CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[ardecila]

The VOA proposal doesn't seem too bad. I could live with it, even though it is visible from MP.

What I'm wondering, though, is how these institutions can't be profitable as health clubs in the Bally's mold (although obviously more luxurious). Health clubs can do well anywhere, as long as they have a sound business plan and location. Is it just lack of parking that prevents this use? It's only one block away from the L. Or, for the Lakeshore Club, why not a hotel? The ballrooms and banquet halls can be used for just that. Or the building can be developed seperately into a downtown banquet facility and a boutique hotel - with lake views, 2 blocks from the Mag Mile! How would that not be profitable?

[SamInTheLoop]

Walked by State and Lake today - some concrete barriers are up around the site and there appeared to be some type of utility work going on....looks like this one may be headed for a late June/early July start (I think this would be similar to what was reported on Bidclerk.com several weeks ago)...

Also, according to the concrete barriers themselves, it looks like McHugh probably has landed this contract...

[Loopy]

Caisson work has resumed at Astoria Tower after a several month hiatus.

[Dan in Chicago]

Originally Posted by Loopy

Caisson work has resumed at Astoria Tower after a several month hiatus.

I was just over there this morning trying to get the height, but the top of the building was not scaled on the prints and is still subject to change. Expect something in the high 300s. There's an open pyramidal framework with a spire rising out of it.

[spyguy]

I don't think Eco 18 has been added to the list yet
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=eco18-chicago-il-usa

[spyguy]

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=25319

Panel OKs $59-mil. subsidy for Union Station

A city panel on Tuesday approved a $59-million subsidy to help finance the $457-million redevelopment of Union Station in the West Loop into a Hilton hotel, offices and condominiums.

The developer, a joint venture led by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., plans to build an 18-story tower atop the train station, a run-down and underused building at 210 S. Canal St. The American Medical Assn. would relocate from its current River North headquarters to anchor the new high-rise, occupying about 275,000 of the building's 600,000 square feet of office space.

The Community Development Commission (CDC) voted to provide $58.8 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) to help pay for the project, one of the largest TIF subsidies ever for a private development. The amount trumps a $51-million TIF grant the CDC approved in May to subsidize the redevelopment of the Old Main Post Office.

"I promise that Union Station will have the same impact for the West Loop that Millennium Park has had for the East Loop," Hossein Youssefi, head of the team developing the project, told the commission.

It would be the third train station project for Mr. Youssefi, a former Jones Lang LaSalle executive who has worked on the redevelopment of Grand Central Terminal in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Though some have questioned using TIF money to subsidize large private developments, a city official told commissioners that the cost of rehabilitating the existing eight-story structure — estimated at $100 million — was so large that a developer would not undertake the project without city assistance.

The project would include a 300-room hotel, about 85,000 square feet of retail space and 200 condominiums, ranging from $260,000 to $760,000. The project is expected to begin next June, with the hotel scheduled to open in fall 2009. The City Council still must bless the TIF grant.

In other business, the CDC approved a $5-million TIF grant to subsidize the relocation of Navteq Corp.'s headquarters from the Merchandise Mart to the Boeing Co. headquarters building at 100 N. Riverside Plaza. As part of the deal, Navteq has agreed to increase its headquarters workforce to 900 people by 2011, up from its current 550.

Navteq had considered leaving downtown Chicago for other locations, including Detroit; San Jose, Calif., and the Chicago suburbs, Lori Bush, an official in the Department of Planning and Development, told commissioners.

The Commission also signed off on a proposal for the city to acquire three properties just east of an office tower that the John Buck Co. plans at 155 N. Wacker Drive. The city and developer plan to raze the three low-rise buildings on the parcels to make way for a park.

[SamInTheLoop]

^^^^ Whoooaaaa. What's going on with the city purchasing those buildings? Who's got the scoop on that? Buck couldn't get them himself.....
Is the city stepping in to somehow attempt to force a sale? I want to know the story here...

[chicubs111]

I take it that those 3 buildings are the ones buck wanted to buy to build an extended plaza from 155 north wacker?...I actually think making them into a park will look nice and really add a great effect to 155. I remember seeing sketches of Bucks extended plaza and it looked too much of a waste, im glad the city is doing this.

[nomarandlee]

155 Wacler - I thought another Buck taller then 155 Wacker was planned for that plot to the east eventually. Maybe that is not in the cards anymore?

Union Station - I wonder if the plan is to do any major changes to the layout and improvements to the Great Hall and concourse as part of the development like MHSRA suggest.
http://www.downtownairport.com/step01.htm

[Mr Downtown]

Union Station - I wonder if the plan is to do any major changes to the . . . Great Hall

The Prime plan was for the Great Hall to be restored as a grand lobby serving the hotel and office building, with new retail opening to Clinton Street in the former restaurant spaces on the west side of the Great Hall. However, Amtrak is recently feeling cramped in its quarters in the east half of the station, and may now be planning to also make some use of headhouse space.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Taken today:

[i_am_hydrogen]

Taken today:

[SimbyHeart]

The impact of these towers will be amazing and the ELysian!
tHANKS FOR THE UPDATE.

[Dan in Chicago]

About a year ago I saw the plans for John Buck's plaza on Franklin Street. Actually there were two plazas facing each other across Franklin -- one for 155 North Wacker and another for phase two at 222 West Randolph.

The arrangement seemed pretty spectacular to me. If you like the landscaping around UBS Tower, this is more of the same, with twin reflecting pools on either side of the street in the middle of each plaza.

The northwest corner of the Loop has always been rather dreary, and this will freshen it up in a big way, I believe.

[Alliance]

I think clare is on concrete steroids.

More parks are also good.

[vxt22]

Originally Posted by honte

Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Yes, the Cedar Hotel is Orange-rated.

Re: the facade problem, I have mixed feelings about it. I guess I have resigned myself to being happy with what we can get. In cases like Cedar, it's much more difficult to judge, since it really is a fairly average building behind the facade. The more "three-dimensional" the great parts, the worse facadectomy is, of course. It's important to remember that our preservation situation is far, far better than it was even 10 years ago. Hopefully there are even brighter days ahead.

Well, Orange ratings need to actually mean something other than 90 days, though as you say that's better by far than it used to be. This city is so lucky to have the history it does, especially the way it's history seeps out of the very pores of the urban fabric. I see that being destroyed. I don't want to advocate a change to the confident progress that characterizes Chicago as a city. I just think a bit more balance is in order since we have so much to appreciate.
So many of these new glass buildings seem sterile to me, like they lack character and imagination. It seems that the construction materials, and the basic architectural forms, vary little. Glass is neat. But it has to have something to look glassy in comparison to.
I don't want to see said urban fabric cheapened.

[vxt22]

Originally Posted by Marcu

I disagree. Preservation of the facade, if done properly, helps to preserve the part of the building that we, the public, have the greatest stake in: the exterior. We really don't have that much interest in preserving the part of the building that's we will rarely experience and that minimally affects us. We also leave incentive for developers to make better use of the limited land that we have which in turns helps keep housing and office space more affordable.

Sure we all see the exterior. But I'm originally from Redding, CA, a backwards suburban hell. In places like this it's all big box retail, and it's "Lowe's," just because there's a foot high facade on the top of the box in front. But in a place like Chicago, a building is characterized by it's whole form; by the sometimes cheap brick masonry work on the back.
A building with a nice 20 foot facade immediately backed by a glassy highrise is just like that big box retail building. It's "old" and "preserved" because of the facade. That's absurd. It's still the glassy highrise, and that facade is completely out of context, loses it's effect completely, and in my opinion should just be torn down at that point.

I think we should preserve the past, not preserve an illusion of the past.

Sorry for the double post.

[Rocket1]

Originally Posted by Dan in Chicago

About a year ago I saw the plans for John Buck's plaza on Franklin Street. Actually there were two plazas facing each other across Franklin -- one for 155 North Wacker and another for phase two at 222 West Randolph.

The arrangement seemed pretty spectacular to me. If you like the landscaping around UBS Tower, this is more of the same, with twin reflecting pools on either side of the street in the middle of each plaza.

The northeast corner of the Loop has always been rather dreary, and this will freshen it up in a big way, I believe.

You mean the northwest corner?

[Dan in Chicago]

^ Yes, thanks. I edited my original post.

[Chi_Coruscant]

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=25309

300 N. Michigan project may be dead. Peebles Corp walked away from the deal due to slumping condo market in downtown.