CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[bnk]

Originally Posted by Eventually...Chicago

i don't like her line of reasoning at all:

The article is a rather amateurish synopsis of Chicago's economic well-being. .

A very sophmorish journalism attempt on a topic she knows nothing about IMO

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Let's hope they can secure a construction loan for a condo tower with only 35% sold in this market.


I believe Centrum has strong equity partner(s) which means a lot right now. If you can manage to put up 30% equity or more, that makes a big difference when you go to the lenders...



Wait... since when are those two project "far along"? 535 St. Clair hasn't even been approved by the city yet, and Parkview East... that's the mystery building, since it's only been seen in the blurry backgrounds of Parkview West renderings. It's kinda like Bigfoot in that regard.

535 St. Clair was indeed approved by the Plan Commission well over a year ago - I know because I was in attendance that day (I remember praise was heaped on by Linda Searl, and then Alison Davis acted as if he couldn't understand how this was such a great project (of course in comparison to the junk he throws up)......were you aware or was this for some bizarre reason never subsequently approved by the city council?

Also, I've been in communication with someone from MCL - the plan is indeed for 27-story condo tower (they would have started marketing quite a while ago, but with the overall market slowdown and the 30% or so of the units to still left to sell at the west tower, they decided to concentrate on the loft condo re-use of river east art center first...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by spyguy

Old Prentice's future still to be determined

Blair Kamin
October 28, 2007

Even if Bertrand Goldberg's old Prentice Women's Hospital lacks the postcard-ready silhouette of his Marina City corncobs, it remains a startlingly good piece of architecture: a 7-story bed tower with four bulbous concrete shells that soar above a boxy base. It would be a shame to lose this exuberant, adventurous building, especially because it is such a powerfully sculptural antidote to the bland residential high-rises east of Michigan Avenue.

Continued

this building simply MUST be preserved. goldberg's magnificent work is too far and few in between in this city as it is.

[Alliance]

It would look much nicer if there was decent stuff around it. (but i like this picture of it (by me))

[wrab]

^^ Nice.

Well, if NWU won't step up to the plate for Prentice, there ought to be a big stink. A BIG one. They're a Chicagoland academic institution of great repute and yet they continue to dismantle Streeterville, brick by brick, in the most crass & irresponsible manner. This is their own backyard and Prentice has both cultural and academic significance.

Does the school know/appreciate what its administrative arm is doing to Chicago when it sells off Streeterville's architectural heritage to the highest bidder, when those sales almost certainly result in demolition?

[Alliance]

Honestly, if I end up at Fienberg next year, I'll be making a stink (if it hasn't sold by then).

But a univeristy can't market an old (even if its Goldberg) building like they can a big shiny new one. Once its fallen into disrepair, its better for the school to advertize a new building as opposed to refurbish an old one.

I think it should be landmarked, but thats probably along the lines of the school's perspective.

[honte]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

goldberg's magnificent work is too far and few in between in this city as it is.

Agreed, except - we have more of it than any other city. Just a technicality to illustrate how important this building is nation-wide.

Originally Posted by Alliance

But a univeristy can't market an old (even if its Goldberg) building like they can a big shiny new one. Once its fallen into disrepair, its better for the school to advertize a new building as opposed to refurbish an old one.

No, that's just a stereotype. Crown Hall would be the classic counterexample.

In fact, IIT has been doing a pretty darn good job of marketing new and restored buildings. The exterior of Wishnick Hall was just finished, and it looks excellent.

[Mr Downtown]

Hospitals, though, are really not keen on old buildings. I'm not clear what the lines of authority are between NMFF, NMH, and NU.

[honte]

^ Well, the only straight answer we've ever gotten from NMH on this one is that it is going to go back to NU for their uses, not to continue as a hospital facility.

[Dan in Chicago]

I just got a height for 1400 Museum Park. It is exactly 375'-0" to the top of the mechanical penthouse parapet, 374'-0" to the roof. And it's 34 floors.

I'll probably give up trying to get data on-site for the last missing piece of the Printers Corner height. That building is 202'-7" to the top of the mechanical penthouse parapet, but there seems to be a small concrete chimney above that. It will probably come to 204', but if anyone has a good view of the roof or wants to scale a photo, we can maybe calibrate it. I've had the height data for a long time, but the chimney doesn't show on the blueprints.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Hospitals, though, are really not keen on old buildings. I'm not clear what the lines of authority are between NMFF, NMH, and NU.

LOL - they aren't either !

I worked for NTG ( the captive phone/data company ) decades back, I can tell you that Prentice looks way cool but was a pain to put new wiring in, had to drill the (concrete) floor to go between closets. Wesley (sp?) ( since torn down ) would have been worse - except that the old dumb-waiter shafts had been turned into giant cable runs.

[Wild Onion Mike]

[QUOTE

[/QUOTE]

I'm really going to miss seeing the interior view of the Loop from a distance since it will be slightly blocked out by the proposed Van Buren tower south of 311 South Wacker. It's not just the heigth that makes Chicago's skyline so wonderful, it's also the rich layering of buildings.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Dan in Chicago

I just got a height for 1400 Museum Park. It is exactly 375'-0" to the top of the mechanical penthouse parapet, 374'-0" to the roof. And it's 34 floors.

I'll probably give up trying to get data on-site for the last missing piece of the Printers Corner height. That building is 202'-7" to the top of the mechanical penthouse parapet, but there seems to be a small concrete chimney above that. It will probably come to 204', but if anyone has a good view of the roof or wants to scale a photo, we can maybe calibrate it. I've had the height data for a long time, but the chimney doesn't show on the blueprints.

muchos gracias, dan. i've updated page 1 accordingly.

[spyguy]

October 31, Wednesday
12:15 - 1:00 John Buck Lecture Hall, Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 South Michigan
Lucien Lagrange Architects - Recent Work

Lecture by Lucien Lagrange, AIA, Founding Principal, Lucien Lagrange Architects

Sponsor: Chicago Architecture Foundation
Free event, seating limited. Eric R. Multhauf lunchtime lecture - guests are welcome to bring a bag lunch.

http://www.architecture.org/programs.html

----------

Sam, perhaps you should consider going to this and have a little chat with Lagrange about mansard roofs.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by bnk

A very sophomoric journalism attempt on a topic she knows nothing about IMO

In sum, the two benefits of soaring height are: 1) slightly influential innovations and 2) environmental friendliness. Is this a joke? There is no practical reason for the Burj Dubai to be as tall as it is. The city is posturing. Which is fine, but call a spade a spade.

It's too bad about the author; this is an interesting topic.

[Marcu]

(Crain’s) — The lower floors of the former IBM Plaza building would be converted to a high-end hotel under a deal between building owner Prime Group Realty Trust and a Chicago real estate investment firm.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26939

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Marcu

(Crain’s) — The lower floors of the former IBM Plaza building would be converted to a high-end hotel under a deal between building owner Prime Group Realty Trust and a Chicago real estate investment firm.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26939

LEAVE IBM ALONE. jesus. did mies design IBM to have a high-end hotel on the lower floors? no.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

LEAVE IBM ALONE. jesus. did mies design IBM to have a high-end hotel on the lower floors? no.

^ It's going to be landmarked, if you read the rest of the article

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ It's going to be landmarked, if you read the rest of the article

yeah i know. regardless, the building should remain the way it was originally designed. this is a mies building, not 55 E Monroe or some other crap.

[Nowhereman1280]

Still, its a very inefficient use of those floors. It would probably be much more beneficial in the long run for the owners to renovate IBM's office space back to class A and build a purpose built hotel on top of the IBM parking garage as was originally intended.

Lets say in a few years the hotel market in Chicago is over built, I can guarantee you awkwardly elongated rooms with one window and 15' ceilings built underneath an office are going to be the first ones not to rent out...