CHICAGO | Lincoln Yards

[moorhosj1]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Really hope the multimodal Dominick bridge still happens too.
Definetly more complicated when two different entities own each side (and one of them is broke).

JDL did mention the idea of extending Southport through the site, which may tie into an eventual bridge. The TIF had $80 million a year ago probably not enough to extend and build a bridge.

Street retail, restaurants and other commercial uses such as boutique office and medical office space would be part of the development, with an extension of Southport through the site serving as a main corridor and "ample underground parking" to encourage more pedestrian activity around the project, according to Letchinger.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by left of center

I was also under the impression JDL was in talks to purchase the remaining site from Sterling Bay. Hopefully they do. A bigger site will allow them to plan better. They should have the funds to get this going ASAP as well.

From Crain's:

...

JDL and Kayne expect to close on their acquisition of the land from Bank OZK by the end of September. They did not disclose the pending purchase price. A spokeswoman for Bank OZK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Letchinger also said the duo is focused on the northern portion of the Lincoln Yards land and not the roughly 23 acres Sterling Bay still controls in partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management on the southern portion of the proposed megaproject. JDL and Kayne recently sought to acquire that property after brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle began marketing it to prospective buyers, but Letchinger said he and Kayne are only moving forward now with the Bank OZK parcel.

"31 acres is enough, and we don't want to wait any longer," he said. "The city wants this built, we want it built, and we're ready to go."

...

...

One potentially thorny issue with amending the redevelopment agreement (RDA) is that the existing agreement covers both the Foundry Park land and the southern portion of Lincoln Yards. Some infrastructure components in that agreement involved both sites, such as a Dominick Street bridge connecting the two.

Letchinger said planning officials "understand that it needs to be split as two properties" for the RDA to be tenable, acknowledging that he has pursued the southern portion as well, "but it's not within our control."

"We're just focused on the north (portion of the former Lincoln Yards land) for now," he said. "The south (portion) will find its own level, and we're good with anything that happens there."

...

[left of center]

Gotcha, yeah makes sense for JDL to focus on the north half since they want to hit the ground running on this.

Hopefully the city requires them to preserve space/ROW for a Dominick/Southport bridge to be built eventually in the future. Seems like JDL is aware of the planning at the least.

[r18tdi]

For all the talk on here about JDL being able to "move quickly" on Foundry Park, why are there four approved high-rise towers at North Union that haven't started construction? Especially when NU is in an established Gold Coast/River North adjacent neighborhood with streets, sidewalks, and utilities already in place?

I assume the shitty lending environment is the same for both locations, so why would Foundry Park be any easier to finance -- unless JDL is making a deliberate and strategic pivot away from North Union to focus on Foundry Park?

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

For all the talk on here about JDL being able to "move quickly" on Foundry Park, why are there four approved high-rise towers at North Union that haven't started construction? Especially when NU is in an established Gold Coast/River North adjacent neighborhood with streets, sidewalks, and utilities already in place?

I assume the shitty lending environment is the same for both locations, so why would Foundry Park be any easier to finance -- unless JDL is making a deliberate and strategic pivot away from North Union to focus on Foundry Park?

There's been a fair bit of mid rise scale work going up around the city – I believe it has been easier to finance than high rises...

[ithakas]

From May:

Originally Posted by ithakas

I wonder if JDL goes this route with their chunk of Lincoln Yards, and gets city approvals to build a mid rise residential district.

I really think that scale paired with some walkable spaces becomes a big hit, and instantly one of the more desirable neighborhoods to live in in the city.

Happy to hear the news today! Looking forward to the renderings...

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I assume the shitty lending environment is the same for both locations, so why would Foundry Park be any easier to finance -- unless JDL is making a deliberate and strategic pivot away from North Union to focus on Foundry Park?

Cause Foundry Park has an explicit investor (Kayne Anderson) who's working in tandem with JDL, while North Union doesn't.

[ardecila]

By the time JDL gets done re-negotiating the RDA, hopefully the investment climate is better. Sterling Bay exhausted their patience with the investors, but JDL should probably enjoy a few years of goodwill. Even if the climate is still "bad", JDL could front-load some big SFH/McMansions or townhouses to show some forward progress, maybe on the north end of the site along Dickens/McLean where the streets already exist. Easier to finance, easier to sell. These could be paired with a small midrise elevator building for some affordable units as well.

I certainly think we'll see a lot less infrastructure than before, the Dominick bridge is probably dead unless they resurrect it as a pedestrian-only bridge which is much cheaper.

[swipyfox]

This is going to be VE'd to death I just know it. Sad to see more typical downsizing in a city (previously) known for ambition, but anything beats a vacant lot in this prime spot.

Why are SFH's even in the plan?

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by swipyfox

Why are SFH's even in the plan?

Because that's what affluent Lincoln Parkers want and they are willing to pay through the nose.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by swipyfox

This is going to be VE'd to death I just know it. Sad to see more typical downsizing in a city (previously) known for ambition, but anything beats a vacant lot in this prime spot.

Why are SFH's even in the plan?

I think it’s a matter of perspective. What would you prefer? A mix of 40-50 story Un-leased marquee commercial towers and only condo+apartment towers for the residential component, or a mix of low, mid and high rise residential projects, including luxury SFHs, with more modest boutique office midrises sprinkled around? The ChiYimby article did mention that there would be towers between 20-30 stories, so it’s not completely flat by any means.
The reality is that office spaces are struggling, while there is an urgent need for new housing throughout the city. I think the new development team’s approach is the best approach.

[sentinel]

Also, this is all related to only the north half of the site…the entire southern portion of the site is not part of the deal, and may yet be developed in the future to have more mid and high rise buildings, including office towers.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Also, this is all related to only the north half of the site…the entire southern portion of the site is not part of the deal, and may yet be developed in the future to have more mid and high rise buildings, including office towers.

The 100 percent vacant commercial building SB built at LY South begs to differ, but I like your optimism.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Also, this is all related to only the north half of the site…the entire southern portion of the site is not part of the deal, and may yet be developed in the future to have more mid and high rise buildings, including office towers.

I'm more pessimistic about any office space going there anytime soon. Even if we're talking new class A - Why would a developer put class A there, when the West Loop would be a much more desirable location? Even if they wanted to put office space there, maybe one tower at best in this market. Office vacancies continue to hit new highs in the city.

Best case is JDL gets going on the Northern half, then eventually buys up the remaining land on the Southern half to implement a similar plan.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

The 100 percent vacant commercial building SB built at LY South begs to differ, but I like your optimism.

Yer funny, but I also don’t disagree with you. I also think it kind of stands out right now, which actually works against it, especially when there is no other development in the immediate vicinity.
It’s a real shame that such a nice, new office building is sitting vacant, but it’s all about location. And until the area fills up more, I don’t know what the answer is…

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by twister244

I'm more pessimistic about any office space going there anytime soon. Even if we're talking new class A - Why would a developer put class A there, when the West Loop would be a much more desirable location? Even if they wanted to put office space there, maybe one tower at best in this market. Office vacancies continue to hit new highs in the city.

Best case is JDL gets going on the Northern half, then eventually buys up the remaining land on the Southern half to implement a similar plan.

I could see the appeal of putting office space directly next to the new Clyborn Station. Perhaps even with skywalks leading into the offices? That is a potential savings of ten minutes for suburbanites on the UP lines, not an unsubstantial amount.

[sentinel]

Sterling Bay’s hubris got the best of them; they should have partnered with 2-3 other developers, I think that’ was their Achilles heel, that they assumed they could take on this entire site on their own, even if it was planned in multiple phases.
Their local track record was impressive up to this point, but pales compared to other local and national developers that have taken on comparably large sites like this.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

I could see the appeal of putting office space directly next to the new Clyborn Station. Perhaps even with skywalks leading into the offices? That is a potential savings of ten minutes for suburbanites on the UP lines, not an unsubstantial amount.

Yeah, I get that, but Ogilvie isn't that far from the West Loop itself..... I'm just saying - If I were a developer looking to shore up enough demand for a small class A office building, LY would not be at the top of my list.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Sterling Bay’s hubris got the best of them.

Yeah. That was basically my takeaway from the Sun-Times piece from a couple of weeks ago.

Sounds like SB was riding high on their success in Fulton Market and thought they could do no wrong. They bet big on building a "second Loop" of Class A office space (in place it really had no business going), gambled on a Chicago life science resurgence that didn't happen, spent millions on non TIF-eligible environmental remiation, got caught out by the pandemic, and then realized they were unable to raise the billions in capital needed for infrastructure work to get reimbursed by TIF — per the terms of the agreement they had pushed so aggressively for.

And finally blamed Lightfoot for good measure.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Yeah. That was basically my takeaway from the Sun-Times piece from a couple of weeks ago.

Sounds like SB was riding high on their success in Fulton Market and thought they could do no wrong. They bet big on building a "second Loop" of Class A office space (in place it really had no business going), gambled on a Chicago life science resurgence that didn't happen, spent millions on non TIF-eligible environmental remiation, got caught out by the pandemic, and then realized they were unable to raise the billions in capital needed for infrastructure work to get reimbursed by TIF — per the terms of the agreement they had pushed so aggressively for.

And finally blamed Lightfoot for good measure.

So wild...and so so stupid.