CHICAGO | General Developments - Page 2493

pip · #**49841** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 4:26 AM**

I was looking at recent pics of the Belmont Flyover for the Brown line. It is up and running now and I am only seeing one track in one direction for the flyover. What am I missing?

galleyfox · #**49842** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 4:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip

I was looking at recent pics of the Belmont Flyover for the Brown line. It is up and running now and I am only seeing one track in one direction for the flyover. What am I missing?

It only needs one track. The Northbound Brown Line track was the cause of the delays and replaced with the flyover. The Southbound track is just the regular merger as usual.

https://depauliaonline.com/12484/new...ject-in-limbo/

rgarri4 · #**49843** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 4:49 AM**

Edit: galleyfox beat me to it. lol.
That's correct. It's only for the northbound brown line track. Before it used to have to cross 3 lanes of track, stopping trains on those tracks to pass like a traffic crossing. Now it bridges over those 3 lanes independently.

chi.streetsblog.org

Rizzo · #**49844** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 4:58 AM**

The southbound merger is different actually. It appears it will now merge right at the station. Right now it's running on the purple line tracks, but the brown line track will be extended to Belmont with the track switch at the end of the platform.

pip · #**49845** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 2:42 PM**

Oh haha. The answer was right in front of me. Ok thanks for clarifying!

ardecila · #**49846** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 3:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizzo

The southbound merger is different actually. It appears it will now merge right at the station. Right now it's running on the purple line tracks, but the brown line track will be extended to Belmont with the track switch at the end of the platform.

This is only a temporary structure (over the alley) for the southbound Brown Line track while the original 4-track Main Line structure is replaced between Belmont and Addison. The final configuration will look like that diagram.

More info here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiNl7QoGB5M&t=322s

rivernorthlurker · #**49847** Posted **Jan 18, 2022, 5:38 PM**

Walking along Chicago I noticed that they put up barriers recently around Lawson House for the major renovations so they've either started or are about to begin.

https://chicagoyimby.com/2021/12/law...countdown.html

Quote:

The entirety of residences will be affordable and government subsidized. In 2014, Holsten Real Estate purchased the property for one dollar under the condition of keeping the residential portion as affordable housing for a minimum of 50 years. Funding-wise, the developer recently received a $17.59 million loan from the City, a $79.38 million bridge loan from Chase Bank, and a $17.2 million loan from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. According to a September article by the Chicago Sun Times, further funds are are being sourced from syndicating low-income housing tax credits and $12.4 million in historic preservation tax credits.

'

Nice that this historic building will be getting fixed up.

left of center · #**49848** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 4:06 AM**

Nice!

Wasn't that building the US HQ for YMCA? The article seems to imply that it was merely a YMCA location, as opposed to their national US offices.

The Lurker · #**49849** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 5:06 AM**

Great news. Would love to see something built on the surrounding parking lots. Does the developer own those lots as well?

LouisVanDerWright · #**49850** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 3:34 PM**

Allstate buys 29 N Wacker, could relocate their headquarters there:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...outputType=amp

Anyone know if this is the original facade on this building? I've always liked it, but if it's from the 1960s and original, it needs to be protected.

left of center · #**49851** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 4:09 PM**

Wow, very interesting. Allstate moving their HQ to Chicago would be great news, especially since there has been some worry they may move out of state after selling their existing suburban campus.

I don't think the existing 29 N Wacker building would be able to fit all the office space they would need, however. If an HQ move is the end goal here, then it could be fairly likely that they demo the existing structure and build something taller in its place.

Randomguy34 · #**49852** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 5:33 PM**

They have almost 7,900 employees across Illinois. A 10 story office building would be pretty cramped for even a small fraction of that number

Tom In Chicago · #**49853** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 6:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Anyone know if this is the original facade on this building? I've always liked it, but if it's from the 1960s and original, it needs to be protected.

No. . . the building was renovated in the early 2000s with the new façade you see today. . .

. . .

marothisu · #**49854** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

They have almost 7,900 employees across Illinois. A 10 story office building would be pretty cramped for even a small fraction of that number

It's like a big bank. The majority of those 7000 are probably working in actual neighborhood offices selling insurance and not back office/csuite activities.

Kngkyle · #**49855** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 6:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by left of center

Wow, very interesting. Allstate moving their HQ to Chicago would be great news, especially since there has been some worry they may move out of state after selling their existing suburban campus.

I don't think the existing 29 N Wacker building would be able to fit all the office space they would need, however. If an HQ move is the end goal here, then it could be fairly likely that they demo the existing structure and build something taller in its place.

Yea... at 135k sqft the current building seems much too small. This does seem more like a redevelopment play. Does anyone know how much space they currently have leased at Merchandise Mart and 444 W Lake? The $232M they're getting for their Northbrook campus is probably enough to buy this site plus provide the equity to build a standard ~800ft office tower.

Edit: on second look, the site might be too small to support an office of that height, it's only about 1/8th of a block

west-town-brad · #**49856** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 7:06 PM**

deleted

ardecila · #**49857** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 7:37 PM**

^ Very weird. That little building is only 133,000sf. Allstate has 2 million SF in Northbrook - 15x the floor area. Where is the other 95% of the company gonna go? Even if they are more efficient with layouts and a lot of positions switch to remote, this little midrise will still leave a huge number of the headquarters employees without a home.

I hate to speculate but this does seem like an opportunity for a big new highrise, given the small size of the existing building and the prime location on Wacker. It's an unusual move for Allstate to buy the building outright rather than leasing, and it would be extremely close to Union & Ogilvie for their suburban workforce to commute in to a big new HQ tower...

sentinel · #**49858** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 9:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Allstate buys 29 N Wacker, could relocate their headquarters there:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...outputType=amp

Anyone know if this is the original facade on this building? I've always liked it, but if it's from the 1960s and original, it needs to be protected.

The footprint is so tiny at that location, I highly doubt they'd be moving their headquarters there because as others have mentioned, they could only house a fraction of their workforce. 130 N. Franklin is literally right there, kiddy corner, a block away, which would make more sense for them to build anything new on. 29 N Wacker just seems like an odd purchase

marothisu · #**49859** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 9:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentinel

The footprint is so tiny at that location, I highly doubt they'd be moving their headquarters there because as others have mentioned, they could only house a fraction of their workforce. 130 N. Franklin is literally right there, kiddy corner, a block away, which would make more sense for them to build anything new on. 29 N Wacker just seems like an odd purchase

Headquarters is such a broad term these days. You could have the entire CSuite there plus a few hundred people and be a HQ.

The entire 2 million sq ft and thousands of workers thing is merely one configuration of a HQ.

west-town-brad · #**49860** Posted **Jan 19, 2022, 9:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Very weird. That little building is only 133,000sf. Allstate has 2 million SF in Northbrook - 15x the floor area. Where is the other 95% of the company gonna go? Even if they are more efficient with layouts and a lot of positions switch to remote, this little midrise will still leave a huge number of the headquarters employees without a home.

I hate to speculate but this does seem like an opportunity for a big new highrise, given the small size of the existing building and the prime location on Wacker. It's an unusual move for Allstate to buy the building outright rather than leasing, and it would be extremely close to Union & Ogilvie for their suburban workforce to commute in to a big new HQ tower...

most employees will work from home - allstate has said as much already in public

this aligns with what many other large corporations are planning for with hybrid/flexible work for office workers... a small but very nice office just big enough for 25% of the employees to be there on any one day. 2 days in office and 3 days at home is the future and what is being demanded by talent