CHICAGO | General Developments

[lakeviewer]

JDL/Harlem Living apartment tower, 381 units, 38,000 sq ft commericial space

The former Maryville site at the NW corner of Clarendon & Montrose is back on the drawing board. After many months of negotiations with the City’s Department of Planning, JDL Development and Harlem Irving have released documents for their new proposal, which will be presented to the 46th Ward Zoning & Development Committee on Nov. 30th.

Don't know how to post images, many on james46.org

http://james46.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Aerial.pdf

[pilsenarch]

THIS^ reduction in density is the worst (or best ) example of NIMBYism that one can find...

[Kenmore]

Cappleman has been one of the most pandering NIMBY alderman in recent history

he has single handily prevented uptown from joining in the city wide development boom

i'm about ready to give up on the neighborhood

[the urban politician]

^ Cappleman let that other highrise through despite intense Nimbyism. But yeah, Uptown sucks. Who even goes there?

[tjp]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

Cappleman has been one of the most pandering NIMBY alderman in recent history

he has single handily prevented uptown from joining in the city wide development boom

i'm about ready to give up on the neighborhood

Which projects has he blocked? I'm not disagreeing with you at all - I'm just curious because I had been under the impression that he was relatively pro-development.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Cappleman let that other highrise through despite intense Nimbyism. But yeah, Uptown sucks. Who even goes there?

I live in Edgewater but Ive been near the general "uptown area" for 6 years now and love it. Mostly I love the cheap rents .

Demera is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Its nice to be able to pop into the Green Mill on a random weeknight. Tons of good food along Argyle. Really, I think Uptown/Edge area in general is one the best in entire city for dining out. Basically every ethnicity is represented, and quite well...except Mexican as Ive yet to find a taco I like up here. 42 Grams has 2 Michelin stars and its in what people usually think of the "seedy" part of uptown. Basically zero nightlife but Im over that, and on the nights I do want it I can walk/bike to Hopleaf.

Theres obviously not much retail, but theres not much retail space to begin with outside of Broadway which is hampered by the L reconstruction and bad planning decisions further north. The area needs some help but I suspect you'll see more investment after the station is finished. And Clark has a pretty intact streetscape, but is mostly populated by wholesale shops which...isnt something I frequent but its still an interesting part of the city which in a way Im glad hasnt completely been washed away.

I dont think theres anything wrong with a neighborhood that dosent act as a destination but instead mainly serves its residents.

[Steely Dan]

^ to add to that, the aragon, the riv, and the green mill absolutely serve as destination type places for those outside of uptown. it's not downtown-level of destination, but i would strongly suspect that, with those venerable music halls, uptown draws in far more outsiders on an annual basis than your typical chicago neighborhood does.

and let's not forget montrose beach, the largest and most popular beach on the far northside. it's a HUGE draw for outsiders in the summer time.

[Via Chicago]

^
yea, definitely true. theres really no other residential neighborhood in Chicago that has that concentration of big/small scale live music. now if we could only figure out the Uptown Theater....

[Jibba]

Uptown is set to become quite the destination, mark my words. They've already added two zoning overlays to the area near Lawrence/Broadway (Uptown historic district and the P-street designation that spiders out from Lawrence/Broadway/Racine), Argyle E of Broadway is being reconstructed into a shared street, Lawrence House renovation is under way, two Cedar Street mid-rises going up near the Wilson Red Line, the Wilson Red Line rebuild, the TOD that is planned for the space opened up next to the Wilson station upon completion (of which the community workshops went well, favoring a dense, intensive use of the site). Also, the planned closure of the strip mall SE of Ainslie/Broadway for a construction staging area for the RPM project (and subsequent designation of the plot for TOD).

[LouisVanDerWright]

The problem with Uptown is not that it lacks an ability to draw people from outside the neighborhood in, it's the people who are already there. Uptown has by far the largest, most concentrated, institutionalized population out of any neighborhood in the city. There are more halfway houses, CHA scattered sites, CHA old folks homes, SRO's, mental health facilities, etc than anywhere else in the city which is why the streets have tons of odd people roaming about making anyone who is visiting the area uncomfortable.

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

now if we could only figure out the Uptown Theater....

As I've said multiple times on this board, the Uptown will never reopen. JAM Productions (the same people who just fired like half the staff at the Riv for daring to discuss unionization) bought it explicitly to prevent it from ever opening and competing with their dominance of the Chicago promoting industry. Maybe they might try now that they lost the Aragon to Livenation, but I sincerely doubt they have the money at this point now that they've lost their bread and butter to the competition.

[orulz]

Originally Posted by ithakas

I like that this proposal replaces part of the existing footprint of an older high rise to the east. Seems like there is a lot of opportunity to do this in town, with much of the 70s/80s high rise stock. Ie:

Even better would be to see some towers-in-a-park get, at least partially, de-parked, lining the streets with mid rise mixed use. Especially where the "park" is mostly "parkING".

In many places, the towers suck, so you might as well tear them down and start from scratch (Atrium Village), but there are towers-in-a-park where the towers are architecturally significant and should be kept. Even keep some of the park area as a public park. Then turn the rest of the lot into midrises with structured parking.

Lake Meadows and Prairie Shores come to mind, though Bronzeville may not be quite there in terms of supporting that kind of development (not yet- but it won't be too long.) Hillard Towers is another one; certainly Cermak in the South Loop between Chinatown and McCormick Place is ready today.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

As I've said multiple times on this board, the Uptown will never reopen. JAM Productions (the same people who just fired like half the staff at the Riv for daring to discuss unionization) bought it explicitly to prevent it from ever opening and competing with their dominance of the Chicago promoting industry. Maybe they might try now that they lost the Aragon to Livenation, but I sincerely doubt they have the money at this point now that they've lost their bread and butter to the competition.

I would never say never, crazier things have happened. I agree that JAM likely wont be the people to do it, but as you said if their financial situation worsens it may force their hand to offload it. How long can a owner sit on property like this without moving on it? We're already seeing the city trying to force the issue with the post office. Given what Rahm has at least publicly said about his intentions to create a nightlife district here, I would assume it gains a similar priority. Realistically any rehab is going to require state/city assistance and Im not super optimistic we'll ever see the money for a project like this given their current financial situations. But SOMETHING has to happen with the site, and as long as its still standing Im willing to hold out a little hope. Anyone who proposes a demolition is going to receive a lot of community blowback given the buildings noted prominence, and hopefully that encourages some sort of thoughtful adaptive reuse, even if it isnt as a traditional theater.

I also wish at least once a year they would open the doors to the place and do some tours, ala Open House Chicago. Its been far too long since the general public has been able to glimpse the interior and I think allowing that to happen might help keep the flame alive. I dont think most people have any clue what an incredible asset this could be.

[rlw777]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Cappleman let that other highrise through despite intense Nimbyism. But yeah, Uptown sucks. Who even goes there?

Obviously you don't like music.

[Arm&Kedzie]

Originally Posted by UrbanLibertine

The Blackhawks Practice Facility is not going on an existing parking lot.

Your right - It is off Ogden now. :\

[marothisu]

Not a huge deal, but kind of a part of the ongoing story with Division Street in Wicker Park - just saw a permit from last Thursday where the small empty lot next to Zakopane (1732 W Division) will be getting a 4 story, 7 unit + ground floor retail/commercial unit built on it. Also down the street at 1904 W Division, an abandoned building is getting converted into 6 units + ground floor retail and they're going to build 2 new floors on top of the existing structure.



Also, the 20 story high rise at 3916 W Washington got a permit on Friday to rehab the entire 181 units at a cost of almost $29M. I think it'll still be senior housing though as it was before.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by orulz

Lake Meadows and Prairie Shores come to mind, though Bronzeville may not be quite there in terms of supporting that kind of development (not yet- but it won't be too long.) Hillard Towers is another one; certainly Cermak in the South Loop between Chinatown and McCormick Place is ready today.

That's assuming you think towers in a park are de-facto bad, which is not obviously true.

I would be on board if some of the park space was replaced by townhouses done to complement the highrises, and maybe retail pavilions along the edges where they make sense. It would be something like Lafayette Park in Detroit. But I do think the green space is an important part of these communities. I'd hate to see it thrown away on a bunch of mediocre filler buildings.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by bcp

That's great news for the hood. Do you happen to know if the building just east of the division street lot is part of the deal? It's a beauty of a building, but all tenants are out now.

The address listed on the permit is for the vacant lot. However, reading the permit it's obvious it is for the east building. The permit also includes renovation work for a 3 story, 6 residential unit building with 2 ground floor retail units. The building to the west only has one ground floor retail unit, while the one to the east has two. Also, it states that there will be a a 7 car lot attached to it. Well, the west building doesn't have any space for that but the east building has a few spots behind it already.

[ChickeNES]

Apple store proposed along Chicago River

Blair Kamin and Robert Channick - Chicago Tribune - November 17, 2015
TThe long-rumored Apple store at the gateway to the North Michigan Avenue shopping district won't be a 2.0 version of the famous glass cube that forms an iconic entry into the retailer's Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan. It would be more like a high-tech version of Frank Lloyd Wright's quintessentially Midwestern Prairie Style homes, with river views to boot.

Soon-to-be-unveiled plans for the store call for a glass-sheathed temple of computing near the historic Michigan Avenue bridge and grand flights of stairs that would cascade from street level to the walkway along the Chicago River's north bank. These details are outlined in a report from the city's Department of Planning and Development, a draft copy of which was obtained by the Tribune.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-pioneer-court-plaza-kamin-met-1118-20151117-story.html

The article has a few more images.

[the urban politician]

^ Wow. I really love it

[chicubs111]

Wow ... Chicago Apple store really looks promising!... Unique..no copy cat design of any other store...and very Chicago!...Def could be the best apple store of them all if done right!