CHICAGOLAND | Urban Development in the Burbs

[aaron38]

Damn
Demolition under way at old Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...15954457&ei=13

[Busy Bee]

Pretty shocking

[left of center]

End of an era. Sears was literally the Amazon of the analog era. They got rid of their catalog right before the internet boom. Terribly sad timing.

[Tom In Chicago]

From today's Trib:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/...town-evanston/

Developers propose 27-story apartment tower for downtown Evanston


A pair of developers have proposed replacing a section of Church Street Plaza in Evanston with a 27-story skyscraper, pictured in this conceptual rendering. (Antunovich Associates)

A pair of developers have proposed building a mixed-use complex in downtown Evanston that would be the largest residential development in the suburb since the pandemic. A 27-story skyscraper with 358 apartments and nearly 3,000 square feet of retail space would replace a 70-foot section on the northernmost edge of Church Street Plaza, an existing mall at 1711 Maple Ave.

GW Properties acquired Church Street Plaza in 2021, and along with its partner, Chicago-based Luxury Living, submitted an initial zoning application to the city, but plans could change as they seek approvals from city officials, community residents and other stakeholders.

. . .

[r18tdi]

Nice. Same development team as the St. Grand in Streeterville.

Can't see this going through without a fight. Evanston NIMBYs are going to NIMBY...

[Steely Dan]

Oh no!! Not the Chili's!!!!!!!!

Seriously though, I think evanston's Chili's is the only urban format Chili's I've ever seen anywhere.




Anyway, Evanston NIMBYs will most likely get this radically reduced in height, or kill it outright.

I don't know why developers keep trying there.

[Klippenstein]

I love this part of Evanston where the metra and CTA converge though it has a bit of a liminal vibe. This development would be great for the area despit Chili's and NIMBYs.

[aaron38]

This is just a small observation, I noticed recently that East Dundee, at Main Street (IL-72) and Van Buren, two blocks from the Fox River, the village purchased and demolished two vacant homes "for the purpose of redevelopment".
Usually the smaller burbs don't spend money like that unless they have something cooking. So I'm going to be watching this lot.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0988...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

[aaron38]

On the topic of East Dundee, this is the 2024 Fox riverfront redevelopment plan I found. I think they already started the parking garage, I saw a large crane down River street in about that area.
Yep, that's it: https://eastdundee.net/news_detail_T9_R179.php

What's interesting is that the two houses that were just bought and demolished (post above) are across the street from the study area. I wonder if they're planning to expand the zone?

I do like the extra pedestrian/bike bridge down river of downtown.
https://cms9files.revize.com/eastdun...al-reduced.pdf


And then there's this. On the north end of the redevelopment zone is this parcel of forested land. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/Van-...ee-IL/3829753/

I can't find anything else about this, but according to the redevelopment plan a creek flows through it and it's part of the flood plain. So I think they may be trying to bring it into the park system for the school to the north.

[ardecila]

That parcel would be great for a little development of homes like School St in Libertyville, just gotta build the homes around the creek.

https://ddcaarchitects.com/portfolio...bertyville-il/

[Bonsai Tree]

Originally Posted by aaron38

This is just a small observation, I noticed recently that East Dundee, at Main Street (IL-72) and Van Buren, two blocks from the Fox River, the village purchased and demolished two vacant homes "for the purpose of redevelopment".
Usually the smaller burbs don't spend money like that unless they have something cooking. So I'm going to be watching this lot.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0988...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

Hmm interesting. 72 is such a barrier in that community and acts as a big separator to the West Dundee business district west of the river. Kinda creates two interesting dynamics, with the thriving East Dundee business district centered around the FRT and the West Dundee main street really being inaccessible to pedestrians. I've always thought it's a huge loss for West Dundee and the businesses on main street in East Dundee. The FRT draws insanely huge traffic for basically 9+ months of the year now, and East Dundee has done a good job leveraging their plaza/park area for holiday events as well.

Hopefully if East Dundee does push for development on the lot it'll be high-quality and dense. There are plenty of vacant lots in the area, so I'm surprised this was even necessary. In any case, if they can get more development around Main Street, the next thing they should do is push IDOT to stop being so obtuse all the time and actually create a welcoming pedestrian environment.

[munchymunch]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Question: would it be possible to implement a transit TIF for a Yellow Line extension to Old Orchard Mall? The originalhttps://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...&ref=app&amp=1 proposal got no where because of resident pushbackhttps://www.nbcchicago.com/news/loca...&ref=app&amp=1, but also cause of lack of funding. Now that Old Orchard is being redeveloped, now may be a good time to revive the proposal


You can shop at Old Orchard now. You soon may be able to live there, too.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...ts-skokie-mall

Expect this one to get going early 2025…

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by Bonsai Tree

Hmm interesting. 72 is such a barrier in that community and acts as a big separator to the West Dundee business district west of the river. Kinda creates two interesting dynamics, with the thriving East Dundee business district centered around the FRT and the West Dundee main street really being inaccessible to pedestrians. I've always thought it's a huge loss for West Dundee and the businesses on main street in East Dundee. The FRT draws insanely huge traffic for basically 9+ months of the year now, and East Dundee has done a good job leveraging their plaza/park area for holiday events as well.

What is the East Dundee FRT? I searched for it, didn't find anything.
Edit: Oh, do you mean the Fox River Trail? Yes that does run through East Dundee, and that is a cool entertainment area, but what I said about Rt 72 still stands.

For Main Street (Rt. 72), West Dundee is far more pedestrian friendly. Wider side walks, planters between pedestrians and the 4 lane traffic. East Dundee is much worse along 72.

West Dundee Sidewalk (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0981...oASAFQAw%3D%3D)

East Dundee Sidewalk
(https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0981...oASAFQAw%3D%3D)

[Bonsai Tree]

Originally Posted by aaron38

What is the East Dundee FRT? I searched for it, didn't find anything.
Edit: Oh, do you mean the Fox River Trail? Yes that does run through East Dundee, and that is a cool entertainment area, but what I said about Rt 72 still stands.

For Main Street (Rt. 72), West Dundee is far more pedestrian friendly. Wider side walks, planters between pedestrians and the 4 lane traffic. East Dundee is much worse along 72.

West Dundee Sidewalk (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0981...oASAFQAw%3D%3D)

East Dundee Sidewalk
(https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0981...oASAFQAw%3D%3D)

My point was that Route 72 creates a dead-zone for pedestrian traffic. Connecting the pedestrian and cyclist flow of the Fox River Trail (FRT) via improved streetscapes and a road diet would make a huge improvement.

And I wouldn't really classify West Dundee as pedestrian friendly either. Having a 4 lane arterial with high speeds next to a slightly wider sidewalk is not a good pedestrian environment. East Dundee near the FRT is packed in the warm weather months- so much so that the Dairy Queen along the trail has multiple bike racks now.

[aaron38]

I don't understand your argument. It's Highway Route 72, it has to be 4 lanes. A road diet to what? 2 lanes? Traffic would be bumper to bumper for miles. It's the only Fox River crossing for the area. There are school busses and trucks and people going to work.

How is it a dead-zone? The speed limit is 25mph and from 8th street on the west to Penny Ave on the East there are 7 stop lights with crosswalks for pedestrians. It's like saying Michigan Avenue isn't pedestrian friendly.

There's a pedestrian bridge north of Main and that development plan I posted calls for another pedestrian bridge south of Main. Bike riders on the FRT have plenty of side streets to use. But there's no impediment to pedestrians or bike riders crossing the river on the Rt 72 bridge.


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0985...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

[Bonsai Tree]

Originally Posted by aaron38

I don't understand your argument. It's Highway Route 72, it has to be 4 lanes. A road diet to what? 2 lanes? Traffic would be bumper to bumper for miles. It's the only Fox River crossing for the area. There are school busses and trucks and people going to work.

How is it a dead-zone? The speed limit is 25mph and from 8th street on the west to Penny Ave on the East there are 7 stop lights with crosswalks for pedestrians. It's like saying Michigan Avenue isn't pedestrian friendly.

There's a pedestrian bridge north of Main and that development plan I posted calls for another pedestrian bridge south of Main. Bike riders on the FRT have plenty of side streets to use. But there's no impediment to pedestrians or bike riders crossing the river on the Rt 72 bridge.


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0985...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

Michigan Avenue isn't pedestrian friendly. That has literally been a huge part of both revisionings of the avenue.

Bike riders on the FRT do not have plenty of side streets to use- to reach Main Street they would have to bike across an abysmal sidewalk from East Dundee and cross the bridge over the Fox (which also has a terrible sidewalk). And no - the pedestrian bridge north of the river does not draw cycling traffic to West Dundee.

And yes- I would advocate for a road diet from 4 travel lanes and a turn lane to 2 travel lanes and a turn lane. There is no need to ram a 60 foot wide arterial through West Dundee. I highly doubt most of that traffic is actually going 25 mph too. 90 and Longweadow Pkwy (I know- not yet opened yet but soon) are alternative options for vehicular traffic. There is plenty of capacity left in crossings over the Fox that do not involve flying through East and West Dundee.

Your comments make me think that you've never actually walked or ridden a bike through these areas. I'm sure that sidewalk looks plenty nice when you're flying by at 50 mph. Wonder why nobody uses it? Give me a count of the number of cyclists and pedestrians in West Dundee vs East Dundee next time and come back to me. Then you can tell me about no impediment.