CHICAGO | General Developments

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ It won't look anything like that if it's using utility brick.

Yeah, I meant to ask someone in the know what utility brick was. It didn't sound appealing.

[Ryanrule]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

You bring about a great point comparing this boom to the early 2000's boom.

In regards to the neighborhoods, the first half of the current boom was pretty dead (2008-2012ish). But something changed, and I think it all started with 1611 W Division and the rebirth of TOD. Add to that the return of significant amounts of condo and townhome development, and the neighborhoods are just going gangbusters. I see it with my own eyes, this boom is even better than the last one.

Once again, the only area where we are still weak is in historically black areas. With some exceptions, developers were much bolder in these areas during the early 2000's boom than presently. At this time the lending environment isn't quite there, home/condo prices are still way off, and the rents haven't been high enough to justify much new construction despite a rental boom, except for cases where there were significant subsidies and/or tax credits involved. I'm hoping that will be the final domino to fall and we will see more total citywide infill.

i wonder if affordability drives this. people cant afford to buy anymore.

[tjp]

edit - nevermind.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

I also "heart" ACE. It just all seems so random and cluttered, yet they always have exactly the one thing you went in looking for, however obscure. And, someone always comes up to ask if they can help you. At Home Depot you need to find someone to flag down and then they always "work in another department."

Unless that one thing is the "key" for one of those new bathroom sink aerators that don't come off with a normal wrench. Then no place has those.

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by Jibba

Yeah, I meant to ask someone in the know what utility brick was. It didn't sound appealing.

It's a large clay masonry brick. Nominal face dimensions 4x12 (half the size of a concrete block).
A standard modular brick brick is nominally 2 1/3x 8.

[SolarWind]

December 12, 2016

[SolarWind]

December 12, 2016

[SolarWind]

December 13, 2016

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by PKDickman

It's a large clay masonry brick. Nominal face dimensions 4x12 (half the size of a concrete block).
A standard modular brick brick is nominally 2 1/3x 8.

src

[i_am_hydrogen]

Is this finally the end of the Clybourn manufacturing district?
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...alert-20161216

[emathias]

This is interesting:
http://chicago.curbed.com/2016/12/16...ments-approved

This year’s final meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission green-lit a number of developments yesterday. One proposal would replace Old Town’s Noble Horse Theatre and a stable facility used by downtown Chicago’s horse carriage operators with 252 new apartments. Developed by LG and designed by NORR, the seven-story transit-oriented project at 1415 N. Sedgwick Street contains just 89 parking spaces thanks to a CTA station less than two blocks to the north.

[Ryanrule]

They should zone goose island into a high rise cluster.

[Mr Downtown]

^Because it has such superb transit access?

[ardecila]

^ A "cluster", I think, is an exaggeration. But highrises =/= density. You can have a handful of highrises along the North Branch where developers can take advantage of views over the city, coupled with the open space that neighborhood advocates seem to want. The overall density would not be higher than that of the adjacent lowrise neighborhoods. Sort of a smarter version of "towers in a park", with parks along the riverbank, then a few highrises, then some midrise buildings stepping down towards and connecting the urban fabric to the neighborhood edge on Clybourn.

Plus, putting highrises here alleviates much of the concern about shadows or parking, since the neighbors are (right now) all industrial.

As far as transit access goes, there is good bus service on all the streets intersecting the river corridor (Damen, Fullerton, Ashland, Armitage/Cortland, North, Division, Halsted, Chicago). A Clybourn bus would be a welcome addition as well to link new residents with shopping and entertainment options, as well as a Red Line transfer. Also, the Clybourn Metra station would qualify at least part of the Finkl site for TOD.

[Randomguy34]

^ It would be pretty dope to see Goose Island become Chicago's version of Roosevelt Island

[the urban politician]

^ That would rock, although RI has 2 subway stops as well as a cable car running into Manhattan.

[Mr Downtown]

But what would be the point?

For a generation, Goose Island has been held out of the North Side frenzy, so it can provide affordable locations for warehousing and—theoretically—light manufacturing. It hasn't met all expectations, to be sure, but why now reward landowners who went against public policy by buying land in the hopes they'd eventually get the PMD rescinded? After two decades of working to make Goose Island accessible to truck traffic, why now abandon that and beef up transit to support residential towers?

Why should predictability in planning and land use be sacrificed just to get more highrises? Who thinks that is good for the city?

[marothisu]

The industrial nature of Goose Island already started to be abandoned a few years ago, if you didn't get the memo already. It has been transforming into a digital manufacturing/design innovation and high tech hub with places like DMDII, UI Labs, etc. Uber also has an office right outside of Goose Island on the NW end on North Avenue which is a Greenlight Hub (support center of sorts). A little north of there is a big site for redevelopment that used to be the city's fleet management center and of course who could forget the Finkl Steel site a little north of that.

I don't know if high rises are the answer, but suffice to say the types of people being employed at DMDII and UI Labs are not much different than your average tech worker downtown. If they had the choice of living nearby to their work if there was enough housing/things to do, they would do it. Guaranteed there is some demand on Goose Island now for higher density residential. If Goose Island gets more tenants like DMDII and UI Labs, and those other two big sites manage to attract some business then don't expect this to not have more residential.

Besides the fact, most of the new industrial/warehousing stuff in town is either along I-55 or further north along I-90/I-94 - not at Goose Island. It's been transforming for the last few years into something else and frankly it would be great to see it going as a high tech hub, but with residential, some restaurants, bars, etc too.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

But what would be the point?

For a generation, Goose Island has been held out of the North Side frenzy, so it can provide affordable locations for warehousing and—theoretically—light manufacturing. It hasn't met all expectations, to be sure, but why now reward landowners who went against public policy by buying land in the hopes they'd eventually get the PMD rescinded? After two decades of working to make Goose Island accessible to truck traffic, why now abandon that and beef up transit to support residential towers?

Why should predictability in planning and land use be sacrificed just to get more highrises? Who thinks that is good for the city?

If there are jobs there, why not some residential nearby so people can walk to their jobs? It's not like there's a coal plant there

[Mr Downtown]

^Because the possibility of developing residential will always push land values to the point that it's unaffordable for warehousing or manufacturing, as we're letting happen in Fulton Market and Pilsen, as already happened in River North and the West Loop and Canal-Roosevelt and the Ravenswood Corridor. The stuff in Bolingbrook is for distribution to the region; downtown needs a place nearby that support facilities—printers, records storage, delivery fleets, elevator repair, commercial laundries and food prep—can afford to locate.