This is an unexpected twist, maybe the 4th Preb tower is not dead after all.....
Unexpected development
After Natarus, how does downtown real estate picture change?
March 1, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER Business Reporter
There's a new powerbroker in commercial development downtown, and most already in that business don't know much about him.
He's Brendan Reilly, 35, who through his election as 42nd Ward alderman has become a man developers need to meet. In taking over Chicago's "super ward," covering most of the Loop and the Near North Side, Reilly can sculpt the changing skyline.
Because of "aldermanic privilege," the long-standing say over zoning that City Council members have in the wards they represent, Reilly can arm-twist design concessions from developers. His influence will be felt in such projects as the proposed 150-story lakefront "spire" by Santiago Calatrava and coming changes in the Loop's Block 37.
Reilly also could be faced with a resurrected plan to build high-rise condominiums just west of the Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue.
He ran on a platform that the incumbent he defeated, nine-termer Burton Natarus, had gotten too cozy with developers. But Natarus killed the Fourth Presbyterian high-rise, and Reilly quickly could be asked to review that decision, or consider an alternate development by the church.
"All options are open" for the church deal, said the Rev. John Buchanan, pastor of Fourth Presbyterian. Buchanan said no decisions have been made about approaching the new alderman, but he noted that the church never has withdrawn its proposal.
In an interview, Reilly said developers should expect the same traits he intends to show 42nd Ward voters, "an open door, objectivity and fairness." He said he supports new construction as "the engine that makes the city run," but promised to manage the approval process better than Natarus did.
"During the campaign, I often used Fourth Presbyterian as an example of how he mismanaged downtown development," Reilly said. Natarus, he said, signaled support for the 57-story tower, then retracted it after intense community pressure and after the church had spent large sums to plan it.
Reilly said he will widely circulate details of proposed developments and solicit feedback before taking his own stance. "I will require healthy community input and information- sharing by the developer," he said.
The Calatrava spire has caused confusion because its developer, Garrett Kelleher, has shown its latest design to insiders but not to community groups. Reilly said having a building with the Calatrava signature "is a great opportunity for Chicago, however the devil is in the details."
Kelleher's attorney, Thomas Murphy, said his client will meet with Reilly soon. Murphy said he expects the political change won't be detrimental to the project. Kelleher wants to almost triple the number of homes in the building as compared to an earlier plan that Natarus and Mayor Daley endorsed.
Natarus could be colorful and unpredictable in his dealings with development issues, but real estate executives also said he was fair and a tough critic. They said they expect similar attributes from Reilly, a former aide to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and most recently a public affairs executive for AT&T.
Jack Guthman, a zoning attorney for leading developers, said he has met Reilly and thinks "he's a balanced and thoughtful person" who will entertain reasonable discussions.
Natarus, Guthman added, didn't deserve the charge of being too project-friendly. "He was always upfront and straight-forward, even on things we didn't like to hear," Guthman said.
Joel Carlins, who is responsible for the multibuilding Lakeshore East project north of Grant Park, said Reilly moderated his rhetoric about development as the campaign proceeded, making clear that he judges projects by their overall good for the ward.
Reilly won with financial and staff help from organized labor. "If unions are one of his concerns, we employ 1,000 union members at Lakeshore East," Carlins said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I hate to quote something that David Roeder wrote, I believe that this new alderman will have so much influence on the issues that matter most to this forum that a little background knowledge on his postions with developers is very important. And hey if we get a redesigned 4th Presb high-rise out of all this change in city hall than I'm all for it.
Prev
So lets get to work to get this guy elected. Walk a precint do something to get this guy elected. This is our shot to get our do-for-nothing hack alderman out of office.
Linear Mode
