CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction - Page 481

ardecila · #**9601** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 12:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Roboto

The Boeing Building, 100 N Riverside Plaza, has both a river-level plaza that is closed off for about half the year and also has a bridge-level plaza. The river-level one is quite nice during the summer and warmer months. Its nice seeing the tour boats and water taxis at that level.

Nice? It's a 12-foot-wide strip of green with some flower beds, accessed by steep stairs. Boeing would have been better if the river level had been raised up to plaza level. Right now, both levels are really too narrow to be comfortable, so you get the worst of both worlds.

The diagonal path through orthogonal columns at plaza level is really weird, too.

Mr Roboto · #**9602** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 12:50 AM**

^Its a little too narrow and hidden, sure. Its still a nice place to eat lunch and enjoy the river at that level. If the new building could have a wider space at the river level it could be something special. I feel it dramatically enhances the experience when you are closer to the river elevation.

chicagoisepic · #**9603** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 1:51 AM**

3/30

73 East Lake

HomrQT · #**9604** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 1:15 PM**

360 W Hubbard

This morning, 8AM from the office.

Hubbard Place by HomrQT, on Flickr

harryc · #**9605** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 2:22 PM**

^^^ I love that Office Depot with the big surface lot - it will be so easy to tear down some day.

SamInTheLoop · #**9606** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 3:21 PM**

I think I like this one overall, however it does appear a little 'chunky'.....as if one more vertical 'section' of 12 stories or so is needed for much better proportions....

SamInTheLoop · #**9607** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 3:24 PM**

Great news on the Catalyst (I'm assuming that's not the acutal name now) finally starting construction, thanks for reporting LVDW. Just hoping we can get confirmation soon that the 'ole Lagrange mess is in fact not what's being built (you'd think if that were the case the developer would no longer be featuring it on its website, but hopefully I'm giving too much credit there!!)...

HomrQT · #**9608** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 3:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

^^^ I love that Office Depot with the big surface lot - it will be so easy to tear down some day.

Does anyone know if that Office Depot used to be an indoor basketball court or something? The ceilings are incredibly high for a single story building. Much more than most other retail stores I've seen.

joeg1985 · #**9609** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 3:55 PM**

The Office Depot looks pretty typical to me. Most of these big box stores set up big boxes to be in. The suburbs I grew up in in California had big national chain stores just like that.

PerryPendleton · #**9610** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 4:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

^^^ I love that Office Depot with the big surface lot - it will be so easy to tear down some day.

I predict that with the new merger of Office Depot and Office Max, the newly formed company will use that prime location to rebuild some sort of a mega store in this location.

wierdaaron · #**9611** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 4:17 PM**

With that area heating up (already pretty hot, actually), they'd be smart to sell that block for a high rise and put a store on ground level.

HomrQT · #**9612** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 4:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeg1985

The Office Depot looks pretty typical to me. Most of these big box stores set up big boxes to be in. The suburbs I grew up in in California had big national chain stores just like that.

Maybe I just haven't been in one in a while. This one has a ceiling 3 stories high and looked a little odd to my eyes.

Notyrview · #**9613** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 4:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

I think I like this one overall, however it does appear a little 'chunky'.....as if one more vertical 'section' of 12 stories or so is needed for much better proportions....

Or they could have just made one setback about 1/3 of the way up. It would be much more striking. I like the side balconies tho.

emathias · #**9614** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Nice? It's a 12-foot-wide strip of green with some flower beds, accessed by steep stairs. Boeing would have been better if the river level had been raised up to plaza level. Right now, both levels are really too narrow to be comfortable, so you get the worst of both worlds.

The diagonal path through orthogonal columns at plaza level is really weird, too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Roboto

^Its a little too narrow and hidden, sure. Its still a nice place to eat lunch and enjoy the river at that level. If the new building could have a wider space at the river level it could be something special. I feel it dramatically enhances the experience when you are closer to the river elevation.

Riverside Plaza is nice because it's (more or less) at street level. Not everything needs to be river-level - it's nice to have variety, although not necessarily in the same strip of development. Leave the east-west river-level riverwalk plans as they are, and allow the north-south Riverside Plaza to be street level. Two areas, two types of development.

I'd really like to see the City help extend Riverside Plaza from Jackson to VanBuren, and then "fix" the Boeing building to be all street-level and then build the new things at street level. Then you'd have essentially a promenade stretching 3/4 of a mile from VanBuren to Lake - further, possibly, depending on 444 is executed. Sure it would be different from a river-level one, but I think continuity for that distance would trump having a few isolated river-level things. Encourage better retail use of the plazas and it would improve on what's already a nice amenity for the West Loop residents and office workers.

Disclaimer: I work in 10 S Riverside Plaza.

Ch.G, Ch.G · #**9615** Posted **Apr 4, 2013, 5:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

I think I like this one overall, however it does appear a little 'chunky'.....as if one more vertical 'section' of 12 stories or so is needed for much better proportions....

It's topped out?