CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Near North Resident

I drive by this all the time, and I'm telling you, far and away one of the biggest pieces of ugly garbage erected during this boom

https://imgur.com/YAGpXPd

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by sentinel

https://imgur.com/YAGpXPd

I forgot to mention how stupid the name is too!!! "Spoke"

seriously?!?!

[Bonsai Tree]

While I think everyone can agree the name is stupid, the design honestly isn't that bad. Sure, it's a little too overwhelming (almost brutalist) with all the brick, but it still holds up pretty well in my opinion. The glass poking its way through the brick really punctuates the mix between old (the brick) and new (the glass).I think it is a lot better than some of the other garbage we have gotten this cycle.

[ChiHi]

Originally Posted by Near North Resident

I drive by this all the time, and I'm telling you, far and away one of the biggest pieces of ugly garbage erected during this boom

The brick work makes it look like the shorter drunken cousin of Chestnut Place Apartments (8 W Chestnut). Yuck....

[bgsrand]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...gnews-20170622

Unsure of how I feel about this, though clearly nothing would have happened during this cycle regardless.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by bgsrand

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...gnews-20170622

Unsure of how I feel about this, though clearly nothing would have happened during this cycle regardless.

Go big or go home.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

^ I'm going to get railroaded for saying it, but I think these turned out pretty awesome. It's something different, that's for sure.

Not sure about railroading, but you deserve some flak......

It's really bad......almost looks like it was done by a design-build outfit, or something....

[harryc]

Almost ......
June 22

[KWILLSKYLINE]

Originally Posted by FrankLloydWrong

I walk buy this one going to and from work everyday, and I'm still not sure whether I like it or not. But I will say this, it has elicited more of a response from me than a lot of other buildings going up during this boom. I suppose that's worth something.

Are those supposed to be a certain type of brick that weathers into a different color or something? In that case it would be cool. But blah, could have been such a nice bui lding.

[emathias]

Construction 675 N Wells by me, on Flickr


Construction 675 N Wells by me, on Flickr

[Randomguy34]

Ryan Ori, once again, comes in clutch when reporting development news. Many great things in this article, but here are a couple of highlights I found

No little plans: More than $20 billion of megaprojects in Chicago's pipeline

...
Among this era's largest projects are multibillion-dollar ones such as Related Midwest's $5 billion-plus vision for a 62-acre site along the Chicago River in the South Loop and Sterling Bay's yet-to-be-unveiled blueprints for more than 40 acres on and around the North Side site where the A. Finkl & Sons steel plant once stood along the river.

At least six other projects of $500 million or more are underway or near the starting line, including the Chicago Cubs owners' redevelopment of Wrigley Field and surrounding properties, a conversion of the long-vacant old main post office into modern offices and retail, and Blackstone Group's planned retail and entertainment addition onto the base of the city's tallest building, Willis Tower.
...
Big foreign and domestic investors have already expressed interest in JDL's plan to build two towers with a combined 800 to 950 luxury apartments and condos across from Holy Name, Letchinger said. Pending city approval, the project also would include a base of about 160,000 square feet of retail, including a large grocery store, fitness club and spa, Letchinger said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...21-column.html

[marothisu]

^ Good article. What's interesting is what Related says about the fact that there's not many more develop-able sites in Chicago. Obviously not true, but in their realm maybe given what they want to construct. I'm sure in a few years they'd probably change that statement due to the development of areas like West Loop.

[the urban politician]

I don't want to be "that guy", but articles like this always come out right before bubbles burst.

Having said that, the boom in central Chicago is real because of true systemic demographic changes that I believe are here to stay. Despite the 2008 recession, for example, the focus of growth and investment continued to be within the city. There is definitely something real and long lasting going on.

Now unlike some who have this dark pleasure in seeing the suburbs decline, I don't predict that the suburbs will ever die (far from it, in fact). But they will no longer be the shining star of American metros, nor should they be.

[chicubs111]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Ryan Ori, once again, comes in clutch when reporting development news. Many great things in this article, but here are a couple of highlights I found

No little plans: More than $20 billion of megaprojects in Chicago's pipeline

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...21-column.html

Kinda was wishing the Holy Name site was going to be one large tower instead of two smaller ones...I think river north is in need of an anchor large tower the same way John hancock center does for north Michigan avenue..

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I don't want to be "that guy", but articles like this always come out right before bubbles burst.

Having said that, the boom in central Chicago is real because of true systemic demographic changes that I believe are here to stay. Despite the 2008 recession, for example, the focus of growth and investment continued to be within the city. There is definitely something real and long lasting going on.

Now unlike some who have this dark pleasure in seeing the suburbs decline, I don't predict that the suburbs will ever die (far from it, in fact). But they will no longer be the shining star of American metros, nor should they be.

The interesting thing is that the market keeps on absorbing this boom. Just read on Curbed the other day that Optima II is already 20% leased despite just starting deliver units this weekend. That's a big building too, 590 units. I suspect the continued absorbtion is largely a function of what you say, this is not just a boom, but also a historic shift on par with the "white flight" phenomena of the second half of the last century.

That said there is definitely a bubble, the question is just exactly where and how it will manifest itself. They never look the same.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

The interesting thing is that the market keeps on absorbing this boom. Just read on Curbed the other day that Optima II is already 20% leased despite just starting deliver units this weekend. That's a big building too, 590 units. I suspect the continued absorbtion is largely a function of what you say, this is not just a boom, but also a historic shift on par with the "white flight" phenomena of the second half of the last century.

That said there is definitely a bubble, the question is just exactly where and how it will manifest itself. They never look the same.

Crains had an article recently stating that downtown apartment rental absorption was the highest ever for a 1st quarter in 2017.

[the urban politician]

^ Link?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Link?

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...plate=printart

Sorry, maybe not the best first quarter, but it has to be close with over 1,000 units absorbed. 2016 was a record.

"The job growth and population gains have fueled demand for downtown apartments. One key measure of demand, absorption, or the change in the number of occupied downtown apartments, totaled 2,582 units in 2016, a record.

After a strong first quarter—with absorption of 1,103 units—Appraisal Research forecasts the market will absorb 2,803 units this year and 3,200 in each of the following two years. That's based on DeVries' belief that some of the buildings opening over the next few years will generate more demand for apartments. Further employment gains should help as well."

[r18tdi]

Holy shit.

Upcoming Community Presentation for Proposed Developments in Lakeshore East

Alderman Reilly invites you to join him at an informational presentation regarding two development proposals at Lakeshore East:

Parcels I, J, K, and L located at 197-301 North Harbor Drive and 452-500 East Waterside Drive developed by Lendlease Development Inc. and Lakeshore East LLC
Parcel O located at 195 North Columbus Drive developed by Lakeshore East LLC

At this meeting, representatives of both the Lendlease Development Inc. development team and the Lakeshore East development team will present their plans and answer any questions you may have about these proposals.

WHAT: Two development proposals at Lakeshore East*:

Parcels I, J, K, and L located at 197-301 N. Harbor Dr. and 452-500 E. Waterside Dr. to include three (3) buildings containing a total of up to 1,400 residential dwelling units, 300 hotel rooms, and 30,000 square feet of retail.

Parcel O located at 195 N. Columbus Dr. to include up to 640 residential dwelling units and two hotels with up to 626 keys
*Please click here to see a map depicting the location of both projects

WHO: Hosted by Alderman Brendan Reilly and
New Eastside Association of Residents (NEAR)

WHEN: Monday, July 10, 2017, 6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Hotel - Regency Ballroom - West Tower A
151 E. Upper Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60601

Alderman Reilly works hard to provide an open and transparent community review of all local development proposals. We hope you can join the Alderman and NEAR to engage in a direct dialogue with the development team to gain a better understanding of their proposal and receive answers to any questions you may have.

via 42nd Ward newsletter

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Holy shit.


via 42nd Ward newsletter

Very cool! If they get GEMS II going, that will be it for LSE.

From the outlines, none of these look like a supertall, which is fine. Vista is going to be the centerpiece of the neighborhood. Based on the outlines, I assume that I, in the northeast corner, is going to be some combo of residences and hotel rooms and probably the tallest of the three. K/L and J look like twins, perhaps of the 400-500 residence/450-550 ft size.

Here's hoping they look great, because the three of these towers are going to be very visible in the Chicago skyline for a long, long time.