CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[Norsider]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Hey folks,

I thought you would be interested to know that the Old Post Office on the agenda for the April Plan Commission is going to get raped. 800,000 square feet of structure will be removed along with nearly the entire west facade. You know the US POST OFFICE engraving above I-290, well kiss everything above it goodbye. The remainder of the west facade between the two towers will converted to a parking garage. And it gets worse, the old loading dock areas along Canal street will be turned into surface parking!

Come speak out against it if your pissed.


And here is the kicker, they want LEED certification even though they are sending 800,000 of floorspace to a landfill.

Yeah I'm pissed. It's too bad they won't be demolishing the whole thing.

And what really needs to be demolished is the entire Eisenhower superstructure east of the circle. That stupid useless spur does nothing but retard development. It's like 5 lanes wide and absolutely no one drives on it. Everyone either heads north to the Kennedy or south on the Dan Ryan.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Norsider

And what really needs to be demolished is the entire Eisenhower superstructure east of the circle. . . absolutely no one drives on it.

For very large values of "no one" . . .

Carries average daily traffic of 139,000 vehicles.

http://www.gettingaroundillinois.com/default.aspx?ql=aadt

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Hey folks,

I thought you would be interested to know that the Old Post Office on the agenda for the April Plan Commission is going to get raped. 800,000 square feet of structure will be removed along with nearly the entire west facade. You know the US POST OFFICE engraving above I-290, well kiss everything above it goodbye. The remainder of the west facade between the two towers will converted to a parking garage. And it gets worse, the old loading dock areas along Canal street will be turned into surface parking!

Come speak out against it if your pissed.


And here is the kicker, they want LEED certification even though they are sending 800,000 of floorspace to a landfill.

Yes I am pissed as well. I will direct you to a rendering I found a few months ago and have posted on here that clearly shows the slaughter:



Its absolutely terrible, they should not be allowed to hack the middle section like that. They can make a big hole down the middle where no one will see it, but they can't just slaughter the visible aesthetics of the building like that...

[brian_b]

Plenty of people drive on that stretch. I used to, back when I had a car and commuted to the burbs every day.

Now, I'd agree with anyone that says it probably doesn't need to be as wide as it is...

[brian_b]

My "I'm not a developer with millions to cough up" proposal for the Old Post Office is to use it for the original purpose!

It was built to distribute massive numbers of packages around the US. Who does that now? No single company, but tons and tons of people have eBay businesses which do it.

Build some mini warehouses on the inside, all connected via conveyor belt to a central "sorting center" within the building. It's across the street from a large, centrally located (within the USA) post office, UPS has a massive shipping center in the area, FedEx isn't too far away. The loading dock was built to handle huge numbers of deliveries and shipments via truck, and intuition tells me it's probably got some sort of rail shipping capability via the tracks running underneath along the river.

I figure that they would need 100-150 eBay power sellers to make it work, and I bet that the building could accommodate 400 or 500 of them if it really took off. Chicago was the catalog shipping capital of America, it still has the infrastructure needed to be the eBay shipping capital of the world. And a suitable building looking for tenants.

[Eventually...Chicago]

Brian B

That is a really interesting idea...

What if instead it became some sort of a business incubator. Plenty of warehouse space, space for designers, manufacturers. You know I always hear about how the midwest has just as much business potential as the coasts, but doesn't seem to have very much capital for start-ups. Who could ask for a better location or a more flexible facility?

Oh well... That is probably stretching it. Unless anyone here has a loose million or so.

I was looking a bit at the post office and i noticed that it seems to have built in stages. Some of it appeared to be stone, some of it looked like crappy brick. Does anyone have any detailed pictures of the facade? I'll have to take a look at it again on the way home.

Even though demolishing 800,000 sq.ft. seems to be a lot to still be able to seek LEED cert. I guess it is better than demolishing the whole thing. I have a feeling this project will be another one of those "Geee, i am glad something is happening there, but it sucks" projects. (i.e. Allure @ K Station, Riverbend)

[brian_b]

Yeah, a business incubator. That'd be great! Another thought I had one day while gazing at it from the Skydeck at Sears was that it has a pretty massive roof! Daley keeps complaining that the poor areas of the city are under served for fresh fruits and veggies. If the roof can support the load, how about adding a gigantic garden up there? And the top floor could become another growing area. Every time the local authorities seize hydroponic growing equipment from pot growers, they could drop it off up there and increase the growing capacity. OK, that part is probably dumb, but if the roof is strong enough that's a lot of gardening opportunity!

[trvlr70]

OMP & OMPW will probably make the biggest impact on the Chicago skyline in a decade. Postcards will have to alter the typical shot.

On a related note, I hope the increased populations in the immediate vicinity will spur community interest in covering the railroad tracks in Grant Park.

It'll never happen, but I wouldn't mind a road of two taken out of the park in order to make it a little more user-friendly. Who's going to miss Columbus? LOL

[spyguy]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/335683,CST-FIN-roeder11.article

KTR doubles its holdings
REAL ESTATE | $108 million deal among largest this year

April 11, 2007
DAVID ROEDER

MANN'S MANAGERS: Maybe this is evidence of global warming. Sunbelt could be coming to Chicago. That's Sunbelt Management Co., the real estate investment vehicle for German industrialist Hugo Mann. Sunbelt owns two prime development sites on either side of NBC Tower, 455 N. Cityfront Plaza. A source said Sunbelt, based in Delray Beach, Fla., longs for a big city where it has property and might move its 14-person operation into NBC Tower, which it owns.

But the source said this isn't a sign that Sunbelt is more actively pushing development of the vacant sites. Somebody else last year reported that a developer wanted one site for a digital TV tower, but that won't happen.

[trvlr70]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/335683,CST-FIN-roeder11.article

KTR doubles its holdings
REAL ESTATE | $108 million deal among largest this year

April 11, 2007
DAVID ROEDER

MANN'S MANAGERS: Maybe this is evidence of global warming. Sunbelt could be coming to Chicago. That's Sunbelt Management Co., the real estate investment vehicle for German industrialist Hugo Mann. Sunbelt owns two prime development sites on either side of NBC Tower, 455 N. Cityfront Plaza. A source said Sunbelt, based in Delray Beach, Fla., longs for a big city where it has property and might move its 14-person operation into NBC Tower, which it owns.

But the source said this isn't a sign that Sunbelt is more actively pushing development of the vacant sites. Somebody else last year reported that a developer wanted one site for a digital TV tower, but that won't happen.

As much as I hate to say this, if Sunbelt was a wise investor, they'd hang on to those lots for as long as possible. Streeterville and especially riverfront parcels are becoming increasingly rare and thus more valuable.

[Norsider]

Originally Posted by brian_b

Plenty of people drive on that stretch. I used to, back when I had a car and commuted to the burbs every day.

Now, I'd agree with anyone that says it probably doesn't need to be as wide as it is...

You could easily knock it down to 2 lanes each way with a red light intersection at Wacker Drive. It simply doesn't need to be a giant, real-estate wasting expressway until west of the circle.

[budman]

Originally Posted by trvlr70

As much as I hate to say this, if Sunbelt was a wise investor, they'd hang on to those lots for as long as possible. Streeterville and especially riverfront parcels are becoming increasingly rare and thus more valuable.

^I agree, especially that the south site, right on the river. It is just crying out to be developed into a world-class tower.

[budman]

Originally Posted by Sir Isaac Newton

Not sure if anyone had mentioned this, yet...

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=24541

American Invsco to do conversion at 200 N. Dearborn
As it wraps up the conversion of one Loop apartment tower into condominiums, American Invsco is getting ready to launch another conversion just two blocks away.
The Chicago-based developer has signed a contract to buy the 46-story apartment building at 200 N. Dearborn St. and plans to start turning its 309 units into condos later this year, says Arnold Schepel, vice-president of advertising and marketing at the firm.


200 N. Dearborn St.
It would be the first downtown conversion in 2007 amid a cooling condo market and hot rental market, which have combined to make owning apartments more attractive than converting them.

American Invsco is buying the property from real estate investor Elzie Higginbottom and John Baird, chairman of Baird & Warner, the residential brokerage, who teamed up to build the high-rise in 1989. Messrs. Schepel, Higginbottom and Baird decline to disclose the price.

One apartment expert estimated the property was worth roughly $200,000 a unit, or $62 million.

American Invsco has already begun construction on a sales office and models on the 34th and 35th floors, with plans to launch sales early next month, Mr. Schepel says. He expects that current renters will buy about 20% to 25% of the building’s units.

The downtown conversion market has virtually dried up in the past year as demand for new condos has declined, making it harder for developers to pay up for apartment buildings.

At the same time, the booming apartment market has fueled gains in occupancies and rents, allowing conventional investors to bid more aggressively on properties.


Advertisement


Related Article Topics | Related Industry News
“Because of the strong performance of the rental market, that has enabled a lot of the pension fund advisers and institutions to be competitive,” says Matthew Lawton, who sells apartment buildings as a senior managing director in the Chicago office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.
After condo converters acquired 12 downtown properties comprising 3,832 apartments in 2005, American Invsco was the only converter to launch a downtown project last year, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based real estate consulting firm.

That conversion, of a 293-unit building at 182 W. Lake St., is in its final phase, with about 13 units left, Mr. Schepel says.

American Invsco likes the neighborhood, which is in the midst of a development boom capped by a massive mixed-use development under way at Block 37 about a block south of the firm’s new project.

“The whole Loop area is really starting to come,” Mr. Schepel says.

American Invsco hasn’t set prices for 200 N. Dearborn. Though selling condos has gotten tougher, the soft market doesn’t worry Mr. Schepel.

“If it is priced right, I think we’ll find enough buyers,” he says.

^Not a big fan of American Invsco, but I am glad something is being done with this building other than leaving it the way it is.

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0704100469apr11,0,2552174.story?coll=chi-business-utl

Alter sees bigger return in smaller project

BY SUSAN DIESENHOUSE
Published April 11, 2007

BUCK PLANS MIXED USE: An approximately $132 million mixed-use project with a 259-room hotel and 121 residences that are likely to be sold as condominiums is being planned for 505 N. State St. by the John Buck Co., said a source close to the deal.

The hotel will fly the flag of San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC.

For Buck, who owns the site in a joint venture with Royal Properties USA Inc. of Champaign, this will be the first "ground-up" condo project it has undertaken.

The developer hopes to start the two-year construction project this year after the city signs off on final approvals. But unlike most major residential projects, Buck plans to start construction before selling an appreciable number of residences, the source said.

[spyguy]

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/335683,CST-FIN-roeder11.article

CONDO COMPROMISE: Highland Park-based Pickus Cos. is beginning to win over the West Loop Community Organization with a new plan for a condo complex at 1260 W. Madison. The proposed two towers would still sit on a common base, but their height has been trimmed to 115 feet from 155 feet.

Eric Sedler, president of the West Loop organization, said more discussion is needed but that the developer is going in the right direction. Pickus' zoning lawyer, Jack Guthman, said the developer will bring plans back to the neighborhood after a traffic study is finished. Asked when he'd like to take the project to City Hall, Guthman said, "Sooner rather than later, but I know better."

----

Looks like this one isn't over 12 stories anymore, but we all knew this would happen

[Steely Dan]

when will WLCO learn that the heights of the buildings aren't the problem in their part of town, it's the completely dead, "devoid of all life" streets that make their neighborhood so moribund? they say that west loop gate has been exploding with population over the past decade or so, but where the hell are all the people? i swear, sides streets up in rogers park see more pedestrian activity.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

when will WLCO learn that the heights of the buildings aren't the problem in their part of town, it's the completely dead, "devoid of all life" streets that make their neighborhood so moribund? they say that west loop gate has been exploding with population over the past decade or so, but where the hell are all the people? i swear, sides streets up in rogers park see more pedestrian activity.

When will developers start being pussies and actually fight WILCO? Thay have no guts.

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/335683,CST-FIN-roeder11.article

KTR doubles its holdings
REAL ESTATE | $108 million deal among largest this year

April 11, 2007
DAVID ROEDER

MANN'S MANAGERS: Maybe this is evidence of global warming. Sunbelt could be coming to Chicago. That's Sunbelt Management Co., the real estate investment vehicle for German industrialist Hugo Mann. Sunbelt owns two prime development sites on either side of NBC Tower, 455 N. Cityfront Plaza. A source said Sunbelt, based in Delray Beach, Fla., longs for a big city where it has property and might move its 14-person operation into NBC Tower, which it owns.

But the source said this isn't a sign that Sunbelt is more actively pushing development of the vacant sites. Somebody else last year reported that a developer wanted one site for a digital TV tower, but that won't happen.

They had some decent proposals for buildings in those lots.

[brian_b]

Originally Posted by Norsider

You could easily knock it down to 2 lanes each way with a red light intersection at Wacker Drive. It simply doesn't need to be a giant, real-estate wasting expressway until west of the circle.

As long as they keep the exit at Canal, I'm fine with that.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Eventually...Chicago

I was looking a bit at the post office and i noticed that it seems to have built in stages.

Correct. The buff-brick building is the mail terminal building from 1921. The Graham Anderson Probst & White expansion in 1932 includes an office building along Van Buren that has 12-foot, 8-inch ceilings, and the workroom space on the rest of the block, which has 19-foot ceilings. The clever thing was tying the whole thing together with the verticality of the recessed dark spandrels and windows.

In the 1920s there was a lot of debate over the location of the new post office. Burnham had proposed having it between Union and Northwestern stations, and Bennett loudly protested that the Van Buren-Harrison site would make it impossible to build Congress Parkway as the Plan of Chicago required. So they left the hole in the middle, which would not be used for 20 years.

Some early postcards drew in planes landing on the roof for airmail, but I'm not clear whether this was ever seriously contemplated.