based Fulton St. Cos. on Wednesday closed on the construction debt, with plans to start building a 400,000-square-foot office structure at 919 W. Fulton within days, founder and CEO Alex Najem told CoStar News. The 11-story building is set to become headquarters for Chicago-based real estate investor Harrison Street Real Estate Capital.

The debt is a combined $233 million from Bank OZK and Manulife Investment Management, according to Keith Largay, one of the JLL brokers who arranged the financing for the developer.

As recently as last summer, Sterling Bay broke ground on a 24-story office tower at 360 N. Green St. in Fulton Market that is now 70% leased, with Boston Consulting Group and law firm Greenberg Traurig set to move there by early 2025.

Fulton St.’s plans for the project have changed over the past year, dropping 100,000 square feet of planned office space to a new total of 400,000, Najem said.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by Handro

I believe it was for 3 towers--this is one. The original plan also called for a building at the site of the BP gas station at Clark/LaSalle (although some groups are trying to preserve it) and the bank building at Clark/North.

yeah looks like 3 towers down to one now.

its nice to see the building plans take shape but sad to see the lack of density in this area since it can support high rises

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Handro

I believe it was for 3 towers--this is one. The original plan also called for a building at the site of the BP gas station at Clark/LaSalle (although some groups are trying to preserve it) and the bank building at Clark/North.

I don't see anything that states that the other towers have been definitively axed.

Preserving the gas station is a folly. Preservation Chicago should be assessing the value of that structure holistically; exalting a facility that sustains the operation of that which has caused the loss of countless architectural treasures is idiotic. That notwithstanding, I see little architectural value in a swoopy, curvy structural support for a canopy. Same goes for that bank, IMO. It's derivative and inelegant, and preservation energy would be better spent on other structures of the same type from the same period. And the Walgreen's... why?

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...tment-building

Developer unveils plan for 36-story, 500-unit Old Town apartment building
By Danny Ecker

The 3-story mass could be great. (Almost) harkens to the Edgar Miller, Robori, et al. studio conversions in the area.

The Moody repro I'm wary of. I can see the result of the emulation falling into an uncanny valley of resemblance.

[Razorback]

Publication: Crain Chicago Business
Developer lands big construction loan for Fulton Market office building
By Danny Ecker

A Fulton Market District developer has pulled off an improbable feat for 2023: landing a construction loan for a nearly $300 million new office building. A venture led by developer Fulton Street Cos. this week closed on new debt it will use to finance a roughly 400,000-square-foot office building at 919 W. Fulton St., according to people familiar with the project. The........

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...ffice-building