CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by 2PRUROCKS!

Honte and TUP, where did the article say or how do you know this is a Gang project? I didn't see the architect mentioned anywhere? I believe this is a different proposal from the Gang proposal in HP.

In a previous article the Herald mentioned that Antheus Capital hired Gang for this project as well.

[lalucedm]

I know I keep mentioning this minor 16-story highrise, probably annoying you people as I do, but what they're doing with adaptive reuse is interesting...

But there's a tower crane up (as of yesterday) and obvious foundation work going on at 600 S Clark (which is really at 642 S Clark). I would guess it's under construction. Maybe someone might drive by and confirm/deny? The view from the surface parking lot behind it is a lot better than the little you can see from Clark Street.

[TowerGuy37]

i agree with the previous, just drive in over the Ohio Feeder ramp and either look left towards the concrete jungle, or look right towards the loop as buildings look somewhat different from one another. To walk around in river north is so undistiguishable its so sad. Even more so, a better way to think about the mistake that is river north is....think of ALL those buildings your looking at while driving in on Ohio and no matter how tall any one might be, one doesn't even notice or move their eyes upwards cause everything is exactly the same and unoticeable! Even looking at photos from the 70's and 80's long before the boom the skyline seemed more vast just out of sheer difference. Im not saying there were better buildings built then, they just stood out better!!

[tintinex]

Has anyone got any news about the 6740 S South Shore Drive project? I did a web search but it kept referring me back to an older version of this thread. I live in the building right next to that lot and I'm very interested about this project. I know that the developers came to an association meeting to explain a little bit about the project late last year. Nobody had any major objections, just things like higher property taxes and noise, but that's all. The only thing I got from the meeting was that the building was to be 19 stories tall surrounded by 6 1 million dollar town homes. Any new info will be very appreciated! Thanks!

[SolarWind]

July 3, 2007

[LoyolaBeachView]

Wow. Did you photoshop those pics solar? mess with the hue or anything?

[BVictor1]

People have started to move into the lower floors of Kingsbury Plaza. I noticed lights on random floors the other day.

[SolarWind]

Originally Posted by LoyolaBeachView

Wow. Did you photoshop those pics solar? mess with the hue or anything?

I did an auto smart fix, sharpened and resized the images. The first was slightly cropped.

Here are the originals (no adjustments) if you'd like to compare.

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed_vacancyjul04,0,3157360.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Downtown Chicago office vacancies drop

Bloomberg News
Published July 4, 2007


The vacancy rate for office properties in downtown Chicago fell in the second quarter as companies hired more people, property broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said Tuesday.

The proportion of empty space in the city dropped to 13.7 percent from 16.8 percent a year earlier, according to data from CB Richard Ellis. That's the lowest level since the first quarter of 2004.

A hiring spree by financial-services firms and law firms fueled demand for commercial real estate. The job growth, combined with a lack of new office buildings, is pushing up rents in Chicago. New owners of buildings are charging more rent to meet the projected return they anticipated when they bought the structures.

Demand is particularly strong for space in the West Loop, home to the newest buildings and most expensive space in the city, said James Kutill, a vice president with Chicago-based Appraisal Research Counselors.

"That's where the modern Class A space is grouped, and that is still the dominant segment of the market," Kutill said.

Office rents range from about $22 a square foot to as much as $55 a square foot, Kutill said. That compares with $104.92 a square foot for the Plaza District, a section of Midtown Manhattan, according to broker Colliers ABR.

The jobless rate in May in the Chicago metropolitan area was 4.7 percent, compared with the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. Since May 2006, 40,300 jobs have been added in the Chicago region, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

The downtown office vacancy rate could rise as major new buildings open in 2009.

One of the buildings scheduled to open in 2009 is 155 N. Wacker Drive, a 46-story office building. The tower is being developed by a joint venture of funds managed by John Buck Co., a closely held Chicago-based developer; Morgan Stanley's Prime Property Fund; and Brijus Properties, a commercial real estate investment and development company.

Law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Chicago-based lender Bridge Finance Group LLC have agreed to lease a total of 247,683 square feet of the building, according to John Buck Co.



Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by 10023

Chicago really needs an ordinance specifying that parking must be built underground. By the end of this boom that city is going to be nothing but parking garages at street level. The skyline looks great but walking around River North is awful.

No - such an ordinance is most certainly not what Chicago needs. People that suggest this are also suggesting that they have no clue about the economics of development in Chicago. This is not New York. In certain cases in Chicago, it is economically feasible to place parking underground - it has a lot to do with what a developer's cost basis is for a particular site (cost of land is a major factor here) - and this can vary to a surprisingly marked degree.

Put simply, an ordinance requiring underground parking would have major unintended negative consequences (as most pieces of ill-considered legislation that tamper exessively with the free market almost always do - think Big Box). Put even more simply, such an ordinance would kill the economics of a lot of high-rises...

Rather, what is needed is more city involvement in the design of parking bases, to ensure that as much as possible they are sensitively integrated into the urban landscape. What's also needed is more creativity - think Contemporaine when it comes to great parking design solutions....
Also, Chicago has made progress when it comes to the design of parking bases - the base of Walton on the Park looks quite good, as do the bases of many, many other high-rises currently under development or completed in the last few years (as opposed to those completed late 90s and in the first few years of this decade – think most of all that River North junk).

One thing that frankly doesn't make any sense is some people's disgust with just the 'idea' that, for example, floors 3-7 or 8 or whatever are being used for parking in a given structure. As long as the street-fronting first floor, and in some cases the first and second floors in most buildings are being used for retail/commercial space, who cares what's going on behind the scenes in a well-designed structure on the few floors above that? It's just this 'idea' that some seem to strongly dislike. Frankly, it's quite irrational. I'm not sure if this misguided thinking is in part being driven by some Jane Jacobs fetish that some people here seem to have or what, but the point is its misguided on its face and also fuelled by a lack of comprehension of the economics of most high-rises...

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

One thing that frankly doesn't make any sense is some people's disgust with just the 'idea' that, for example, floors 3-7 or 8 or whatever are being used for parking in a given structure. As long as the street-fronting first floor, and in some cases the first and second floors in most buildings are being used for retail/commercial space, who cares what's going on behind the scenes in a well-designed structure on the few floors above that? It's just this 'idea' that some seem to strongly dislike. Frankly, it's quite irrational. I'm not sure if this misguided thinking is in part being driven by some Jane Jacobs fetish that some people here seem to have or what, but the point is its misguided on its face and also fuelled by a lack of comprehension of the economics of most high-rises...

^ I partially agree with this. However, along with street level retail, I think there is a certain element added to the streetscape if there are occupied floors just above it, say floors 2 and 3, especially (although not necessarily) when they have balconies.

I'm not saying that it's completely necessary or anything, and I understand the economic necessity of having above-ground parking, but one thing that gets me is that as more and more buildings like this go up, Chicago is in danger of developing a virtual 'dead zone', if you will, for a few dozen feet above street level. What saves Chicago is that it has so many prewar buildings everywhere that don't have garage podiums, as in the case of south Wells St, where Vetro, Printers Corner, etc are going up. But as more and more of this type of development occurs, I truly think this 'dead zone' could become a problem.

Weighing the economic realities versus the aesthetic demise to the streetscape that these podiums create, I would say that the city should push developers harder to find better solutions. What's being done in the south loop (townhomes at the base) is suitable for quieter streets, but along more active thoroughfares (State, etc) I like what is being done with Astoria Tower. I think the city should pressure developers to do more creative things like this, or else this 'dead zone' will materialize and we'll all regret it.

[honte]

^ Think Jewelers' Building.

[Eventually...Chicago]

I agree with sammy...

I think the columbian is a pretty good example of a missed possibility. I don't think that the pedestrian experience is sacrificed because there is parking on floors 2-5. I think the street experience is missing because the facade is so uninteresting at the base. The architect even had a good idea of adding a fascia/parapet about 5 floors up so that a tall building had a more human scale to it but the fine detail that is needed to complete the ensemble is missing.

I think this is where a building like the carson prairie scott building is so successful. The wrought iron adds observable detail with small scale elements that gives the building a great feel from the street. There are several vertical divisions that clearly outline what is meant to be experienced from 10 feet, 100 feet, & 1000 feet.

Going back to parking podium buildings like the columbian. All it would have taken is some mediocre brick or cast stone ornament to help out. I think if aldermen weren't so architecturally/urbanistically ignorant, they could ask for inexpensive items like these that would greatly improve, or perhaps even negate the fact that the parking podium exists.

As far as the 'dead zone' that urban politician was discussing, i can see your point, but i am more concerned about 'dead zones' AT street level, rather than a floor or two above. Lets get some of these all residential loft buildings in the west loop to put retail in at the ground, then we can worry about the rest.

[SolarWind]

July 3, 2007

Allure at K Station




River North Marriott Suites


660 North State




Walton on the Park


Ten East Delaware




757 Orleans

[SolarWind]

July 3, 2007

The Clare at Water Tower

[SolarWind]

Hunt for space in Streeterville
REAL ESTATE | Several sites in running for sizable Ronald McDonald House

July 4, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/455328,CST-FIN-roeder04.article

Doug Porter knows his hunt for space in Streeterville won't be cheap. But by about 2011, he wants a building in that hot neighborhood where he can put up 80 to 100 families per night. His need creates an interesting dynamic for the area's development.

Porter is chief executive of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, which provides free or low-cost lodging for families visiting their hospitalized children. He wants a location near the new Children's Memorial Hospital.

One intriguing option is the old Lakeshore Athletic Club, 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, which is under contract for a $40 million sale to a developer who wants to tear it down. Porter said he is aware of the building and that it is probably too large to suit his purposes. But if preservationists successfully stop the teardown, the McDonald's-backed charity could be part of a partnership to reuse the building.

Porter said other sites that have drawn his attention include 155 E. Superior, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The archdiocese intends to sell the property.

Porter hired Grubb & Ellis Co. to advise him in the property hunt.

[wrab]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

As long as the street-fronting first floor, and in some cases the first and second floors in most buildings are being used for retail/commercial space, who cares what's going on behind the scenes in a well-designed structure on the few floors above that? It's just this 'idea' that some seem to strongly dislike. Frankly, it's quite irrational. I'm not sure if this misguided thinking is in part being driven by some Jane Jacobs fetish that some people here seem to have or what, but the point is its misguided on its face and also fuelled by a lack of comprehension of the economics of most high-rises...

There is also the "Vancouver Model" - the garage floors are encased by townhomes.

[SamInTheLoop]

Great pics Solarwind. It looks The Clare is beginning to take off fairly quickly...

[SamInTheLoop]

I noticed a drilling rig (soil testing) in the park at the future site of 505 N. State this afternoon...

[SamInTheLoop]

Sounds like good news here - someone at SSC recently reported that CMK just reached an agreement to purchase the Chinese restaurant on the site and that construction would begin in August...