| |
Posted Jul 12, 2007, 8:52 PM
|
 |
"The World is my Oyster"
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 943
|
|
Not sure if this article should go here since this is a pretty large development project but since there is a 25-story high-rise I thought it would be ok to put it here. Otherwise, Steely can always move it.
Here is the link with the images:
http://www.newcityskyline.com/NorthClybournandHalsted.html
Developers race to North, Clybourn & Halsted
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Chicago, IL, US (NCS) - Deal or no deal: a plot of land in or around the small triangular area bounded by North and Clybourn Avenues and Halsted Street. Think carefully. At a time like this, there may be no higher prize.
Indeed, 10 years ago it may not have been so clear that the intersection of North, Clybourn and Halsted on the Near North Side would become one of the hottest destinations in the city, perhaps even rivaling Michigan Avenue. But now, all one has to do is take a drive to the area to see how the real estate there is proliferating.
“North and Clybourn is the most important retailing corner in Chicago, outside of North Michigan Avenue,” said Bruce Kaplan, president of Chicago-based Northern Realty Group Ltd. “It’s an iconic location.”
The new development is triggered by a variety of factors including the availability of large lots, the success of existing retailers like Best Buy, Crate & Barrel and Home Depot, and the demolition of the nearby Cabrini-Green housing development.
Once developers witness the development firsthand and grasp the sales potential, it’s not long before they are exploring what land they can purchase and develop in the area.
Structured Development, LLC and Commonfund Realty, Inc. are planning to begin construction on The New City in September, with scheduled delivery in 2010.
The New City, designed by Chicago-based OKW Architects, will comprise a one-million-square-foot, mixed-use residential and retail complex on the 8.5-acre site of the New City YMCA at Halsted and Clybourn. It is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the area.
The development will offer an array of entertainment, retail and restaurant venues along with approximately 490 residential units divided among five buildings. It utilizes an open-space design that includes a one-acre public plaza and boulevard-like sidewalks with extensive landscaping.
The plaza is intended to serve as a focal point for both The New City and the surrounding neighborhood. It will include a water feature and be designed to accommodate a range of public activities, from arts fairs to farmers’ markets to outdoor concerts.
“It is important for the surrounding community and The New City’s potential residents to understand that we are building this project with the long-term future of the area in mind,” said Structured Development co-founder J. Michael Drew. “Our plans for The New City will offer a sophisticated, aesthetically pleasing design that incorporates low-rise and high-rise living space.”
The buildings will be of varying heights, with the tallest planned as a 25-story mixed-use building near the Clybourn and Halsted intersection. The two other mixed-use buildings will be 11 stories tall, one along Clybourn, the other on Halsted. Two exclusively residential low-rise buildings will be located along the south side of Eastman Street.
Ten percent of the units will be designated for low-income housing with another 10 percent set aside as affordable housing.
An 80,000-square-foot Roundy’s Supermarket will anchor The New City on the southeast corner of the complex near Clybourn and Eastman sometime in 2009.
To serve residents and shoppers, The New City will have more than 1,100 off-street parking spaces located below ground or in a five-story parking garage.
“We paid careful attention to the question of automobile congestion in what is already a busy area, and have planned for parking capacity well in excess of the ratios mandated by the city for this type of development,” explained Daniel A. Lukas, who co-founded Structured Development in 2002.
Structured Development isn’t stopping with The New City. The company is also developing a mixed-use facility across the street, on the southwest corner of Halsted and Blackhawk.
This development, now under construction on the two-acre former TruServ site, is designed by Valerio Dewalt Train and will include the 75,000-square-foot British School of Chicago as well as 100,000 square feet of retail and office space when it opens in January 2008.
Structured Development also bought 2.5 acres further south at 1317 North Clybourn Avenue in February for $14.4 million from White Way Sign, which is now renting the building until they find a permanent new home.
Although no solid plans have been revealed for that site, Daniel Lukas, a principal with Structured, says that his firm will probably do another residential-retail development at the site after White Way moves.
“It’s a natural progression for continued retail and residential in the area,” Mr. Lukas said. “In five years, it’s going to be a whole new neighborhood.”
Mr. Lukas uses Whole Foods as an example, explaining that the market is relocating to a site further south on Kingsbury Street into a space more than double the size of its current North Avenue store.
In addition, Grossinger Auto Group has been looking into the possibility of leasing the former Home Depot Expo Design Center at 1500 North Dayton Street, but no deal has been announced.
Belgravia Group Ltd. bought a 2.3-acre parcel in the area at 1401 North Kingsbury Street and is planning a two-level, 135,000-square-foot retail complex there.
“There is a buying frenzy taking place,” said Burt Friedman, president of acquisitions for Belgravia Group.
Even more recently, Apple Inc. has reportedly been working on a deal to build a store on the bustling intersection of North, Clybourn and Halsted. An existing Apple store is located at 679 North Michigan and four other stores are located in various suburban malls, but the company has been searching for a North Side site since before it opened its Michigan Avenue store.
The new Apple store, if built, would be the anchor of a small retail center on an approximately 18,400-square-foot parcel, replacing BP filling station. The gas station has already been purchased by Mr. Hunt, a principal at Chicago-based M Development LLC, sources say, but a spokesperson for London-based BP would only confirm the sale and not the buyer or the price.
If this project went through, it could possibly lead to the redevelopment of the Chicago Transit Authority train station that occupies the northwest corner of the site.
__________________
CHICAGO
Also known as:
The Windy City - The City of Broad Shoulders - Chitown - City in a Garden - Gem of the Prairie - Second City - The "I Will" City
_________________________________
|
|
|
Prev
Linear Mode
