CHICAGO | Lincoln Yards

[Randomguy34]

Chicago developer aims at Amazon with $10B vision for former steel plant site

By Ryan Ori
Sterling Bay's massive development planned for the former A. Finkl & Sons steel plant site has a name, a high-powered planning team and one big target: Amazon's second headquarters.

About two years after it struck a deal to buy the North Side parcel along the Chicago River, the Chicago developer is disclosing new details, including the name: Lincoln Yards.

The mixed-use development could take up as much as 100 acres of land along Lincoln Park and Bucktown, cost as much as $10 billion and take a decade to complete, said Sterling Bay managing principal Andy Gloor.

Sterling Bay is sharing its first detailed description of Lincoln Yards at an ideal time to be in possession of a sprawling, well-located development site. Seattle-based Amazon last week announced it will search North America for a city where it can create a second headquarters for up to 50,000 new employees.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing for that city to be Chicago, and Gloor said Sterling Bay plans to court Amazon. A few prominent Chicago developers have sites that could potentially accomodate Amazon, but Sterling Bay is the first to publicly describe plans to land the deal.

"Chicago is a strong tech market," Gloor said. "Chicago as a city has a lot to offer someone like Amazon. If you're looking at Chicago and trying to build a second headquarters, 100 acres of riverside land between Lincoln Park and Bucktown feels like a good place to start.

"We think it's the best infill site in the U.S. today."

Lincoln Yards is expected to include a new Metra train station, an extension of The 606 elevated trail, a water taxi stop, office and residential towers, a riverside brewery, shops and restaurants. The project also could include other uses, including a school or a theater, Gloor said.

[Randomguy34]

Website for the project is now up:
http://www.lincolnyards.com/

[Randomguy34]

More and more word this week, from various sources, says that transit is an important factor for Amazon's headquarters. That might be a problem for this site if it only relies on Metra

Chicago a 'top prospect' for Amazon headquarters

As a delegation from City Hall and Gov. Bruce Rauner's office tours Amazon's headquarters in Seattle today, the head of the state's economic development arm is lifting the veil a bit on the odds of Chicago winning Amazon's huge 50,000-job HQ2.

The bottom line from Intersect Illinois' Mark Peterson: The Windy City really is in the hunt, aided by its public transportation infrastructure, an asset that's gone largely unappreciated until now in the headquarters sweepstakes. And the governor and Mayor Rahm Emanuel really are working together for a change on this one, Peterson notes. But success by no means is guaranteed.
...
St. Louis also is bidding for the second headquarters, something Rauner mentioned yesterday, and it "may meet the criteria" Amazon has set forth. But Chicago clearly offers two other things Amazon has on its list: proximity to young talent at top universities, and a good public transit system that is more than a nominal factor for commuters.

"They want very much for public transit to be part of this," Peterson said. That could give Chicago a leg up on other cities in the running, such as Dallas and Atlanta, which have certain attributes on Amazon's wish list but are not known for reliable public transit.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...rs-sweepstakes

Transit becomes Amazon bid focus
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...azon-bid-focus

[moorhosj]

On the flip side, is there a more transportation-friendly site in the country than the Old Post Office? 10 minute or less walk to LaSalle, Union and Ogilvie stations; 15 minute or less walk to Orange, Blue, Red, Brown and Pink lines (Green would be a little farther); water taxi stop 5 minutes away; and a highway that literally runs through the building.

O'Hare, however, is a bit of a trip (about an hour via Blue line), Midway is about 40 minutes.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

On the flip side, is there a more transportation-friendly site in the country than the Old Post Office? 10 minute or less walk to LaSalle, Union and Ogilvie stations; 15 minute or less walk to Orange, Blue, Red, Brown and Pink lines (Green would be a little farther); water taxi stop 5 minutes away; and a highway that literally runs through the building.

O'Hare, however, is a bit of a trip (about an hour via Blue line), Midway is about 40 minutes.

O'Hare won't be an hour if Rahm gets his way... and I have a feeling Amazon bringing 50,000 well paying jobs to town could go a long way towards the powers that be bringing the express o'hare-to-downtown train to fruition.

[MakeChicagoGreatAgai]

Is Bezos going to make his decision soon or does he intend to go on a nationwide tour to get his ass kissed by as many politicians as possible?

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by Handro

O'Hare won't be an hour if Rahm gets his way... and I have a feeling Amazon bringing 50,000 well paying jobs to town could go a long way towards the powers that be bringing the express o'hare-to-downtown train to fruition.

I don't see the need for the express train to and from O'Hare. I think the blue line does the job well enough. I'd rather see the brown line extended to O'Hare as well. That would certainly help decrease reliance on the blue line. It would even open up job opportunities in River North/Streeterville for people living on the NW side. They wouldn't have to go down to the loop or take a bus east on Division, Chicago, or Grand.

[chicubs111]

Not sure if someone should open a chicago amazon thread...but to continue it really seems Chicago is the perfect fit compared to all the competition...there is literally only about 4 cities on the list that are in my opinion considered "world class cities" and they are NY, Boston, Philly, DC... the rest are second tier..very nice cities but not really on a global scale... of those cities I dont see any that can compete with Chicago for what amazon is looking for... we have the central location so strategically its the best choice... .the affordability (relative to east coast cities and even seattle) ...transit (second best in country).. multiple sites that meet there requirement (like 3 or 4 solid contenders they can choose from), the population that far exceeds all there needs, the vibrancy and vitality that really only NYC really has

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I don't see the need for the express train to and from O'Hare. I think the blue line does the job well enough. I'd rather see the brown line extended to O'Hare as well. That would certainly help decrease reliance on the blue line. It would even open up job opportunities in River North/Streeterville for people living on the NW side. They wouldn't have to go down to the loop or take a bus east on Division, Chicago, or Grand.

The O'hare express line is something Rahm got in his head that would be a huge benefit to the city. I think he is exaggerating the impact it would have. Too bad we can't have a dedicated express rail like NYC so we can have regular express trains. I would also prefer to see line extensions instead of this O'hare express line..

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

More and more word this week, from various sources, says that transit is an important factor for Amazon's headquarters. That might be a problem for this site if it only relies on Metra

Chicago a 'top prospect' for Amazon headquarters

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...rs-sweepstakes

Transit becomes Amazon bid focus
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...azon-bid-focus

That definitely tips it toward the Chicago/Philly/Boston/Brooklyn crowd, unless coming from Seattle means they'd accept the sort of lightrail system Dallas has. Which they might. Dallas light rail is fairly extensive, although the relative lack of density means that truly living car-free as an option probably isn't a choice made by upper-middle-class people in Dallas they way it can be for upper-middle-class people in Chicago/Philly/Boston/Brooklyn. Individual lines in Dallas usually only have trains every 15 minutes at most, but where 2-3 lines share track, you end up with decent frequency during prime times. Looks like their rail service hours are comparable to the Brown Line.

[mrnyc]

not sure that brooklyn/philly/boston are in the hunt so much, but chicago/dallas make sense. i think i heard denver is the lead choice, but that seems too far west. i wish they would consider somewhere less heralded than the usual suspect cities mentioned, like in the midwest or south though. somewhere they could help makeover and almost own the town, so to speak. seriously doubt those wealthy and upper middle class west coasters could bring themselves to do something like that, but it would be nice. anyway, its all just speculation -- we will see.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

not sure that brooklyn/philly/boston are in the hunt so much, but chicago/dallas make sense. i think i heard denver is the lead choice, but that seems too far west. i wish they would consider somewhere less heralded than the usual suspect cities mentioned, like in the midwest or south though. somewhere they could help makeover and almost own the town, so to speak. seriously doubt those wealthy and upper middle class west coasters could bring themselves to do something like that, but it would be nice. anyway, its all just speculation -- we will see.

Denver seems like a very strange choice. Why bother with a second HQ? It barely hits any of the criteria. It's small, expensive, not particularly good transit, far from NYC and DC, etc.

[JK47]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Denver seems like a very strange choice. Why bother with a second HQ? It barely hits any of the criteria. It's small, expensive, not particularly good transit, far from NYC and DC, etc.

Denver is the most remote MSA in the US. Locating there won't help them recruit anymore than their location in Seattle (which, besides proximity to Portland, is fairly isolated from the other major MSA's).

Also saw one publication saying that senior members at Amazon were advocating on behalf of Boston.

[Khantilever]

Originally Posted by JK47

Denver is the most remote MSA in the US. Locating there won't help them recruit anymore than their location in Seattle (which, besides proximity to Portland, is fairly isolated from the other major MSA's).

Also saw one publication saying that senior members at Amazon were advocating on behalf of Boston.

Boston seems highly unlikely. The reasoning given for preferring Boston was proximity to Harvard and MIT, but that's a bit silly. Those aren't regional schools, and the overwhelming majority of their graduates leave the Boston area. My guess is these "reports" about preference for Boston were leaked in order to nudge Boston to take the race more seriously, since Boston's mayor came right out and said they would offer no subsidies.

Denver was chosen by the NYTimes for Amazon by taking the RFP far too literally and applying really arbitrary criteria where the RFP is vague (which is almost everywhere). It's not a sensible choice.

[aaron38]

I think maybe we should decouple this proposal from the Amazon search. What has been proposed so far is only the one site north of Chicago Ave, and that for only 6000 employees. That isn't going to blow up traffic for the site, and can be served by the existing Metra / L stations without too much trouble.

[jc5680]

^ Agreed, not sure a lincoln yards thread is even needed. Especially if it is just further segmenting the amazon/chicago discussion across more threads.

[sentinel]

I think this Lincoln Yards (bleghhh, that name) article from Curbed a few months ago provides a good idea of what the original conceptual massing was supposed to look like... And perhaps the render at the beginning of this thread still reflects some of that:

https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/7/26...-606-extension

(The master plan diagram within the link is very reminiscent of Studio Gang's other typical diagram illustrations..did they design this?)

Regardless, I think a lot of this is serendipitous for Sterling Bay since they created something that magically fits a big part of Amazon's needs...or maybe it's not serendipitous...

[k1052]

Ald. Hopkins holding up the sale of city property to Sterling Bay in North Branch:

As Mayor Rahm Emanuel salivates over the chance to lure Amazon's second headquarters to the city, an alderman has thrown a wrench into a deal that would create one of the city's best potential landing spots for the online retail giant.

On hold is the $105 million sale of the city's 18-acre Fleet & Facility Management site along the North Branch of the Chicago River to developer Sterling Bay. Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, yesterday helped block an ordinance that would have sent the deal to the City Council for final approval next month.

Hopkins cited a lack of transparency in the sale process and highlighted a bid that was higher than Sterling Bay's for the highly sought-after parcel. He convinced the Committee on Housing & Real Estate to table the ordinance until he and city residents have a chance to review details of all bids to buy the site.

"We're going to have to vet this sale with all the appropriate scrutiny that a $100 million-plus transaction deserves," said Hopkins, whose ward includes the North Branch site and who has been a vocal critic of certain aspects of the city's plan to open the North Branch Industrial Corridor to residential, office and other commercial uses.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...anch-land-deal

[Skyguy_7]

^ DO NOT F THIS UP, Alderwhores. We citizens cannot afford even the slightest hiccup.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

^ DO NOT F THIS UP, Alderwhores. We citizens cannot afford even the slightest hiccup.

Zoning should be kept far out of aldermanic hands. Get rid of 40 of these chumps and then I might be ok with them having a say.