CHICAGO | General Developments

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by denizen467

There've been some interesting changes in retail environment lately, maybe too small to get picked up in local articles.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been expanding its retail (mainly dining) concourse across its main twin tower medical building and its new 259 E Erie building. It's been an impressive improvement, but it seems to have produced some casualties. The long operating Panera along Fairbanks just shuttered two weeks ago. And the Cosi at Fairbanks & Ontario just shuttered too. So a skybridge-based food mall (which is still growing further) is expanding at the expense, effectively, of street-level retail. It's like a mini Minneapolis effect, where a giant portion of downtown foot traffic hovers at the skybridge level and avoids street level. Worse, it doesn't bode so well for all the empty storefronts around Streeterville.

Panera actually is shrinking left and right in Chicago. They shuttered Diversey in the last couple years, and they just abandoned their Clybourn restaurant last month. Also along that stretch of Clybourn, Moe's just closed too, although I think most people won't miss that one.

I like Panera as a great go-to for any daypart, but I view their retreat as a good sign that we have higher quality offerings (let's say, Sweetgreen) emerging everywhere around the city, and I never mind when a cookie cutter chain gets pared back. Just like I'm proud of the rapidly disappearing McDonald's downtown, when a couple decades ago they littered the landscape like bank branches now do.

But the biggest change in retail complexion lately is the explosion of mattress stores like kudzu. Are people sleeping more or something?

If you ask me, street level retail in Streeterville is actually getting better. And I think it will improve only further as the residential population grows and as more hotels come in.

The NWU food court is pretty standard. It is a medical behemoth and has thousands of employees, guests, and patients who would prefer to dine without having to leave the facility. Nice food courts for top notch medical facilities are standard these days and serve not only as a source of revenue but a way for them to compete with other facilities. They will probably compete with daytime patronage to local restaurants but for evenings as well as non-restaurant forms of retail it is unlikely to make a dent

[JK47]

Originally Posted by denizen467

There've been some interesting changes in retail environment lately, maybe too small to get picked up in local articles.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been expanding its retail (mainly dining) concourse across its main twin tower medical building and its new 259 E Erie building. It's been an impressive improvement, but it seems to have produced some casualties. The long operating Panera along Fairbanks just shuttered two weeks ago. And the Cosi at Fairbanks & Ontario just shuttered too. So a skybridge-based food mall (which is still growing further) is expanding at the expense, effectively, of street-level retail. It's like a mini Minneapolis effect, where a giant portion of downtown foot traffic hovers at the skybridge level and avoids street level. Worse, it doesn't bode so well for all the empty storefronts around Streeterville.

There's also a lot of similar offerings on the street-level in that area. I don't think it's necessarily an issue of competition from the food offerings in the dining concourse. The Arke's Pavilion has a Corner Bakery, Galter has Beatrix, Feinberg has a Starbucks, and there's two donut spots across Erie (including a Stan's at the Fairbanks corner). All of them located at street level.

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by KWILLSKYLINE

Friends of Parks should be so ashamed of themselves for ruining this for Chicago.

Except that it is now quite clear that all the talk of the Lucas museum needing to be right on the water were just that, talk. If it didn't need to be on the water, Lucas was free to buy up any piece of property he wanted, build wherever in the city he wanted. If having parkland "ruins" development for a city, that's basically saying that no city can ever have parks, because every park is a lost development opportunity.
If Lucas had wanted the museum to be in Chicago, it would be in Chicago.

[MCL]

Originally Posted by denizen467

There've been some interesting changes in retail environment lately, maybe too small to get picked up in local articles.

Northwestern Memorial Hospital has been expanding its retail (mainly dining) concourse across its main twin tower medical building and its new 259 E Erie building. It's been an impressive improvement, but it seems to have produced some casualties. The long operating Panera along Fairbanks just shuttered two weeks ago. And the Cosi at Fairbanks & Ontario just shuttered too. So a skybridge-based food mall (which is still growing further) is expanding at the expense, effectively, of street-level retail. It's like a mini Minneapolis effect, where a giant portion of downtown foot traffic hovers at the skybridge level and avoids street level. Worse, it doesn't bode so well for all the empty storefronts around Streeterville.

Panera actually is shrinking left and right in Chicago. They shuttered Diversey in the last couple years, and they just abandoned their Clybourn restaurant last month. Also along that stretch of Clybourn, Moe's just closed too, although I think most people won't miss that one.

I like Panera as a great go-to for any daypart, but I view their retreat as a good sign that we have higher quality offerings (let's say, Sweetgreen) emerging everywhere around the city, and I never mind when a cookie cutter chain gets pared back. Just like I'm proud of the rapidly disappearing McDonald's downtown, when a couple decades ago they littered the landscape like bank branches now do.

But the biggest change in retail complexion lately is the explosion of mattress stores like kudzu. Are people sleeping more or something?

WBEZ has a good explainer on all the mattress stores.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-c...8-8f4b577de9f7

[prelude91]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Except that it is now quite clear that all the talk of the Lucas museum needing to be right on the water were just that, talk. If it didn't need to be on the water, Lucas was free to buy up any piece of property he wanted, build wherever in the city he wanted. If having parkland "ruins" development for a city, that's basically saying that no city can ever have parks, because every park is a lost development opportunity.
If Lucas had wanted the museum to be in Chicago, it would be in Chicago.

Of course, it would be incredibly reasonable to assume Lucas had different requirements for each candidate city. Chicago-San Fran-LA are all very different cities, and to have a one size fits all list of requirements would be silly.

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by emathias

There have always been a lot of mattress stores. Plus, if all this new residential means a lot of people are moving, many people will get a new mattress as part of a move because, well, can be easier than moving one. The first two mattresses I bought, I coordinated with moves. Or perhaps it's a sign of people moving out of their parents' place or moving to the city from out of state. Pure conjecture, of course.

I looked into the mattress thing, and apparently it has less to do with demand than with business opportunity.

The markup on mattresses is ridiculous. Retail is about 3x wholesale. That is the sort of profit you would expect from a high end jewelery store.

Each store carries minimal inventory and ships from a central location. So there is a lot of money to be made, particularly if one chain can win a game of mattress highlander.

Hopefully, the market will sort this out before our alleys are filled with old box springs.

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by PKDickman

I looked into the mattress thing, and apparently it has less to do with demand than with business opportunity.

The markup on mattresses is ridiculous. Retail is about 3x wholesale. That is the sort of profit you would expect from a high end jewelery store.

Each store carries minimal inventory and ships from a central location. So there is a lot of money to be made, particularly if one chain can win a game of mattress highlander.

Hopefully, the market will sort this out before our alleys are filled with old box springs.

The mattress industry is also being disrupted by players like Casper, so they could be waning soon. Retail is the biggest area Chicago needs to work on in terms of development – it feels so far behind other big cities in terms of interesting stores/brands.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by prelude91

Of course, it would be incredibly reasonable to assume Lucas had different requirements for each candidate city. Chicago-San Fran-LA are all very different cities, and to have a one size fits all list of requirements would be silly.

Interestingly enough, the new location next to the LA Coliseum, the Natural History museum, the California Science center, etc., is strikingly similar in that it's also a 'Museum campus' similar to that here in Chicago. Oh and it's also going to replace an existing surface lot directly west of the Coliseum

[the urban politician]

This is actually pretty big news for Bronzeville.

Let's hope this is just the beginning

[Via Chicago]

prairie shores and lake meadows were massive urban renewal projects and originally operated as public housing but have since turned to market rate apartments

like so many other developments of the era, "towers in the park" was seen as a progressive modernist concept. obviously they havent aged very well as urban living preferences have continued to ironically shift back to the sorts of neighborhoods they replaced. this is what used to be there.


http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/ph...Place_1950.jpg


http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/ph...hodes_1941.jpg

that said, there was still an effort to save the towers when they were threatened with demo a few years back as they are now relatively affordable places to live and its likely anything that would replace them wouldnt be (and of course the pattern of eviction of lower class residents would conceivably be a continuation of the mistakes made once before. the fact some people now refer to it as "ghetto" is certainly an indication that those who dont learn from what history has to teach us are doomed to repeat it)

[Lakeviewguy]

Here is a story from today's LA Times. Interesting take from the city that won the museum.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...111-story.html

[prelude91]

Surface lot on west side of Racine-Lincoln-Diversey set to see some development, nothing mindblowing, but nice infill for this very much underutilized 6 way intersection.

[10023]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Yes, let's keep convincing ourselves that Chicago didn't really miss out on anything. Not. At. All.

I don't think Chicago missed out on anything.

[marothisu]

* Looks like that former bank I reported as being sold near the Western Blue Line stop across the street from the McDonald's (Milwaukee and Western - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9169...8i6656!6m1!1e1) has plans for redevelopment into ground floor retail and 20 units ("4 dwelling units and 16 efficiency units").

* 927 W Irving Park Rd near the Sheridan Red Line stop, formerly a 1 story building but has been sitting vacant since 2015 has plans to become a 5 story, 28 unit building:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/92...dc94d4!6m1!1e1



Also, looks like 4 E Elm is getting a coffee shop - their first tenant. My money is on a La Colombe.

[XIII]

Originally Posted by Lakeviewguy

Here is a story from today's LA Times. Interesting take from the city that won the museum.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...111-story.html

When did Blair Kamen start writing for the LA Times?

[Freefall]

Originally Posted by prelude91

Surface lot on west side of Racine-Lincoln-Diversey set to see some development, nothing mindblowing, but nice infill for this very much underutilized 6 way intersection.

Do you know how many units? Design is pretty ugly, but whatever. That last beige column looks awkward and unnecessary. Looks like it would just block the view from their balconies. I'll take some added population there though. They're trying to revitalize the strip of Lincoln between Webster and Diversey

[SolarWind]

January 11, 2017





I'm not sure what is planned. I don't recall any information about this site.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

Prairie Shores and Lake Meadows were massive urban renewal projects and originally operated as public housing but have since turned to market rate apartments

No, they have always been market-rate rental buildings.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by SolarWind

January 11, 2017
...
I'm not sure what is planned. I don't recall any information about this site.

Hotel. Talked about a little here.

[SolarWind]

Originally Posted by emathias

Hotel. Talked about a little here.

Thanks, emathias.