CHICAGO | The 78 Site

[dreamy-developer]

Originally Posted by BrinChi

^ Nor should they. There is nothing wrong with Rate field itself. Attendance isn't struggling because of the stadium; that's pretty obvious. They should re-sign for 10-15 years and evaluate again in 10 years. Save and invest profits in the meantime so they can buy their own next stadium.

Same story applies to the Bears as well. Stay at Soldier Field another 10 years at least.

I don't know if there are obvious more politics considering the neighborhood/area they're in - but I'm surprised the ownership isn't (as we know of) considering proposing a similar project to the UC 1901 Project around the Sox Stadium?

When they proposed The 78 pitch, they gave half-a**ed renderings of a soccer stadium with surrounding development. So it's not like they don't know the potential for the surrounding area.

I don't get why they aren't trying to "Wrigleyville-fy" the area like they're trying to do at UC? Obviously I think it could be really hard to simultaneously do a project like that alongside the 1901 project (money-wise), but it's just interesting the ownership sees the potential of UC and want to replicate what Wrigleyville has going for it, but then reject the idea around the Sox Stadium and just want to ditch it.

[ardecila]

What's the market for it?

Chicago's a big city but there's not bottomless demand for new corporate sportsbars and restaurants, especially when the city is already full of great neighborhood places. We already have a Wrigleyville, I'm don't think anybody wants to have a 2nd one that feels even more sterile and fake.

Any development at 35th/Shields should be housing focused, a real neighborhood and not an "entertainment district". Move all the parking south of the ballpark in a few big garages. Put in some student housing for IIT, a few thousand market-rate apartments, definitely some townhouses, a grocery store etc and let that support a whole new neighborhood that's right on the Red Line. If they get a few bars for Sox fans, that's just a bonus.

[left of center]

Additionally, to build off your comment about limited demand, the UC redevelopment is drawing from the momentum of Fulton Market, and the hope is it will act as a western extension of an already vibrant and highly in-demand neighborhood.

Sox park is in a sea of parking lots, and is nowhere near a destination currently outside of baseball games. The closest thing to a draw in the area is the small cluster of bars and eateries on 33rd St. Building up a year round entertainment district is a very tall order, especially in an area that is mostly residential/industrial, without a lot of commercial businesses to begin with.

[Bonsai Tree]

Originally Posted by ardecila

What's the market for it?

Chicago's a big city but there's not bottomless demand for new corporate sportsbars and restaurants, especially when the city is already full of great neighborhood places. We already have a Wrigleyville, I'm don't think anybody wants to have a 2nd one that feels even more sterile and fake.

Any development at 35th/Shields should be housing focused, a real neighborhood and not an "entertainment district". Move all the parking south of the ballpark in a few big garages. Put in some student housing for IIT, a few thousand market-rate apartments, definitely some townhouses, a grocery store etc and let that support a whole new neighborhood that's right on the Red Line. If they get a few bars for Sox fans, that's just a bonus.

To build off of this- there IS lots of residential demand in Bridgeport. It's a growing neighborhood with significant supply constraints and huge desirability. They could absolutely fill those lots with housing.

[BVictor1]

03.20.26

[Randomguy34]

Permits for the stadium have now been issued

Street Address: 1331 S WELLS ST

DDS 2019 CBC: PILES ONLY PERMIT (VERTICAL PENETRATION ONLY) FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A 4 STORY STADIUM (OCC GROUPS A-2, A-3, A-5, B, S-1, S-2, F-1, M; CONST TYPE IB) CONSULTANT REVIEWER: GLOBETROTTERS ENGINEERING

https://webapps1.chicago.gov/buildingpermit/permitappstatus?apkey=3429915

[BVictor1]

Pile driver on site.
03.25.26

[lakeshoredrive]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Pile driver on site.
03.25.26

Dancing banana time?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by lakeshoredrive

Dancing banana time?

Yep! They’re driving piles today, so the stadium is Under Construction

[donnie]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Yep! They’re driving piles today, so the stadium is Under Construction

[lakeshoredrive]

My hope is that the 78 can become like the ballpark village in STL with a bunch of hotels and apartment buildings and some cool restaurants and maybe a sport betting bar. It’d be great if we can get one supertall building anchor the whole thing with the stadium but that’s probably unlikely.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Yep! They’re driving piles today, so the stadium is Under Construction

03.27.26

[cloudbod]

I think this thing is gonna be awesome. Thanks for the pics and updates BVictor1!!

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by lakeshoredrive

My hope is that the 78 can become like the ballpark village in STL with a bunch of hotels and apartment buildings and some cool restaurants and maybe a sport betting bar. It’d be great if we can get one supertall building anchor the whole thing with the stadium but that’s probably unlikely.

I hope not. The ballpark village feels super fake. I guess it's an improvement over the brutalist dystopia of old Busch Stadium, but Chicago can do so much better.

[lakeshoredrive]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I hope not. The ballpark village feels super fake. I guess it's an improvement over the brutalist dystopia of old Busch Stadium, but Chicago can do so much better.

I see what you are saying. I just hope what can come after the stadium will help make the development more varied so it's just not all sport centric with the Fire and possibly White Sox.

[UrbanDweller98]

They can right the wrong by building Armour Field and the surrounding “Comiskeyville” development that was originally proposed in the late 80s. If they built this over Rate Field we wouldn’t be in this predicament now.

[IMG]http://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1*0kiP2Ov-cVjIOkVroNO7xA.jpeg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1*VpbBk_-j8XKX_1qWBk4v8A.jpeg[/IMG]

[ardecila]

They don't need to build Armour Field really. Sox Park could use a facelift, but it's a perfectly fine modern ballpark. It could easily be like Nats Park with a facelift/expansion. It has an on-site CTA and Metra station. All those parking lots could easily become a "Comiskeyville" of mixed use development.

Frankly it seems much easier for the Sox to stay in place and build their entertainment district at 35th/Shields where there is ample land to build on AND move some or all of their parking into garages AND maintain easy transit access. At the end of the day I think it will be easier to convince ISFA (i.e. Gov Pritzker) to sell off the parking lots then it will be to convince Related to sell off the south half of The 78. Of course, in order to make year-round dining/entertainment feasible at 35th/Shields you need lots of people living on site.

[BVictor1]

03.31.26

[k1052]

Originally Posted by ardecila

They don't need to build Armour Field really. Sox Park could use a facelift, but it's a perfectly fine modern ballpark. It could easily be like Nats Park with a facelift/expansion. It has an on-site CTA and Metra station. All those parking lots could easily become a "Comiskeyville" of mixed use development.

Frankly it seems much easier for the Sox to stay in place and build their entertainment district at 35th/Shields where there is ample land to build on AND move some or all of their parking into garages AND maintain easy transit access. At the end of the day I think it will be easier to convince ISFA (i.e. Gov Pritzker) to sell off the parking lots then it will be to convince Related to sell off the south half of The 78. Of course, in order to make year-round dining/entertainment feasible at 35th/Shields you need lots of people living on site.

I think a lot of people, including team owners who are envious, miss that the Ricketts Wrigleyville plays and the adjacent developments work because the park itself is smack in the middle of one of the densest neighborhoods in the entire city filled with people that have a decent amount of disposable income. This is who keeps a lot of businesses going in the off season.

[Chisouthside]

Alot of the chinatown extension development going southwest could also be funneled into building housing on the sox park parking lots. There is definitely demand.