I live across the street.

They spent a few months doing environmental work to the soil, now they have dug a basement and they're forming up the foundations. I'll try to snap some photos this weekend.

I agree, glad to finally see some renderings! And some indication of what retail tenants they're seeking (even if those are hypothetical). I would LOVE a Foxtrot-style business or a full-service restaurant right there.

Did you read the Crains article? Chicago has had very few Opportunity Zone deals done while other cities have seen a lot of deals utilize the tax credit. The article says the reason is likely that Chicago made extremely distressed areas the target, yet even with the tax credit very few want to invest in those areas. The article says most of the Opportunity Zone investments around the country have been on the periphery of developed areas which are clearly less risky investments.

It's seems to be more of a cultural thing in Europe. Cities there have thriving commercial shopping streets that you can walk to close by, or take the fast and convenient public transit too. They respect and trust their local shop keepers, and probably know them on a first name basis. In some ways they are back how retail was in the 1920's in the US, although they love Ikea. Ikea seems to be the popular big box store when I talked to people in Europe. People there don't seem to consider online shopping as an option yet according to this article discussing apparel. I stayed with a young couple in Germany, I had to get a air mattress to sleep on, and when I said I could just order it on Amazon and ship it to their door, they acted kind of confused like it was a new concept.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-euro...ion-1525080604

Germany and the UK are the largest markets for Amazon outside of the US. But they are about a tenth of the sales compared to the US, and the rest of Europe barely uses Amazon.

I'm not complaining about this development, per se, but the 'intention' (which I'm dubious of) of the program isn't fulfilled by it. This isn't a distressed area.

Per the info on the IRS page you linked to, Illinois chose the sites, so it looks like it's on them for not designating an area that's truly in need. All that is happening here is that an established (and likely cash-flush) development company is getting a hand-out to build a project that would have been perfectly market-viable on its own.

I did not; I only read the IRS talking points. I don't need to read anything to know that this is a squandered incentive.

The infrastructure for online shopping is probably a big factor as well. The Italian version of Amazon (the only international version I'm pretty familiar with) is limited in selection/prime options. I'm just guessing, but the difference in taxing bodies, shipping, storage, etc. might be what's holding back online shopping there.

Europhiles (including actual European Europhiles) probably would say it's all cultural ("Europeans are just more community-minded and less consumerist!") but in reality, lots of things aren't cultural... until they are. I bet if you asked the average Italian 20 years ago about Ikea they would have scoffed at the idea of furnishing their home from a big box store selling cheap furniture from Scandinavia, but then it's introduced and everyone flocks there because it's convenient and affordable.

The same thing happened with drive thrus, my brother in law used to (condescendingly) awe at the drive thrus here ("That's so great! Italians could never eat in their cars, though") but once they built a drive thru McDonald's in their town (dubbed McDrive by the locals) the line is always around the corner.

^^But it's not "perfectly" market-viable on its own. It's a surface lot and has been for who knows how long. Perhaps it would have been 'naturally' developed in 20 years, but thanks to the President's Opportunity Zone incentive, it's being developed now. It will liven up a gloomy stretch of town, and for that we can be thankful to the Opportunity Zone incentive. :cheers:

In this specific case, I think it probably WAS the Opportunity Zone that tipped the scales. The land was overpriced. I looked at it when I was working for a developer, the land has a PD in place for a 12-story highrise from before the recession, so the owner thought he could sell it for some outlandish price. We were looking to do townhomes (which is in character for the area) but it didn't pencil.

Looks like Cedar St came in with a more sensible proposal for a mid-rise with half the number of units proposed before the recession, and the Opportunity Zone incentives helped close the gap.

Also keep in mind that the Opportunity Zone boundary was drawn this way specifically because of the former ABLA homes/Roosevelt Square. There's still a huge number of public housing residents in this area and lots of undeveloped land (although virtually all of it is controlled by Related/CHA or the IMD). If the Opportunity Zone helps Related get off the damn dime with even one of their vacant parcels, it will be worth it IMO...

Sure, but my point is that no one designated this as an "economically-distressed" area because they knew that there was a prior PD overlay that created an over-valuation of the land. It's simply not a "distressed" area, leading me to believe that this specific application of the program is disingenuous.

Blommer's Store
 

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this news, but Blommer's corner store on Kinzie and Desplaines is closing the 3rd week of February. I was in there today talking to a couple of employees. I'm pretty bummed but it is what it is. Just to be clear, this is just the store, not the factory itself.

The employees I spoke with said the new Japanese parent company (Fuji Oil) is going to put a new lobby on the corner and make some other investments in the building. I'll be interested to see what happens in the future as I've heard talk of both expanding the plant to nearby vacant lots and closing it all together.

The Governor's Office drew the state's opportunity zones based on income and other data. Despite the benefits of the tax deference for investors, the project has to be interesting without the special tax treatment, which is why these projects are such a delicate balance. Some states drew their zones in such a way that there are better opportunities outside of Chicago.

Nobu Hotel Chicago - 155 N Peoria
 

January 6, 2020



January 10, 2020




Their website is now accepting reservations starting May 1 this year.
https://chicago.nobuhotels.com/

436 N Clark - Formerly The Baton Show Lounge
 

January 8, 2020





The public notice caught my eye while walking past the building. It's "to establish an adult use cannabis dispensary in an existing commercial space." I didn't realize the history of the building until I looked it up.

https://www.friedmanproperties.com/portfolio/430-436-n-clark

1100 W Randolph
 

January 10, 2020

1100 W Fulton
 

January 10, 2020

1040 W Fulton
 

January 10, 2020

1001 W Fulton Market
 

January 10, 2020

While on topic, there is an application for a cannabis shop at 612 N Wells as well - which I've received mail for as I live in the area. This is the old Carson's.

However there were plans for a condo development at that same 612 address, aka the 'The Blanc'

https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/2/15...nt-blanc-condo

So given the developer's wishy washy commitment in the article

does this mean they have moved on? Anyone know the current status of 'The Blanc' and if plans are being relocated?

River North Cannabis locations https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabi...s-recreational

I wouldn't think too much of this one way or the other. It may be that "The Blanc" is delayed for awhile and the building is just being leased out for now. A cannabis dispensary should be a fairly low cost operation to set up in an existing building, and it may just be temporary use - or maybe not. I guess we'll see.

Sun Times has an article this morning about renewed interest in capping the Kennedy. Apparently the 725 Randolph development is part of the catalyst, Burnett sounds pretty motivated. I know that rendering isn't real, but I would like to see it more north a block or two — start at Fulton or Lake and deck south as far as budget allows.

This is Chicago - double those cost estimates, at the least.