CHICAGO | General Developments

[harryc]

July 8

rising to meet the party wall.

[Barrelfish]

Originally Posted by harryc

July 18

The way they handled the new addition looks quite similar to the new Viceroy hotel in gold coast. I thought the Viceroy came out very nicely, so I appreciate the similar approach.

[PittsburghPA]

With additions like this do they need to do anything to the structural component of the original building to be able to support the weight?

[harryc]

July 16

Rowhouses on Chestnut



And ready for the new neighbors.

[harryc]

June 25



July 13





July 16



July 18

[marothisu]

Zoning applications for July are starting to roll in. Here's a few so far that're worth sharing:

* 7900 S Green St (Green & 79th).

Current: 4 story older building that looks pretty vacant. https://www.google.com/maps/place/7900+S...c05e055156!8m2!3d41.750614!4d-87.6452442

Proposed: Build a 1 story addition next to Green Street and renovate the 4 story historic building. The diagram says "AG Healthy Lifestyle Building" and the owner I think is "Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation"

* 2200-18 W Grand Ave (Grand & Leavitt).

Current: 1 story building with vacant land around it. Not long ago it was landscaping store and flower shop. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8907749,...i8RIBHfN-36tX9FRnO5SQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Proposed: New 5 story building with 44 units, ground floor commercial, and 44 parking spaces (indooor). Height = 54 feet.

* 2020-24 W Irving Park Rd (Irving Park and Seeley, near Damen and Lincoln)

Current: Vacant lot with the sign for parking for Lincoln Restaurant. https://www.google.com/maps/place/2024+W...8d01e4dcdb8!8m2!3d41.954446!4d-87.679819

Proposed: New 4 story building with 12 units, ground floor commercial, and 12 parking spaces. Height = 48 feet, 6 inches




Hopefully a few more coming still. There's a handful up there but they don't have the applications available yet. There is one for the McDonald's on Addison across from Lane Tech. Would be cool to see an application to rezone into something that's not a drive through with a big parking lot.

[harryc]

July 16





July 17

[harryc]

June 28



July 16

[the urban politician]

I found this interesting. A contractor plans a factory built apartment project in the West Loop, plus 100 new jobs in South Lawndale:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestat...s-modular-apartment-project-in-west-loop

[F1 Tommy]

That " Rock-n-Green Mc Ds " is not as bad as the old one but still pretty bad. Should be easy to tear down in a few years

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I found this interesting. A contractor plans a factory built apartment project in the West Loop, plus 100 new jobs in South Lawndale:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestat...s-modular-apartment-project-in-west-loop

Worth noting

Skender doesn't plan to use subcontractors in its new factory but does plan to employ a union labor force there. The company is already hiring at the plant and wants to fill the 100 jobs within 18 months.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

That " Rock-n-Green Mc Ds " is not as bad as the old one but still pretty bad. Should be easy to tear down in a few years

It looks like a giant solar carport from the sky.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I found this interesting. A contractor plans a factory built apartment project in the West Loop, plus 100 new jobs in South Lawndale:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestat...s-modular-apartment-project-in-west-loop

The article declines to mention the location of the project, but the rendering appears to show a prefab midrise on a site at Grand and Aberdeen (where a ginormous flagpole was recently built). I wouldn't call that West Loop though, more like River West or West Town.

That particular site was previously eyed by Sterling Bay for a midrise office. Office (maybe professional offices) made more sense IMO for that location, I certainly wouldn't want the roar of traffic from the Kennedy/Ohio Feeder interchange right outside my window at night. But I guess the market feels differently, since we've seen many luxury developments go up on Kennedy-adjacent sites in this boom.

The article does call this an "affordable" housing development. It would certainly make sense from a certain standpoint. A large developer like Sterling Bay could build this as affordable units, taking advantage of the reduced cost of prefab construction plus the reduced rent potential of a highway-adjacent site. Then they could use the affordable units here as off-site units to meet their obligations under ARO for a variety of sites in a 2-mile radius, including West Loop or Lincoln Yards. I looked at doing something similar a few years ago in a previous job, but we decided the cost of constructing a separate building off-site was always gonna be more than the marginal cost of adding on-site units. Maybe prefab could be the secret sauce that makes the numbers work. They could even build a framework and then "plug in" more affordable units to the midrise as they need them.

[intrepidDesign]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

That " Rock-n-Green Mc Ds " is not as bad as the old one but still pretty bad. Should be easy to tear down in a few years

I dont ever eat at McD and I have ethical issues with the company, but as far as fast food restaurant design goes (and especially McD which don't exactly exude sophistication) this is pretty nice. If it didn't have the golden arches on there it would be impossible to tell what restaurant it is. A lot of people eat at McD and like the Apple store on Mich, I think this leaves an impression on tourists when they visit, not the store specifically, but for Chicago in general that we're extra. It's hard to pinpoint stuff like that, and it's more of a generalized impression, but these "little" additions help drive that narrative.

[harryc]

July 13



July 16



Insulating the edges of the slabs

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

That " Rock-n-Green Mc Ds " is not as bad as the old one but still pretty bad. Should be easy to tear down in a few years

This thing is a blatant ripoff of Piano's Modern Wing lol.

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

A sign just went up in a window of the vacant Artcraft building on S Clark, which has been owned by Scientology for years now without being touched. The sign is for NW Construction. Maybe they're about to actually do something with that place.

To my utter amazement, they've begun work on the facade, knitting in new terracotta replacements for missing pieces. The work is best described as snail's pace, and an entire crew seems to do like 2 or 3 pieces a day, but progress at last. The building still is nothing but a shell and the only other observable work was the blocking up on several windows on the South facade.

I hope something is finally happening there, since it is one of a dwindling number of empty uncared for buildings on that block of Clark.

At this point I assume the Scientologists are long out the picture and haven't seen any announcement of actual plans for the building. That sidewalk scaffolding has been up so long the city should offer landmark status.

[Buckman821]

https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/7/25/176...rvation-harley-clarke-mansion-demolition

^stuff that actually matters unlike straws.

[harryc]

July 16

[harryc]

July 17