CHICAGO | General Developments

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Maybe accessible but not quite convenient. Went to a pizza place up there and I felt I had just crossed the threshold where it would be inconvenient to commute. I think a brisk walk took maybe 15 minutes from the red line. Maybe that's not bad. But in the winter walking to...and possibly waiting a few moments for the train, I'd opt for the bus.

My general rule of thumb is if it takes more than 20 minutes at a reasonable pace to reach a rapid transit station, it's not within the transit corridor. I'm sure there's actually some scientific measurement, but from a human perspective and I guess personal opinion Andersonville may just be a little out of the way from the Red Line.

I lived in Andersonville for over 10 years commuting from the Berwyn stop to the Loop. It never seemed to be a big deal to me, about a 10 minute walk from Clark and Foster to the Berwyn stop through Lakewood Balmoral. I do like walking though.

[Kenmore]

Originally Posted by marothisu

What an embarrassment. What are the chances if it doesn't work out in Boystown that it could work out in say...Andersonville? I know the average tourist may not be aware of Andersonville, but that neighborhood is quite charming. I wonder if its residents would oppose it (afterall, Andersonville Guesthouse is expanding as we speak).

Further north into Cappleman's portion of Lakeview makes much more sense. He's much more pro-development, it's closer to the main Boystown drag, and closer to transit. Andersonville has a pretty brutal NIMBY streak, dare I say worse than Lakeview.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

I'm not sure why you would say Andersonville is not near transit. There are very accessible Red Line stops at Berwyn and Bryn Mawr.

This is in the context of a hotel. You really think tourists will schlep from the airports or Union Station up to Berwyn, only to walk 15 minutes or wait for a 92 bus? Sure, they might take a taxi to get there initially (not a short ride from any of the airports) but for day-to-day travel they will want transit access or easy parking.

Originally Posted by marothisu

In other news, a developer plans on building a 78 unit apartment building near Grand & Western, and then 24 condos near the same intersection as well. It would also add 2000 sq ft of commercial space to the condo building(s) and over 16,000 sq ft of commercial space in the apartment building.

Looks like part of his selling point is the Metra and people who work in the Loop/West Loop who want to live that way and have an easy commute.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...s-in-west-town

This is cool. The Metra schedule at Western is irregular but it's a short trip to Union Station. With the industrial buildings in that area, this could kickstart a loft conversion boom and another Ravenswood-esque ridership boost for Metra. Depends whether the industrial uses are protected by PMDs.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by marothisu

In other news, a developer plans on building a 78 unit apartment building near Grand & Western, and then 24 condos near the same intersection as well. It would also add 2000 sq ft of commercial space to the condo building(s) and over 16,000 sq ft of commercial space in the apartment building.

Looks like part of his selling point is the Metra and people who work in the Loop/West Loop who want to live that way and have an easy commute.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...s-in-west-town

I've always thought that the city should work to zone and place some small office nodes at the Western and Clybourn stops in particular. I think it would cut down on over crowding at both Union and Ogilvie and it would shave upwards of twenty minutes on round trip commutes per day which is a substantial savings.

[Mr Downtown]

^Only if you assume all the workers would live further out the same Metra line. People on other lines, who'd have to change trains at Union or Ogilvie, would add to the congestion and have a much longer trip. And of course anyone coming from elsewhere in the city by rapid transit is totally screwed.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by ardecila

This is in the context of a hotel. You really think tourists will schlep from the airports or Union Station up to Berwyn, only to walk 15 minutes or wait for a 92 bus? Sure, they might take a taxi to get there initially (not a short ride from any of the airports) but for day-to-day travel they will want transit access or easy parking.

Yeah, and, I mean, a big selling point of the current location is that it's in the heart of Boystown. Sidetrack and Minibar would be its neighbors. If you're a gay tourist looking for the quintessential gay bar/club experience, it really doesn't get any better than that.

It should also be noted that these guys will likely be stumbling back to their hotel drunk. Any location that requires you to take public transportation or a taxi or whatever is going to be much more inconvenient than the current one.

[marothisu]

I do agree about Andersonville, though it's not terrible, it's not ideal (even if Andersonville DOES have a small hotel there now). I was trying to find a silver lining here but perhaps it's closer to Boystown than is thought. It'll be ridiculous if this doesn't get done, honestly.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^Only if you assume all the workers would live further out the same Metra line. People on other lines, who'd have to change trains at Union or Ogilvie, would add to the congestion and have a much longer trip. And of course anyone coming from elsewhere in the city by rapid transit is totally screwed.

Well, if the Ashland BRT gets built, that will give a two-seat ride to the Clybourn area for anyone on the South, West, or Northwest Sides (via Pink, Orange, Green, or Blue Lines). There is the possibility of water taxi service. Clybourn also has the advantage of being a transfer station between UP-N and UP-NW, and virtually every train stops there. On the downside, it's tough to get to from anywhere on the North Side. People on the Red Line would need to take a three-seat ride.

I think it would be a good place for startups, though. You'd probably need to some kind of overlay zoning to preserve the right mix of office loft and residential.

Of course, this presumes that the PMD goes by the wayside. I like the concept of PMDs but most industrial uses are interested in
A) good transportation access (which often means expressways and not Metra-choked rail lines)
B) low land values (so they can build large efficient facilities at modest cost)

As it stands, many of the PMDs around downtown are just havens for downtown-service type businesses that don't really do mass production or warehousing.

[BWChicago]

And Clybourn does run on both the UP-Northwest and UP-North Metra lines as well as being a short bus ride from the Armitage Brown line (also linking the Red Line). Maybe it would involve a few transfers, but I don't think that's unreasonable for an office node - especially with BRT tying in the Blue, Green, Pink, and Orange lines. I think that the BRT creates a lot of potential around the underutilized Clybourn/Ashland area.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

And Clybourn does run on both the UP-Northwest and UP-North Metra lines as well as being a short bus ride from the Armitage Brown line (also linking the Red Line).

Remember that the Red Line doesn't stop at Armitage. It's fine for people on the Brown or Purple Lines, but Red Line riders really have no convenient options.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^Only if you assume all the workers would live further out the same Metra line. People on other lines, who'd have to change trains at Union or Ogilvie, would add to the congestion and have a much longer trip. And of course anyone coming from elsewhere in the city by rapid transit is totally screwed.

Clybourn stop serves two of the highest-ridership Metra lines, and if you put commercial/office along Kingsbury it wouldn't be a bad walk from the Armitage Brown Line station, an Ashland BRT line would be useful, and there are 3 other bus lines to serve that area. Plus, adding dense residential to the mix as well would leave room for people wanting to walk to work. And the highway there isn't exactly a drawback, either. In short, I think it's a pretty good idea.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Remember that the Red Line doesn't stop at Armitage. It's fine for people on the Brown or Purple Lines, but Red Line riders really have no convenient options.

Since most of the riders would be coming from the north, a rush-hour transfer from Red to Brown at Fullerton adds like 3 minutes, tops, to the commute for most people. Hardly an imposition.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^Only if you assume all the workers would live further out the same Metra line. People on other lines, who'd have to change trains at Union or Ogilvie, would add to the congestion and have a much longer trip. And of course anyone coming from elsewhere in the city by rapid transit is totally screwed.

Well I picked Clybourn and Western precisely because they aren't dedicated to one line but have at least two or more that run most of the highest ridership lines. A confluence of lines that offer a wide arravy of housing choices for about any economic demographic in the city and burbs. I bet there are more then a few offices where 90% of the workers come from the north and west sides/burbs anyhow. Of course it wouldn't work for many offices but it might work for a small contingent of employers. Those who feel like they have a real selling point to prospective employees by pointing out they can save their workers up to an 1h40m per week in transit savings.

As others have mentioned I think a true Ashland and Western RTB would go a long way to serving as end feeders from CTA train lines. I don't imagine it would be that much worse of a transfer for those who have to do the same every morning and have to walk or take a bus across downtown to their offices east and north. Not to mention the walk near the nodal Western/Clybourn stations would be much less then many have to walk/bus to finish their commute downtown.

Of course there may be an easy fix to undo the track congestion and cut down on the transit times from Western/Clybourn to Union/Oligive . I've just thought this alternative would be appealing because as it stands it feels like an inefficient waste for customers to have to wait +10 minutes through the slow crawl of entering the terminal stations for the last few miles. I know I've thought to myself it would be nice to just hop off at Western/Jefferson Park/Clybourn and walk a block to work instead of mess with the train/pedestrian log jam at the two West Loop stations.

[ardecila]

The Maxwell, Canal & Taylor


AMLI


Cabrini Target

[emathias]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

Well I picked Clybourn and Western precisely because they aren't dedicated to one line but have at least two or more that run most of the highest ridership lines. A confluence of lines that offer a wide arravy of housing choices for about any economic demographic in the city and burbs. I bet there are more then a few offices where 90% of the workers come from the north and west sides/burbs anyhow. Of course it wouldn't work for many offices but it might work for a small contingent of employers. Those who feel like they have a real selling point to prospective employees by pointing out they can save their workers up to an 1h40m per week in transit savings.

As others have mentioned I think a true Ashland and Western RTB would go a long way to serving as end feeders from CTA train lines. I don't imagine it would be that much worse of a transfer for those who have to do the same every morning and have to walk or take a bus across downtown to their offices east and north. Not to mention the walk near the nodal Western/Clybourn stations would be much less then many have to walk/bus to finish their commute downtown.

Of course there may be an easy fix to undo the track congestion and cut down on the transit times from Western/Clybourn to Union/Oligive . I've just thought this alternative would be appealing because as it stands it feels like an inefficient waste for customers to have to wait +10 minutes through the slow crawl of entering the terminal stations for the last few miles. I know I've thought to myself it would be nice to just hop off at Western/Jefferson Park/Clybourn and walk a block to work instead of mess with the train/pedestrian log jam at the two West Loop stations.

It would also motivate Metra and the RTA to partially through-route more trains. I think it would be good for the Central Area to have trains terminate a couple miles outside of downtown (opposite from the direction they are traveling from) to encourage a broader swath of development. That would require cooperation between railroads, but it would be good for the region. But being able to ride BNSF and get off at Clyborn, or to ride UP-N or UP-NW and get off at 16th Street or some future Roosevelt stations would open up all sorts of development opportunities.

[Link N. Parker]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The Maxwell, Canal & Taylor


AMLI


Cabrini Target

"Thank you for shopping at your friendly Cabrini-Green Target"

[wierdaaron]

Maggie Daley Park
Click for huge.



Any guesses as to what the black material is? I'm guessing it's a sealant to keep moisture out of the garage, but I'm also guessing it isn't tar.

[tintinex]

Activists say parking garage plan would mar Sheridan Road's beauty

A bitter dispute over a proposed four-story parking garage in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the Far North Side hinges in part on differing takes on Sheridan Road and its history.

"Sheridan was a beautiful lakefront boulevard, a model of urban design that should be reclaimed, not transformed into a suburban highway," said Susan Olin, a community activist who would be a neighbor to the 250-car garage proposed by prominent real estate developer Jennifer Pritzker.

But the local alderman, Joe Moore, not only supports the project, he also thinks its opponents have a wildly romantic vision of what Sheridan Road once was.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...9.story?page=1

[Link N. Parker]

Anyone know what the design of the building at the bank site on Ashland will look like?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130...new-businesses

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

Anyone know what the design of the building at the bank site on Ashland will look like?

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130...new-businesses

Sounds like a strip mall.