CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction

[wierdaaron]

I think 1001 S Clark mentioned a golf simulator as well. Must be part of the new high end amenity checklist.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ Ah, yes - the ubiquitous herd mentality in the real estate industry.......sometimes, it turns out to be a herd of lemmings.....

[wierdaaron]

Anyway, re: Jahn Michigan Avenue, my only practical exposure to him is Thompson Center. As long as the design isn't a squat white circle with coral highlights, I'm fine. Just happy to see that hole in the streetwall get filled.

His JP Tower design in Tokyo kind of reminds me of K+S's Spertus and 130N Franklin, something like that would be cool.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

and hopefully drawing some attention away from the unfortunate P/H stuff that predominates down there.

Heh, I was thinking the same thing, though I hope they retain their more restrained aesthetic. P/H tried getting flashy with OMP and OMPW and the result is a confused mess.

Anyway, this is fantastic news. I'm a big fan of Helmut Jahn's evolution as an architect. His oeuvre in Chicago is nicely representative of the city's architecture as a whole during the same time period. Happy to see him strengthening his legacy here.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

This one's now moving......looks like very initial formwork for core going up as of this morning.....all still below-grade, but seems as if the long delay/super-slow track with this one may have now ended.....

I don't think construction ever stopped on this one, I think they were just very tediously excavating all of the buried foundation work. I drive by almost every day and there's been one of those tiny excavators puttering around for at least the last month.

[munchymunch]

I was thinking something like this....

http://www.50westnyc.com

[Skyguy_7]

^Save the developer some time and money and just duplicate 50 West. THAT would be the shit. How cool would it be to be able to compare unit costs, price/sq ft, construction duration, how it integrates with its respective skyline, etc..

[brian_b]

Your photo is a little out of date. When I divvied past it yesterday there was a single panel of glass up. Dark.

Originally Posted by george

[rlw777]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Anyway, re: Jahn Michigan Avenue, my only practical exposure to him is Thompson Center. As long as the design isn't a squat white circle with coral highlights, I'm fine. Just happy to see that hole in the streetwall get filled.

No worries Jahn's 80's post modern aesthetic that you see in the Thompson Center and One South Wacker is way behind him at this point. Whatever he designs will probably be very glassy, feel lightweight, be very formal, and somewhat structurally expressive.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Will you really protest over height if you find enough other aspects of the proposal to your liking?

Will I note whether a proposed PD complies with the adopted plan for the area? Of course. That's what the zoning ordinance of the City of Chicago explicitly requires.

This is not going to be highly recessed, rhythmic shadow play. I know that's what you advocate for on S Michigan but this will not be that. So, what say you? Is that a must-protest scenario?

Will I note whether a proposed design in the landmark district complies with that district's design guidelines? Probably so.

To do otherwise is to play tennis without a net. How do you determine what is allowed and what isn't? Merely by the shininess of the object?

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

• Gigabit Internet
• Makers Lab
• Automated Dry Cleaning and Package Delivery
• Media Center with Golf Simulator, Gaming Station and Gaming Room

My professional life puts me in a position to know what most of those things mean, but I have no earthly idea what a "Makers lab" and "automated package delivery" means for an apartment building.

Maybe it means they're going to stick a 3D printer in a room, not maintain it or keep it supplied with printing material, and then start putting passive aggressive signs all over it when people start breaking it.

One wild guess: A Makers Lab could be a sort of hobby room. I looked at a condo building once that had a common room set up for doing projects that would otherwise be too messy, noisy, smelly, etc. to be done inside of one's unit.
But who knows.

[Chi-Sky21]

i was hoping it was where i could perfect my Makers Mark mixtures.

[rlw777]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Will I note whether a proposed PD complies with the adopted plan for the area? Of course. That's what the zoning ordinance of the City of Chicago explicitly requires.



Will I note whether a proposed design in the landmark district complies with that district's design guidelines? Probably so.

To do otherwise is to play tennis without a net. How do you determine what is allowed and what isn't? Merely by the shininess of the object?

I would be careful referencing poorly conceived Robert Frost aphorisms.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

wow - this is a fantastic surprise to start the day.

Question re article: how can this possibly be in burnett's ward? That surely is a mistake, no?

Alderman is William Burns. Burns =/= Burnett. Would be funny if Crain's called Burnett about it, though... I know they have some novice reporters but that would take the cake.

I fully expect Burns to be pretty hands-off about South Loop development, the same way Burnett is and Haithcock was. Corruption aside, these aldermen have a political base and a majority of their constituency that are not (largely white) downtown yuppies. They have far less incentive to fight developers than, say, Reilly or Fioretti.

this isn't the Jahn of 1989 any longer. See 600 Fairbanks and 50 West for residential examples. This is not going to be highly recessed, rhythmic shadow play. I know that's what you advocate for on S Michigan but this will not be that.

I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's clear to me that Jahn is now obsessed with a certain kind of starfire glass and has abandoned his experiments with color (almost) entirely, but his buildings have extremely well-articulated and detailed facades. Spend a few minutes curbside at O'Hare to see what I mean.

I don't think Jahn will necessarily give us a flat and featureless glass box. It may not be chock-a-block with highbrow asides to classical architecture, or slathered in teal and salmon, but I think we will get something that fits very well in the streetwall, with complex mullions, a shingled curtain wall, or other moves to bring scale and relief to a sheer wall of glass.

As an aside - Krueck + Sexton are good designers, but IMO they have compromised the Kristallnacht symbolism of Spertus by using the same folded glass for an FBI headquarters and a speculative office tower. I like Spertus, but will its facade seem like a cheesy architectural trick down the road like the pixelated facade on the Hampton Inn?

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestat...-tower-planned-for-south-michigan-avenue

I think we crashed that website, I get nothing but a 505 error.
Can anyone share the relevent details?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by aaron38

I think we crashed that website, I get nothing but a 505 error.
Can anyone share the relevent details?

There aren't any details to speak of. Very preliminary information.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestat...l-tower-planned-by-smithfield-properties

August 05, 2015
Developer plans 23-story residential tower in River North
By Ally Marotti



With the first residents moving into his new 295-unit apartment tower in River North, Chicago developer Bill Smith plans a 58-unit building a couple blocks away.

A venture led by Smith filed a zoning application for the 23-story tower at the northwest corner of Chicago Avenue and Wells Street. The document didn't say whether the building would include apartments or condominiums, and Smith did not respond to requests for comment.

Smith's company, Smithfield Properties, has built both for-sale and rental housing, including his most recent Chicago project, a 295-unit high-rise at 805 N. LaSalle St., two blocks east of his planned development. The building opened in June.

Though the apartment market has been hot for years, a construction wave will add more than 7,600 units to the downtown market in 2015 and 2016, and many worry about supply outpacing demand.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by ardecila

slathered in teal and salmon

hehehe

I am late to this party. What a fantastic surprise. 600 N. Fairbanks is my favorite residential tower from the last boom, my only complaint being it isn't visible from many places. This is definitely a Jahn-worthy location. Please >= 600 ft 🙏

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

• Gigabit Internet
• Makers Lab
• Automated Dry Cleaning and Package Delivery
• Media Center with Golf Simulator, Gaming Station and Gaming Room

My professional life puts me in a position to know what most of those things mean, but I have no earthly idea what a "Makers lab" and "automated package delivery" means for an apartment building.

Maybe it means they're going to stick a 3D printer in a room, not maintain it or keep it supplied with printing material, and then start putting passive aggressive signs all over it when people start breaking it.

That seriously has to be fake, like some sort of student web design project for a class or something

But I would imagine a makers lab is exactly what you said

And the automated package delivery probably means they allow the UPS guy into the building

[123fakestreet]

...

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by 123fakestreet

Premium prices for exposed concrete. ooooh. I'm so excited to pay more for a unit with no drywall. 600 Fairbanks is terrible.

k