CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction

[intrepidDesign]

^^^ Wow. That's actually better than I was expecting. I like how there's a nod to the 'wave' pattern on the lower portion. I'd like it if there were more units, but it's reasonably dense.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

Here she is:


38 floors, SCB designed. Pretty much what we expected. I like the facade, though it would look better at half the width and twice the height..

Thought this rendering was worth a re-post.

I like the 'weave' in the facade as well - that is a nice touch. Otherwise, mostly as expected. Long overdue and time to build this thing!

Unfortunately, however this does look like it will put the nail in the coffin of a hotel at Block 37. I just don't understand why CIM is passing on a hotel at such A++ location - one would do phenomenally well here. The hotel could have been to the West of the core, with the residential to the East. Oh well.....as I said, let's get this one up, starting this year!

I'm interested in the engineering/construction of this project too, for obvious reasons. Will they need some sort of large transfer floor or truss system - as in the case of Joffrey tower, right across the street - in the transition from a steel base to concrete tower (my assumption is that it will be concrete....steel would be a very nice surprise though)?

[wierdaaron]

What side of the block is the tower on? It's hard to see.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

What side of the block is the tower on? It's hard to see.

That would be the North side, along Randolph

[SamInTheLoop]

How exciting is this: between Block 37 and the adaptive reuse project in the tower above the Oriental Theater, this block of Randolph looks to be adding somewhere between 750 and 900 residential units (haven't seen an exicte unit count for Block 37 yet). With very likely high occupancy levels, that would be - what, an injection of something like up to 1,200 - 1,400 resident population into this corner of the Loop. Imagine what this is going to do.................the word will finally be getting out - the Loop will now truly be 24/7.....no more of this closing up shop at 6 or 7 bullshit.....no more of this single-use goofy mentality of yesteryear that many older mumbling pundits and baby boomers stick to......these times, they are a'changin', folks - it's a new dawn for the Loop....

[the urban politician]

^ Yes, but I can't help but wish to see more marquees on Randolph. I would love if CIM's supposed cinema had a bright marquee on Randolph as a sort of ode to the theatre district.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

How exciting is this: between Block 37 and the adaptive reuse project in the tower above the Oriental Theater, this block of Randolph looks to be adding somewhere between 750 and 900 residential units (haven't seen an exicte unit count for Block 37 yet). With very likely high occupancy levels, that would be - what, an injection of something like up to 1,200 - 1,400 resident population into this corner of the Loop. Imagine what this is going to do.................the word will finally be getting out - the Loop will now truly be 24/7.....no more of this closing up shop at 6 or 7 bullshit.....no more of this single-use goofy mentality of yesteryear that many older mumbling pundits and baby boomers stick to......these times, they are a'changin', folks - it's a new dawn for the Loop....

Add to the Virgin Hotel, the two hotels at Motor Club, The London Gurantee Hotel, the 200 N Michigan building, 73 E Lake, etc. and the NE Loop is poised to transform overnight into quite possibly the liveliest part of the city.

[the urban politician]

^ I don't know about that. I think a lot of the guests in NE Loop are just going to mosy on over to the Mag Mile/River North area unless we see a lot more attractions follow

[wierdaaron]

Don't forget the, what is it, 400 units at 200 N Mich. OneEleven (Clark and Wacker) has a ton of units too. Living in the loop is going to be a real thing pretty soon.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I don't know about that. I think a lot of the guests in NE Loop are just going to mosy on over to the Mag Mile/River North area unless we see a lot more attractions follow

I agree. There need to be more things to do that go later. Tons of people aren't going to be just chilling out in Daley Plaza for 5 hours. You actually need food places, cultural institutions of some kind, bars, etc to stay open later. This will certainly help get investment into the area in those forms like River North has, but in no way will it happen overnight.

While there's more units being added in the Loop, the only places I'd live there would be the north parts close to the river and River North. That I can understand, but places close down so early that I couldn't justify living even a few blocks south of Randolph.

[k1052]

I'd probably classify the developments in the NE Loop as moving in the right direction rather than an instant transformation. It already has activity from along State and Michigan to build on going forward. I am pleased to see vintage office buildings re-purposed into hotel and residential rather than facing demolition for modern office space, hopefully a trend which will continue long term.

[ChiTownWonder]

Originally Posted by k1052

I'd probably classify the developments in the NE Loop as moving in the right direction rather than an instant transformation. It already has activity from along State and Michigan to build on going forward. I am pleased to see vintage office buildings re-purposed into hotel and residential rather than facing demolition for modern office space, hopefully a trend which will continue long term.

Chicago architects are very good with the preservation of the old facades. just look at what the legacy at millennium park did, beautiful modern building preserving the beautiful vintage facades

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I agree. There need to be more things to do that go later. Tons of people aren't going to be just chilling out in Daley Plaza for 5 hours. You actually need food places, cultural institutions of some kind, bars, etc to stay open later. This will certainly help get investment into the area in those forms like River North has, but in no way will it happen overnight.

While there's more units being added in the Loop, the only places I'd live there would be the north parts close to the river and River North. That I can understand, but places close down so early that I couldn't justify living even a few blocks south of Randolph.

Lol, River North is just jam packed with cultural institutions...

In all seriousness, let's not forget that we are talking about an area that already has more cultural institutions than all of River North and Streeterville combined. You have the entire theater district here, you have the Joffrey Ballet, you have the AIC, the symphony center, there is the Cultural Center, there is quick access to Millennium Park, there are even a handful of art galleries in this area, what more do you want? Up until now these attractions were forced to stand on their own without a local population to support them.

Now there will be another 1,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 apartments added over the course of two or three years. There will suddenly be 24/7 activity here instead of just short bursts whenever a theater lets out or when Millennium Park has a special event. In what world do the "attractions" and "cultural institutions" North of the river come even remotely close to what can be found in the NE quadrant of the loop?

[chrisvfr800i]

I'm interested in the engineering/construction of this project too, for obvious reasons. Will they need some sort of large transfer floor or truss system - as in the case of Joffrey tower, right across the street - in the transition from a steel base to concrete tower (my assumption is that it will be concrete....steel would be a very nice surprise though)?

There's a 6' thick mat on the west side and several 2 story steel trusses on the east. Above that it's all CIP. The weaving is nice, but I'm not a fan of the winglets on NE & NW corners.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Now there will be another 1,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 apartments added over the course of two or three years. There will suddenly be 24/7 activity here instead of just short bursts whenever a theater lets out or when Millennium Park has a special event. In what world do the "attractions" and "cultural institutions" North of the river come even remotely close to what can be found in the NE quadrant of the loop?

^ Besides theatres, however, most "cultural activity" isn't 24/7 anyhow. Tourists and late night type of people tend to flock to restaurants, bars, and the like.

What the Loop needs is more of those, and they need to be open later. I think it will come with time. Naturally with more residents and out of towners more businesses will stay open later.

[george]

Also like the window weave to tie-in w the podium weave. Winglets are a sharp detail. Taller would be better. It's great this is finally happening. This will cast an all day shadow on that strip of Randolph, see ya sun!

[the urban politician]

^ Yep, enclosing Randolph will rule. I'm all for tall and thin, but in the Loop I like the canyon effect. People should scurry around the Loop in fear of the big, bad, gothic city. The sun has no place in the Loop

[rlw777]

I wonder how much of this residential push in the north side of loop is in anticipation of the riverwalk finishing up?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Besides theatres, however, most "cultural activity" isn't 24/7 anyhow. Tourists and late night type of people tend to flock to restaurants, bars, and the like.

What the Loop needs is more of those, and they need to be open later. I think it will come with time. Naturally with more residents and out of towners more businesses will stay open later.

True, which is why I think the coming wave of new hotel and residential units will result in a transformation here. Imagine how vibrant this area will be once there is enough of a local population to sustain bars/restaurants/etc 24/7 instead of having them just rely on big events. Imagine the streetlife of Wicker Park merged with the existing concentration of theaters and culture. Instead of people coming for a show and just leaving right away, the local businesses will be much more likely to be open for longer hours which will entice the people coming for the attractions to stick around the area before and after the main event.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Lol, River North is just jam packed with cultural institutions...

In all seriousness, let's not forget that we are talking about an area that already has more cultural institutions than all of River North and Streeterville combined. You have the entire theater district here, you have the Joffrey Ballet, you have the AIC, the symphony center, there is the Cultural Center, there is quick access to Millennium Park, there are even a handful of art galleries in this area, what more do you want? Up until now these attractions were forced to stand on their own without a local population to support them.

Now there will be another 1,000 hotel rooms and 1,000 apartments added over the course of two or three years. There will suddenly be 24/7 activity here instead of just short bursts whenever a theater lets out or when Millennium Park has a special event. In what world do the "attractions" and "cultural institutions" North of the river come even remotely close to what can be found in the NE quadrant of the loop?

I was just thinking aloud of what can be done to make an area more 24 hours, I wasn't trying to necessarily compare it to River North, or I didn't really mean to. I was more talking about RN's food and bar scene. BUT I do now regret writing that because no doubt the north end of the Loop has more cultural offerings than River North, Gold Coast, Streeterville, etc combined. I do think that the north end of the Loop has some stuff going for it like that and some bars/lounges, but in general that type of stuff needs to expand to get people staying out in the neighborhood more instead of tons of people going across the river or into other parts.. Mainly some more restaurants and bars that stays open later and stuff like that. It will no doubt change, though probably not overnight. I'm excited to see what it becomes though. I look forward to not having to tell people that the Loop isn't a very exciting part of town minus a few small parts.