CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

There's a high-rise hotel proposal recently added to SCB's site that I can't quite place. Does anybody know anything? There is a rendering, and I think it looks decent - but I'm blanking a little on the location (there is context provided). This is separate from the Mondrian (rendering also posted) but seems to be roughly the same height. Any ideas?

Wow, great find.

Chicago’s M Hotel will have 23 floors and 240 rooms. The base will house retail and restaurant functions, as well as the hotel lobby. Above the base will sit a terrace for use by hotel guests. The top floor of the hotel will contain a swimming pool and other hotel amenities.

Looks like it is across from 10 West Elm (building with distinctive green roof). I think the developer is M Development.


Chicago’s new Mondrian Hotel will be located at the corner of Cedar and State Streets. This sophisticated, modern urban resort will have 216 hotel rooms and feature a restaurant and night club.


28 N Franklin Located at the corner of Franklin and Calhoun in downtown Chicago will be a new 205,000 sf, 306-room hotel. At the base of the 26-floor hotel will be a restaurant and 4,000 sf of retail. On the top floor, the hotel will have an outdoor terrace and club for guests.

^This is that hotel by the Harp Group (again, I believe) proposed for that small lot north of UBS Tower.

[honte]

I wonder if any of these hotels will happen (aside from Mondrian, which seems set)?

By the way, does that thing look like a rip-off of the Block 37 office building or what? I'm sure when all is said and done, they won't look much alike.

[the urban politician]

^ Yeah, just recently Crains was posting a decline in hotel vacancy rates.

[Mojava]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Yeah, just recently Crains was posting a decline in hotel vacancy rates.

Rates are going up, vacancies are going down. Possibly could be a wash.

[VivaLFuego]

M hotel.... that's replacing the "Regina", a lowrise courtyard building with ground-floor retail that has gradually been vacated over the past 2 years with obvious intent to develop. There is another beautiful building just to the north of the Regina that I would love to see saved, and I'm not sure if it's also part of this development; I think it might be, since it too has gradually been vacated recently. However, I think the dramatic increase in use intensity would be worth the loss (i.e. I'd rather see this hotel go forward than nothing).
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...65.11861644829685,,0,-14.130176917914284

I wonder what Reilly will say. I'd like to think the developers were smart enough to keep him in the loop on the development so that he doesn't pull a Hairston and kill it in a hissyfit of spite. I believe this site is in the Lakefront Protection Zone, so it could get interesting if any NIMBYs get a bug up their ass about it.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

The 44-story apartment tower proposed at 171 N. Wabash has finally made it onto a Plan Commission agenda for next week. I've been waiting for this one and worried that it would never see the light of day. Fantastic new residential density for the East Loop. Of course, far too many parking spaces for rental units at this location (I believe approx. 250 residential (additional public spaces) for roughly 330 units, but I guess that's the Chicago way. At any rate, I am loving all these planned/under construction rental towers in and around the loop - I think they'll prove very much in demand...

This is a link to an old Sun Times article on the project.
http://www.srclarke.com/blog/2007_07_24_archive.html


It says the proprty has frontage on Lake Street also. Which means a crummy 3 level parking deck will be razed and the surface lot on Wabash will be developed. Can anyone find renderings?

45 Story Apartment Building Planned For Chicago's N. Wabash
http://www.suntimes.com/
"With new apartments still in demand downtown, developers are making plans for a renters' high-rise near Lake and Wabash on property that holds a small parking garage.

M&R Development LLC has asked for zoning authority to build a 45-story building at 171 N. Wabash on L-shaped property that also includes frontage on Lake Street.

The company is related to Moran & Co., a leading manager and broker of apartment buildings. Partner Anthony Rossi said two buildings in Minneapolis were the firm's most recent high-rises. "

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

M hotel.... that's replacing the "Regina", a lowrise courtyard building with ground-floor retail that has gradually been vacated over the past 2 years with obvious intent to develop. There is another beautiful building just to the north of the Regina that I would love to see saved, and I'm not sure if it's also part of this development; I think it might be, since it too has gradually been vacated recently. However, I think the dramatic increase in use intensity would be worth the loss (i.e. I'd rather see this hotel go forward than nothing).
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...65.11861644829685,,0,-14.130176917914284

I wonder what Reilly will say. I'd like to think the developers were smart enough to keep him in the loop on the development so that he doesn't pull a Hairston and kill it in a hissyfit of spite. I believe this site is in the Lakefront Protection Zone, so it could get interesting if any NIMBYs get a bug up their ass about it.

Oh trust me, the NIMBYs do hate this one, especially since its the same developer as the Mondrian (Ceader Hotel) and the Esquire. Expect nothing bigger than what DX-7 allows, which all honesty the site for the base FAR is so small I don't believe it would be worth the loss.

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Oh trust me, the NIMBYs do hate this one, especially since its the same developer as the Mondrian (Ceader Hotel) and the Esquire. Expect nothing bigger than what DX-7 allows, which all honesty the site for the base FAR is so small I don't believe it would be worth the loss.

Doesn't help anything either that Reilly just flat out doesn't like the guys at M Dev to begin with.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

Oh trust me, the NIMBYs do hate this one, especially since its the same developer as the Mondrian (Ceader Hotel) and the Esquire. Expect nothing bigger than what DX-7 allows, which all honesty the site for the base FAR is so small I don't believe it would be worth the loss.

Is this one dead on the vine then? If so, why did M waste their money on preliminary design work from SCB?

Worst case, M just demolishes the existing structures out of spite and leaves the lots as fenced-off gravel blight - though I wouldn't necessarily blame them

That proposal looks more like an FAR of around 9-10, but it's tough to tell what the tower setbacks are exactly - if the tower is a fairly small portion of the overall site, it might plausibly get near an FAR of 7. In D zones, a PD is triggered at around 300' tall, right? So this wouldn't necessarily need PD approval if the FAR conforms, but since it is in the Lakefront Protection Zone Reilly could still kill it? The PD route could also allow for a slight increase in FAR density in exchange for developer contributions to local amenities, but I doubt the NIMBY-Reilly axis would be interested in that.

This one is even less debatable than the Esquire fiasco. I cannot express the level my lividity will reach if we end up with some 2-story NIMBY-certified crapola as a replacement for these buildings, which are vacated and deteriorated and probably destined for demolition regardless.

[Breezyfingers]

The Wit


The bands of white glass are a nice match to MOMO up the street.


Library Tower


Vetro


Reebie Lofts




Marquee


Amli 900


Michigan Avenue Tower II


1555 S. Wabash


I'm not sure about the rest of these; Burnham Pointe, maybe?

[VivaLFuego]

Great update. Library Tower is a bit of a ham, but at least it adds some nice intensity to that intersection.

Marquee Michigan has already been covered well in the literature...

[harryc]

Great set breezy

[photoLith]

Some of the development on the south side, i dont know what some of that stuff is but im sure you guys do. Why is there so much vacant land so close to downtown? It would be awesome for some supertalls.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Mojava

Rates are going up, vacancies are going down. Possibly could be a wash.

I misspoke. I meant a rise in hotel vacancy rates

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Why is there so much vacant land so close to downtown?

It was railroad yards but has poor access. Supertalls require more than just a developer's ego. They require a large unmet market.

[Busy Bee]

^Municipal investment in infrastructure is is also helpful.

[jcchii]

and the open parcel farther south there was part of a corruption case and just recently was freed of it. there have been plans for a mixed use development that includes condo towers for years

maybe we'll see some movement finally

[Alliance]

Library tower is a total POMO ham. Can they even call it a tower? Isn't that false advertising?

Originally Posted by photolitherland

Some of the development on the south side, i dont know what some of that stuff is but im sure you guys do. Why is there so much vacant land so close to downtown? It would be awesome for some supertalls.

There are several plans for many of those lots and the neighborhoods have gotten some boosts in the past decade. As said, there is little infrastrucure there to promote development.

And supertalls don't grow on trees, ya know.

[honte]

Originally Posted by Alliance

Library tower is a total POMO ham. Can they even call it a tower? Isn't that false advertising?

True, but it also has a surprisingly nice feel at street level. It's probably the only tower built here in the boom that achieves the feel of the "old solidity" that many of the PoMo towers strive for but fail so miserably to achieve.

I quite like it, actually, to my great surprise.

[Loopy]

I agree. It's a much better building than it's renderings depicted.

One Place/Astoria Tower is also shaping up better than expected. Certainly better than the similar State Place project two blocks South.