CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[Chicagoguy]

Originally Posted by kayosthery

Update on Roosevelt Collection:

Photos by Aerial Images Photography
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Isnt there going to be a large new movie theater in the same area as the Roosevelt Collection as well? I had heard something about that months back and was just wondering.

[VivaLFuego]

That will be really nice to have the Walgreen's there... that's a major coup for area residents, along with the Jewel a few blocks north. The other nearest pharmacy/convenience stores are either across the expressway at Monroe/Halsted or at Madison/Riverside.

As for Catalyst itself, well, it's better than the surface parking lot it replaces, which I seem to be saying alot lately...

EDIT... this was referencing an article posted by Spyguy saying the developer's of Catalyst got financing to start construction and had signed Walgreens as a retail tenant.

[kayosthery]

Originally Posted by Chicagoguy

Isnt there going to be a large new movie theater in the same area as the Roosevelt Collection as well? I had heard something about that months back and was just wondering.

Whole North end, where you see the structural steel being erected, will be a movie theater.

[Chicagoguy]

Originally Posted by kayosthery

Whole North end, where you see the structural steel being erected, will be a movie theater.

Thanks I just wanted to make sure I was thinking about the same place!

[Mr Roboto]

Is the Catalyst truly considered 'West Loop' or is it just on the west side of the Loop. I consider anything east of the expressway not to be within the WLCO dominated west loop at least, especially considering theres actually an office tower/s planned nearby on Monroe St and this thing is way taller than 115 ft.

Anyway, great to see this area continue to develop. Considering proximity to the el, Union and ogilvy, and the expressways, I think this area will continue to be a great place to develop for both residential and office space even during any slow down.

[Chicagoguy]

I know this is probably a really old and dated question, but is the First Presbyterian Church Tower Project dead? I just read something about it on a different site and just wanted to see. Looked like a really cool tower!

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Mr Roboto

Is the Catalyst truly considered 'West Loop' or is it just on the west side of the Loop. I consider anything east of the expressway not to be within the WLCO dominated west loop at least, especially considering theres actually an office tower/s planned nearby on Monroe St and this thing is way taller than 115 ft.

Anyway, great to see this area continue to develop. Considering proximity to the el, Union and ogilvy, and the expressways, I think this area will continue to be a great place to develop for both residential and office space even during any slow down.

Unfortunately many of the towers going up (RD659, Catalyst, Jefferson Tower, 565 Quincy) are condo, so I forsee major NIMBY trouble a few years hence.

[BVictor1]

It appears that Childrens Memorial Hospital is now under construction.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Cassion Cranes have been drilling onsite since at least a week ago today, I was down there, there is a good view of the construction from the Parking Garage at St. Clair and superior...

[Dr. Taco]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

^^^ Cassion Cranes have been drilling onsite since at least a week ago today, I was down there, there is a good view of the construction from the Parking Garage at St. Clair and superior...

WAY to report it last week.

[honte]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://sev.prnewswire.com/real-estate/20080624/NYTU04024062008-1.html

Chicago High Rise Moves Ahead With $8.36 Million Kennedy Funding Loan

A spectacular high rise residential condominium -- Catalyst -- will be taking shape in Chicago's West Loop, thanks to an $8.36 million loan from Kennedy Funding, Inc. The Hackensack-based company recently closed that deal with Catalyst 123, LLC's Gary A. Rosenberg, a well-known Chicago developer who founded Urban R2, the site purchaser.

From 600 N. Fairbanks to this.... What happened!?

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chicago-athletic-association-building-jun24,0,5559540.story

Chicago Athletic Association buildings drawing interest
By Robert Manor
2:32 PM CDT, June 24, 2008

The landmark Chicago Athletic Association buildings are drawing some attention from potential buyers, sources say, and preservationists hope their sale will save the Michigan Avenue street wall from desecration.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by jstush04

WAY to report it last week.

Hey I thought we already knew that! I had taken photos of it though from the parking garage (and a bunch of other sweet photos of JHC and some other construction) but then I get home and whaddya know, my flash chip is corrupted and deletes all my sweet pix. What a bummer...

[harryc]

Compressors ( 3 )

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Gross wt 47,379 lbs
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Safely stored away for now.
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[SkokieSwift]

Sexington Park



Monopoly Park Place 2 (has this one stopped?)



R2D2











Sweet Sixteen-Hundred Museum Park



155 Wack





Tylenol and Alleve

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Why? Its not like they are going to tear the Sears tower down because its only 60% full...

If anything its good for the Sears since it will force the owners to make renovations or lose lots of money on their investment.

What renovations are you thinking the Sears Tower needs, exactly? It has 13 feet, floor-to-floor, a few spaces that have never even been built out, A/C out the wazoo, some of the best electrical, telecommunications and network wiring in the U.S., beautiful lobbies, beautiful modern elevators.

What, exactly, do you think needs to be modernized there since the 1990s renovations?

The Sears Tower's only real liability is that it's seen as a terrorist target. And maybe that it's not 100% new - but no renovation would change either of those points, and with the infrastructure it has, any company could move in there and create a stunning space equal to or better than a space in any other existing tower in the city, maybe even country and world.

I'm not saying anything should be done outside of market forces to aid it, I'm just saying it's not reasonable for you to say that the owners need to invest in redoing it, because there's honestly not much redoing that's needed or even beneficial. The only thing I can think of that might change it is to redo the way it interfaces with Adams - but that would be monumental and could easily leave it worse off if executed poorly.

The Sears' owners need to find a way to address prospective tenants' fears about terrorism. I worked for a company that could have gotten space in the Tower for an obscenely low rate (single digits per square foot), but didn't do it because a few key players said they'd quit before they'd work there based on the fears of their spouses. THAT is what the Sears Tower is up against, not the newness of construction on the Chicago River.

[harryc]

From Lake/Ashland

[harryc]

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[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Viva: I believe CDOT plans to build an underpass of the Rock Island at 9th Street. This is why, if you look at the little segment of 9th that AMLI rebuilt next to AMLI 900, it slopes down below grade a few feet. I sent CDOT an email asking for a confirmation... but they haven't exactly been forthcoming in my previous inquiries with them. Oh well - I may do a FOIA request if they are uncooperative. I'm interested in this.

There will be an underpass at 9th Street when the rest of the LaSalle Park PD builds out. 9th is offset from the 9th Street ROW through Dearborn Park. AMLI 900 lines up with existing 9th Street, so should it ever be punched through Dearborn Park to Clark, even as a pedestrian access as it is supposed to be; the street will not exactly be continuous. That is fine I suppose, as 9th is only going as far as Wells, and it adds a little verity to the streetscape. I like seeing a large building capping the end of the street corridor.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://sev.prnewswire.com/real-estate/20080624/NYTU04024062008-1.html

Chicago High Rise Moves Ahead With $8.36 Million Kennedy Funding Loan

A spectacular high rise residential condominium -- Catalyst -- will be taking shape in Chicago's West Loop, thanks to an $8.36 million loan from Kennedy Funding, Inc. The Hackensack-based company recently closed that deal with Catalyst 123, LLC's Gary A. Rosenberg, a well-known Chicago developer who founded Urban R2, the site purchaser.

... Urban R2 already has sold a third of the condominiums, which start in the low $200s and go to over $1 million for penthouses. Walgreen's already has committed to lease a street-level space and other retailers have spoken for almost all of the remaining retail space on a pre-lease basis.

Damn, I was hopping the market would kill this one. This project took one big step backwords with the redesign. Especially with this being the same developer that gave us 600 North Fairbanks.

Skoketown swift, hilarious captions on those photos!