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Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago
Yeah. We get it. You hate DP. Never mind that if that hadn't come first we'd still have a bunch of abandoned railway tracks.
I think the odds of that happening are about as great as pigs growing wings and taking to flight.
DP, which I join those who hate those walls, gives a bit of much needed green space in the midst of all that development. Remember the "park" on top of the British school? Well, um yeah. DP1 has not one but two parks, one right behind the station that is packed at all times, and another at the corner of Roosevelt and Clark that is used for all sorts of park-ish things, the tennis courts are busy, etc.
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Are you suggesting that anything that would replace Dearborn Park would not have proposed parkland as a part of the development? It would be pretty inconceivable to think that the residents and alderman would accept such a plan without some thought given to public space.
Green space aside, the problem with Dearborn Park is the development's utter contempt for its surroundings. It cuts off all through streets, walls itself from the surrounding neighborhoods, and is designed as a private gated subdivision in the center of the city.
No one here is saying that DP isn't a product of its times. Yes, it brought vitality to the South Loop at a time when the city was on a hard downhill decline, but its time is up. It needs to be opened up to the rest of the city, or redeveloped entirely.
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Originally Posted by Busy Bee
The only thing that's going to change Dearborn Park is GREEN. Not trees, but cash money buyouts by a real estate company with deep pockets. The process would take years with the process of so many units and obligatory hold-outs. That said, I honestly don't see the market supporting such an action for at least 25 years, if well ever.
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In due time, once all the available land in the South Loop is eaten up, DP1 will be seen as a ripe target for redevelopment. I believe Illinois law stipulates that an entire development can be bought outright if something like 60% of all the members of an HOA agree to a buyout. (The percentage may be a bit off, but I believe its in that ballpark). 20-25 years out sounds about right. Saying that it might never will be redeveloped is taking a very negative approach to the future desirability and vitality of central Chicago.