CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

Why is there a holocaust memorial in a Chicago park?

it's not a holocaust memorial, it's an art installation of 106 individual sculptures named "Agora" by polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz

here's what wikipedia says about the work:

The figures are 9 ft (2.7 m) tall and weigh approximately 1,800 lb (820 kg). Each is made from a hollow, seamless piece of iron that has been allowed to rust, creating a reddish appearance and a bark-like texture. The figures appear to be milling about in a crowd; some face each other, while others look away. Visitors are meant to walk through the sculptures and contemplate the work.

The name Agora refers to the urban meeting places of the Ancient Greek city-states. Abakanowicz, who grew up during World War II, has said that her art draws on her fear of crowds, which she once described as "brainless organisms acting on command, worshiping on command and hating on command". However, the work has inspired optimistic interpretations. Kevin Nance of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "If they had arms and hands (they don't), these would be clasped behind their backs as if in contemplation. They seem, somehow, to be thinking, not as a group but as individuals. It's possible, in fact, to interpret the piece as a representation of democracy."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(sculpture)

[gebs]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

it's not a holocaust memorial, it's an art installation of 106 individual sculptures named "Agora" by polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz

here's what wikipedia says about the work:


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(sculpture)

As a resident of the South Loop, I see these sculptures every day, and I also thought they were Holocaust-related. I heard that they were inspired by a child's perspective walking through a crowd of nameless faces ... what that has to do with the Holocaust might require some additional interpretation. This is what I've been telling visiting friends and family as I give them the neighborhood tour.

I guess this is how stories start and spread though. This was pretty enlightening.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

I've been there maybe a dozen times across 5 years and never got "horrible" service. What experience did you have that was so bad?

It's extremely slow, I've had workers just stand there chatting while I was at the register, I've had orders come out wrong, I've had workers who didn't pay attention, requiring me to repeat myself multiple times, and any number of lazy, slopping, work habits. I've also seen the manager verbally dress down workers in full view and earshot of customers, which is not just bad management, but bad customer service since nobody (nobody with a soul, anyway) likes watching someone else get yelled at. A "flagship" should have the best available workers in a region, who receive additional training and are held to higher standards than workers at regular locations since a flagship is supposed to showcase the best of what a brand has to offer. Other than the light and airy architecture and whatever furniture is left over from the original opening (much of the remaining furniture is visibly worn, another pet peeve), it has just never felt like a great example of McDonalds to me. I've had better service at McDonalds in rural France rest stops.

[the urban politician]

^ Meh, that's your typical urban McDonalds. Homeless vagrants, bad attitude, nasty bathrooms.

Suburbs and small towns tend to have better service when you go the McD's. Although nothing compared to McDonald's in foreign countries. Whole different experience.

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by harryc

I feel like construction for 1101 S. Wabash should not have taken that long just to reach this point. For perspective, pile-driving started a year ago: https://chicago.curbed.com/2016/11/1...sh-11th-begins

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by emathias

It's extremely slow, I've had workers just stand there chatting while I was at the register, I've had orders come out wrong, I've had workers who didn't pay attention, requiring me to repeat myself multiple times, and any number of lazy, slopping, work habits. I've also seen the manager verbally dress down workers in full view and earshot of customers, which is not just bad management, but bad customer service since nobody (nobody with a soul, anyway) likes watching someone else get yelled at. A "flagship" should have the best available workers in a region, who receive additional training and are held to higher standards than workers at regular locations since a flagship is supposed to showcase the best of what a brand has to offer. Other than the light and airy architecture and whatever furniture is left over from the original opening (much of the remaining furniture is visibly worn, another pet peeve.

It would be hard to top the terrible service you get at the rock n roll mcdonalds, that place is the worst!

[10023]

Originally Posted by bcp

^ because mcdonald's is a land-banker .. when's the last time you saw one go away? it's just dealing with reality..if it must stay, and eveyrone wants a park, why not leave it if they are willing to sell off the parking lots?

chances are, this will be the final piece of infill land sold, after every single other developable lot and building under 3 stories is gone in the center (including cabrini, southloop etc.)

They're a public company that is beholden to shareholders and makes rational economic decisions. And they could easily put a ground floor location (even a two-story flagship one) in an adjacent tower that went up around the park.

Also, if they intended to hold onto this piece of land forever, why wouldn't they have built their HQ on it? With a massive flagship restaurant in the bottom.

As for whether it's a decent McDonald's or not, I wouldn't know. I haven't set foot in a McDonald's in over 10 years.

[pilsenarch]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

https://chicago.curbed.com/2016/11/1...sh-11th-begins

^wow, is that a thing now? ads plastered on UPS trucks? am I seeing that right? oh well....

[spyguy]

Connecting this with the branding discussion happening on the 900 W Randolph thread: Schlock Corridor

The Gameroom Wal-Mart, Its exterior design whimsically modeled after a Dickensian debtor's prison, this new kind of warehouse store makes shopping a game where customers race to snap up affordable low-priced goods faster than plummeting wages put them out of reach.

Stanley Tigerman's post-modernist Commonwealth Edison substation. Along with his neoclassical Hard Rock Cafe,right next store, these two buildings actually offer up witty, intelligent architecture, which makes them noncontributing structures to the Schlock Corridor.

[Domer2019]

My contribution to this discussion is that the one and only time I dined at the Hard Rock Chicago, they literally forgot about my table for 45 minutes until we got up and asked why the food was taking so long.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Domer2019

My contribution to this discussion is that the one and only time I dined at the Hard Rock Chicago, they literally forgot about my table for 45 minutes until we got up and asked why the food was taking so long.

Yeah. Don't go to chain restaurants. No one working there gives a damn.

[harryc]

Oct 30

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

it's not a holocaust memorial, it's an art installation of 106 individual sculptures named "Agora" by polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz

here's what wikipedia says about the work:


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agora_(sculpture)

Thanks for the clarification.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by 710cl

You can bet your biscuits there'll be a McDonalds in an in-line space on the ground floor of the new hotel.

I believe the McDonalds on Ohio will stay as-is just because it's perceived as one of their flagship locations in (as someone already said) their back yard. I'd actually be surprised to know their percentage of sales are between walk-up dine-ins vs car park dine-ins vs drive thru customers at this location. Perhaps the adjacent parking lot could go eventually?

McDonald's makes the most money off of land and real estate, not actual food sales/franchise fees (Subway I believe is similar in this). The average McDonald's makes $150K in profit per year. But let's just over triple that to $500K for this one in PROFIT. Now imagine this entire piece of land is worth $50M to some developer. Just from a pure money standpoint, that would take 100 years to even it up instead of just selling right now (and 100 years is probably a minimum with other factors). Yeah, marketing does some stuff, but from a pure money standpoint I think they'd be pretty dumb to keep onto it if the land was worth that much. There's a reason why they sold off ones at places like Hudson Yards in NYC which is only a fraction of the land of this Rock and Roll McDonald's. McDonald's stores can be profitable but compare it to the land costs and it's a no brainer to sell certain properties off. Even if that land sold for $20M, it would still make sense to sell.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by 10023

They're a public company that is beholden to shareholders and makes rational economic decisions. And they could easily put a ground floor location (even a two-story flagship one) in an adjacent tower that went up around the park.

Also, if they intended to hold onto this piece of land forever, why wouldn't they have built their HQ on it? With a massive flagship restaurant in the bottom.

As for whether it's a decent McDonald's or not, I wouldn't know. I haven't set foot in a McDonald's in over 10 years.

Does McDonald's own the land for this location? The restaurant is franchisee owned, although that doesn't mean the land is as well.

[marothisu]

^ McDonald's owns most, but not all, of the real estate whether it's franchised or not. Land is another story, but suffice to say that the RnR McDonald's one would be owned by them I'm pretty certain (I can look this up). This is how they make money. It's 101 basic for how these companies operate. Not overblown at all.

http://blog.wallstreetsurvivor.com/2...nd-the-burger/

[marothisu]

OK I looked it up - there are 21 Property ID numbers that make up the entire Rock n Roll McDonald's property. All of them are owned by "FRANCHISE REALTY INV TRUST IL" which is a subsidiary of McDonald's (xferred from McDonald's corp to this trust in 2010).

So yes, McDonald's owns 100% of the land at the Rock n Roll McDonald's.

[Steely Dan]

enough about Rn'R McD's.



Chicago.

Highrise.

Developments.

Go!

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

enough about Rn'R McD's.



Chicago.

Highrise.

Developments.

Go!

Okay, I'll shoot – this seems like a good opportunity to highlight some high rise development sites we haven't heard much about lately in case anyone's heard rumblings about them?

1. State/Harrison SE (SAIC Lot)
2. Pritzker Park
3. Spire site
4. Lake/Stetson
5. Randolph/Michigan NE (Conti site – skinny apartment tower announced a couple years back but no movement)
6. State/Washington SE (former Gap/Old Navy)
7. Clark/Lake NE (shuttered food court)
8. Randolph between Franklin & Wells

There's also the Macerich/Shops at North Bridge expansion at 443 N. Wabash, for which we've seen renderings of the base but not the tower.

[the urban politician]

^ Dont forget the hotel proposal at the former O'Brien's in Old Town.

They demo'd the O'Brien's quite some time back and it has sat idle ever since. (I hate when that happens!)