CHICAGO | General Developments

[SolarWind]

July 14, 2022

[SolarWind]

July 14, 2022

[SolarWind]

July 14, 2022

[SolarWind]

July 14, 2022

[rivernorthlurker]

Al's Beef River North

https://chicagoyimby.com/2022/07/con...ver-north.html

[rivernorthlurker]

Some kind of renovation.

[Chi-Sky21]

Whats going on at the power station?

[Rizzo]

Masonry restoration work and interior renovations for 216 Ohio according to permit data.

[rivernorthlurker]

I think he meant this work south of the Union Station Power House.

Not sure why they are adding new sheet piling here and what for.

Originally Posted by SolarWind

July 12, 2022

[Handro]

Originally Posted by SolarWind

July 14, 2022

Lame. Went from awesome urban art installation to very generic "depot" building that would be right at home in Columbus or Charlotte.

[Rizzo]

it was cool when they re-used the painted bricks on the south side of the building and had them arranged in a totally random pattern. Never seen anything like that. I suppose that will just be painted over.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by Handro

Lame. Went from awesome urban art installation to very generic "depot" building that would be right at home in Columbus or Charlotte.

Well, the depot building predates the paint job. I think the murals looked nice, but if anyone thinks that Guinness would occupy a building that looked like that, they're living a fantasy world. This is a global branding investment and they will only do it if it's consistent with the brand--it's going to look clean and sturdy and it will have a big Guinness sign and it's going to look like the Guinness warehouse in Dublin inside and it's not going to make people think of Guinness beer when they see it and not Jean-Michel Basquiat or Chief Keef.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by OrdoSeclorum

Well, the depot building predates the paint job. I think the murals looked nice, but if anyone thinks that Guinness would occupy a building that looked like that, they're living a fantasy world. This is a global branding investment and they will only do it if it's consistent with the brand--it's going to look clean and sturdy and it will have a big Guinness sign and it's going to look like the Guinness warehouse in Dublin inside and it's not going to make people think of Guinness beer when they see it and not Jean-Michel Basquiat or Chief Keef.

It's going to be painted all black, no?

[rgarri4]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

It's going to be painted all black, no?

Yep. Nothing spectacular.


Yimby

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

https://twitter.com/AlexNitkin/statu...49199941095424

How much you want to bet we hear from Ald. Tom Tunny and Michele Smith about how 3-flats by right are a good thing for Chicago... they're just not right for their neighborhoods.

[rivernorthlurker]

Originally Posted by Handro

Lame. Went from awesome urban art installation to very generic "depot" building that would be right at home in Columbus or Charlotte.

They're also building an office building next door though right? I know quite a few Chicagoans that would lobby hard to move their office right next to a Guinness brewery

[rivernorthlurker]

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/07...ds-to-approve/

Union Station’s $400+ Million Makeover Awaits Federal Cash That Mayor, Durbin Urge Feds To Approve
Station renovations would include adding express escalators and related work would add rail service from O'Hare Airport to McCormick Place.

DOWNTOWN — Union Station, one of Downtown’s main transportation hubs, needs major renovations that local leaders hope to partially fund with $250 million in federal cash.

At a Thursday press conference, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia urged federal leaders to approve the funding. The money would come from the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill.

Station renovations are estimated to cost about $418 million. The plan includes removing walls in the concourse to improve traffic flow, adding express escalators from the concourse to the street level, widening platforms to reduce overcrowding and more upgrades. Amtrak is covering 20 percent of the cost and the state is covering another 20 percent.

Other related work would add rail service from O’Hare Airport to McCormick Place, add a double track from Niles to Glenwood, Mich. and add a station platform in Joliet, which Lightfoot called a tremendous opportunity for the city.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

https://twitter.com/AlexNitkin/statu...49199941095424

NEW:@chicagosmayor's "equitable transit-oriented development" is set for a vote tomorrow — but its (arguably) most impactful plank, which would allow new 3-flats by right in wealthy transit-rich areas, has been STRIPPED from the ordinance.

yeah, that would have been a HUGE $$$ handout to, as the twitter post mentions, wealthy homeowners in transit-rich areas

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

yeah, that would have been a HUGE $$$ handout to, as the twitter post mentions, wealthy homeowners in transit-rich areas

As someone pointed out on urbanist Twitter, if someone acknowledges that a lot of single family homes are going to be torn down and replaced with three-flats, they're also acknowledging that there is a lot of unmet demand for that sort of residence.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

yeah, that would have been a HUGE $$$ handout to, as the twitter post mentions, wealthy homeowners in transit-rich areas

What's the problem here?

-Homeowners get a reward for the years of maintenance/investment they put into their property
-neighborhoods with tight housing markets get much-needed new housing
-the people who move into those new apartments don't displace a lower-income family in a gentrifying neighborhood
-the city concentrates people near transit, leading to higher ridership and less car use

Wins all around.