HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > General Development


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #20021  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 8:32 PM
jbrady3324 jbrady3324 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by PKDickman View Post
On the earlier renderings and models the vertical bands were narrower and the glazed area was around 50%
Now it is around 40%. The net result is that it looks a little stubby.
To be honest, I think the building is fugly. It might look a bit better when retail fronts are viewable..

On the other hand, The Viva Plaza (Amber Building) looks beautiful. If they can lock in a good restaurant or brew pub, it should be a great corner stone for the Ashland-Damen stretch of Chicago Ave. Beautiful buildings along that stretch of Chicago

What's with allowing condo/apartment buildings to be built on the corner of main streets with the front facing the side street and no retail? I drove by one on Chicago Ave and Elizabeth (south side) and also noticed one at Chicago and Noble (south side). Who allows this stuff?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20022  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 8:45 PM
george's Avatar
george george is offline
dream fast
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: east village, chicago
Posts: 3,290
Quote:
Originally Posted by wierdaaron View Post
^ My thoughts exactly. The NE loop and surrounding area (Langham, new Hyatt property near Trump) are exploding with new hotel ventures. The Virgin hotel will have a rooftop bar and a "signature restaurant" according to its corporate site. The whole tone of the area might change. I'm glad. I'm tired of downtown Chicago closing at 7pm.
Who knows, might even see some retail start to open at the lower level of Trump.
__________________
To have ambition was my ambition - Gang of Four
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20023  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 8:52 PM
wierdaaron's Avatar
wierdaaron wierdaaron is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2,011
Quote:
Originally Posted by george View Post
Who knows, might even see some retail start to open at the lower level of Trump.
The FAA will be on high alert for airborne pigs.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20024  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 9:46 PM
PKDickman PKDickman is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 565
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbrady3324 View Post
To be honest, I think the building is fugly. It might look a bit better when retail fronts are viewable..

On the other hand, The Viva Plaza (Amber Building) looks beautiful. If they can lock in a good restaurant or brew pub, it should be a great corner stone for the Ashland-Damen stretch of Chicago Ave. Beautiful buildings along that stretch of Chicago

What's with allowing condo/apartment buildings to be built on the corner of main streets with the front facing the side street and no retail? I drove by one on Chicago Ave and Elizabeth (south side) and also noticed one at Chicago and Noble (south side). Who allows this stuff?
I agree, it looked better before they built it. I am happy with the Amber Bldg as well. I used to go by and weep for the condition it had fallen into.

The others are the B2 scam.
B2 zoning allows residential uses on the first floor.
You get B2 and use the FAR bump, intended to accommodate the business, and use it for residential.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20025  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 9:53 PM
jbrady3324 jbrady3324 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by PKDickman View Post
I agree, it looked better before they built it. I am happy with the Amber Bldg as well. I used to go by and weep for the condition it had fallen into.

The others are the B2 scam.
B2 zoning allows residential uses on the first floor.
You get B2 and use the FAR bump, intended to accommodate the business, and use it for residential.
Chicago Ave and Grand ave have bizarre zoning. It is a shame.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20026  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 10:39 PM
marothisu marothisu is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Chicago
Posts: 6,883
Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician View Post
^ That whole district of the NE Loop south of Wacker and East of State is just turning into hotel central. With so many out of towners aggregating into one area, one can't help but wonder how it will impact its character. I imagine more restaurants will pop up, as well as cafes and perhaps even nightclubs, with more of a 24 hour feel. Should be interesting to watch the transformation over the next 10 yrs or so...

Please god let it be true (well maybe minus tons of night clubs). I'm so sick and tired of 90% of the Loop being dead after 7pm. Extremely sad, but this could DEFINITELY happen with more visitors who want stuff to do around the places they stay in and not have to go a half mile north to find a bar that doesn't close before midnight on a Saturday (lame).
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20027  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 10:41 PM
PKDickman PKDickman is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 565
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbrady3324 View Post
Chicago Ave and Grand ave have bizarre zoning. It is a shame.
Actually they have pretty normal zoning.

The B2 thing is fairly new. 2004 code.
It is intended to be used to encourage residential development where there is too much business, or to deal with areas abandoned by business that have had their ground floors surreptitiously turned to apartments.

But it only seems to be used as a freebie for developers.

There will be another at Grand and Paulina. They got rezoned to B2-3 just last month

Last edited by PKDickman; Aug 20, 2013 at 11:06 PM. Reason: left out a word
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20028  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 11:14 PM
Chicago Shawn's Avatar
Chicago Shawn Chicago Shawn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2,815
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen View Post
Great news: the old Chicago Motor Club Building is being converted into a hotel, scheduled to open in 2015:
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...883H3247467E8W
This is awesome news. I am also glad to see the little nugget of info on the neighboring 4500 sq foot lot: It was already sold off and will become another hotel.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20029  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 11:31 PM
Ch.G, Ch.G's Avatar
Ch.G, Ch.G Ch.G, Ch.G is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,138
Quote:
Originally Posted by george View Post
I think the design would have been much more successful if the panels were narrower, matched the color of the underlying structure, and (maybe) were more thoughtfully arranged and there were no tint to the windows, but I'm still pleased with it.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20030  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2013, 11:59 PM
denizen467 denizen467 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,212
Did the City wise up and drop the "606" name for the Bloomingdale Trail? David Roeder in the Sun-Times writes today that the construction contract was just awarded, and the proposed branding is mentioned nowhere in the article. More to the point, the underlying press release by the City has seven paragraphs and the name never appears, referring to it only as the Bloomingdale Multipurpose Trail and Park. Da Mare is also quoted there calling it basically the same thing.

(The release also indicates that work will begin by next week! Opening still scheduled for next fall.)

On a semi related point, the contract is for $54 million and involves repairing 40 viaducts. Makes you wonder about the occasional single L station rehab that costs about the same amount.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20031  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 12:01 AM
Rizzo Rizzo is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Chicago
Posts: 7,280
Interesting you mention that, because before they went up, most of the building looked black and had a really cool look to it. I mean I still like the contrast, but something looked more sleek and modern when the whole thing was darker colors. Plus it might have won some folks over that weren't too big on the randomness.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20032  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 12:38 AM
tommaso tommaso is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 396
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
Interesting you mention that, because before they went up, most of the building looked black and had a really cool look to it. I mean I still like the contrast, but something looked more sleek and modern when the whole thing was darker colors. Plus it might have won some folks over that weren't too big on the randomness.
Why not,,,the key is getting your first great modern building built...once people enjoy the taste of it...they will come asking for more
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20033  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 2:47 AM
ardecila's Avatar
ardecila ardecila is offline
TL;DR
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: the city o'wind
Posts: 16,356
Quote:
Originally Posted by denizen467 View Post
Did the City wise up and drop the "606" name for the Bloomingdale Trail? David Roeder in the Sun-Times writes today that the construction contract was just awarded, and the proposed branding is mentioned nowhere in the article. More to the point, the underlying press release by the City has seven paragraphs and the name never appears, referring to it only as the Bloomingdale Multipurpose Trail and Park. Da Mare is also quoted there calling it basically the same thing.
Am I the only one who liked the 606? The logo was awesome, and an unconventional park needs an unconventional name.
__________________
la forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel...
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20034  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:12 AM
jc5680's Avatar
jc5680 jc5680 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Seattle
Posts: 1,367
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
Am I the only one who liked the 606? The logo was awesome, and an unconventional park needs an unconventional name.
I dunno, seemed weird to me to try and change the name of something that had already become pretty well known under a different name.

Also, to me, 606 is a great concept shoehorned onto something that doesn't quite live up to it. The trail exists in a relatively small part of the city and 606 is supposed to be representative of the whole city.

The logo is quite nice though.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20035  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:49 AM
HowardL's Avatar
HowardL HowardL is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: East Lakeview, Chicago
Posts: 1,180
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
Am I the only one who liked the 606?
I liked it too. But I'm one of those people who responds to a cashier's asking me for my ZIP with "57" ... the 606 is assumed.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20036  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 12:31 PM
denizen467 denizen467 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,212
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
Am I the only one who liked the 606? The logo was awesome, and an unconventional park needs an unconventional name.
There's plenty of history and culture in the area, and I think it's just a waste not to use a contextual name remembering or honoring that. Evoke a famous place, person, institution, whatever. Even just using "Bloomingdale" (as they seem to be doing now), or referring to the freight RR that built it or the industrial heritage, would be better than a semi meaningless number. There's plenty of disappearing history and culture, so why miss an opportunity to place a marker remembering it; to me this feels a little bit like letting ancient Bronzeville churches get bulldozed. And even if a new name is invented from whole cloth, at least have it be more descriptive or relevant. As for the logo, IMHO it looks like a bad attempt at deco, like a cover graphic for the menu for a greasy spoon in the lobby of a budget hotel.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20037  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:22 PM
sammyg sammyg is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 374
According to the 606 twitter feed, "606" refers to the project as a whole, including the parks attached to the trail, while "Bloomingdale Trail" only refers to the elevated portion. I wonder if they're going to try to extend the 606 beyond the Bloomingdale corridor.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20038  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:33 PM
J_M_Tungsten's Avatar
J_M_Tungsten J_M_Tungsten is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,379
The 606 highway is a 63 mile long highway in Canada. Personally, it sounds like something a bunch of people in LA would us while giving driving directions: "Take the 10, to the 405, and make sure to merge on to the 606, bra".
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20039  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 3:55 PM
joeg1985 joeg1985 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Chicago
Posts: 324
The 606 is an awful re-branding of the Bloomingdale trail and I refuse to use it.

In RE to the Tower of Pizza Hut: It's a Monet, from far away its really cool (from the brown line) but up close it's a big 'ol mess.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20040  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2013, 5:07 PM
LouisVanDerWright LouisVanDerWright is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 7,443
I completely disagree with all the negative comments on Pizza Hut Tower. The materials are certainly not of the caliber seen on the Roosevelt Tower, but they are a far cry from a lot of the garbage we've seen in this city (I'm looking at you River North). Just be thankful this is anodized aluminum and glass instead of a concrete bunker. Finally, I feel like it is the best from up close, I mean real close. I was sitting in traffic EB on Division waiting for the light the other day and was checking out the storefronts. Man are they beautiful, completely wide open, almost too wide open, it feels like there is no barrier at all between the inside and outside of the building. Apparently the construction workers felt this way too because they had big stripes of tape across each window to keep them from walking (or driving something) into them. Depending on how open the floorplan of the corner tenant is, you will be able to see clear across the inside of the building from Ashland to Division. This is partially due to the fact that there is no core at all in the middle of the building.

------------

Next topic: "The 606" sounds like something some idiot consultant in LA made up without ever having stepped foot in Chicago. No one here refers to any thoroughfares or freeways by number. All of the ROW's north of Madison are referred to by name, not number. Same goes with our freeway (which seems to be something unique to Chicago making it extra confusing for tourists). It's not "The 90/94", it is "The Kennedy Expressway". And, in the rare event that we refer to a freeway by its number, it is never "The [number here]", it is just "I-90" or without "the" tacked on the front like some valley girl from California. "The 606" is the exact opposite of how Chicagoans tend to refer to their transit options.

Frankly I think the 606 rebrand is insulting to the project and to the city. There is already a perfectly good name for that trail, one that organically originated over time. We don't need some stupid rework by a bunch of clueless marketing consultants. It doesn't really matter anyhow since people will just call it Bloomingdale Trail anyways just like they still call the Sears Tower the Sears Tower.

Apparently the reason for the attempted re-branding is that the consultants decided "Bloomingdale Trail" would be too difficult to translate to merchandise or other branding opportunities because it is too similar to "Bloomingdale's" which to me sounds like a bullshit excuse for a consultant to rack up some extra billable hours on the city's dime. Bloomingdale Ave has been a name for a very long time and if Bloomingdale's want to sue, they can go shove it up their ass. Ironically "the 606" logo uses very similar font and is stylized similarly to the Bloomingdale's logo which you would think might make the chances of a lawsuit much higher than if we were just using the words "Bloomingdale Trail" instead of "The 606: Featuring the Bloomingdale Trail" or whatever other dumbass ideas they come up with to put on a t-shirt.


logansquarist.com


wolfgangpuckicedcoffee.com
(also, Wolfgang Puck can shove it up his ass too)
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > General Development
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:50 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.