CHICAGO | General Developments

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

RE: 3936 Sheridan

Sure, the new design is fun, a spark of investment, and a net positive... but it sure would be a shame to lose the existing building with so many single floor storefronts in the area.

Maybe I would feel differently about it if it wasn't a lone crusader, if Lakeview Station II* had been built instead of the disastrous Walgreens.

Loukas is the developer of the Walgreen's that came to be, so I would have to think that they needed something on the land generating money quickly in order to hold the property. Lakeview Station II likely would have needed a zoning change as that site is B3-5 (and I count 13/14 stories in that rendering)--I have no doubt that there would have been opposition to a building that size, but credit availability is likely what killed it.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

no, reread the article, there are two churches in the equation. the sullivan church itself is landmarked and will not be torn down. it's a different unlandmarked church across the street from sullivan's that would come down for this project. it's the proximity of the new condo development to sullivan's landmarked church that some in the neighborhood are objecting to, along with the demolition of the unlandmarked church too.

I seem to have this problem of reading articles sometimes when I'm tired I'm glad then it's not as bad.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

I went back and checked, and you are right. I still don't know why the city data portal only exported part of the dataset before. Here's another try:

Nice. That looks more like it. Great work..

[Justin_Chicago]

I remember the subway extension covering most of the northside and elevating up at Loyola instead of North Avenue. It obviously had the highest reduced speeds out of all the options. The original presentation in 2011 showed the 4-track aerial structure costing ~$3-4 Billion and the Subway Option was estimated around the same cost. People at the town hall meetings complained that the subway proposal had the highest risk of cost overruns, which I agree, but I also think it was shortsighted to remove it from the final list. I am sure other factors like eminent domain, new development opportunities, higher property values and service interruption with a new aerial track can mitigate some of the cost risks.

I love the new Loukas Development proposal, but I prefer to live at least 2 blocks away from an aerial track. I looked at a condo unit in one of the 3/4 story flat buildings near Sheridan back in 2005 and the track noise was too much for me.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by marothisu

In other small but positive news, 2 new buildings (8 total units) were issued building permits in Bronzeville near the 43rd St Green Line stop at 4332 S Prairie and 4335 S Michigan. Both appear to be on vacant lots and from the same owner, Legenda C-3 LLC. It will be interesting to see if there are more permits coming this week for the same area. That would be great to see..

Yep. Another permit issued yesterday for another 3 story building on a vacant lot. 2 units and 1 commercial space at 119 E 43rd St (43rd and Indiana). Same company again - Legenda C-3 LLC. I wonder how many more they're going to do. Would be great to see a bunch of vacant lots in this area get filled in.

I believe this is an extension of Legends South (http://www.legendssouth.com)

[the urban politician]

^. Better than nothing I guess, but I would prefer more density near a transit stop

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^. Better than nothing I guess, but I would prefer more density near a transit stop

Are you talking about the Bronzeville stuff or Uptown?

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Nice. That looks more like it. Great work..

Yes, this makes more sense than the previous map. It also does show a significant amount of development along train lines.

[Jibba]

[Mr Downtown]

^But I don't see that there's any pattern, that there's more development near train stations than in other residential areas.

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

can you increase the estimated cost to $50,000+? $5,000+ seems too low.

Only 15 percent of the dots represent projects under $50,000.

It's pretty easy to query the city's building permit data at https://data.cityofchicago.org/brows...utf8=%E2%9C%93
You can even visualize it right there as different types of charts, graphs, or supposedly, maps. But I was unsuccessful in getting that to produce individual dots rather than aggregate totals, so I finally moved the data to ArcView. You could also, of course, do a fusion table in Google Maps, or drop the spreadsheet on ArcGIS Online.

[Justin_Chicago]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^But I don't see that there's any pattern, that there's more development near train stations than in other residential areas.

Uptown is interesting because you have a closed down school across the street from a future (southern) entrance to the Wilson Avenue red line stop. In addition, the whole eastern portion of Broadway Avenue from Montrose to Lawrence is prime for redevelopment. All of the properties are either tear downs or drive-in fast food joints.

In regards to Bronzeville, I hope the new Cermak green line station pushes development south. The neighborhood has many attractive assets, such as 31st Street Beach, close proximity to the CBD, and a growing list of dining options in Bridgeport, Hyde Park, Pilsen and the South Loop. As offices expand to the West Loop, living near a green line station provides easier access to job growth than the red or blue line.

[Kenmore]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

Uptown is interesting because you have a closed down school across the street from a future (southern) entrance to the Wilson Avenue red line stop. In addition, the whole eastern portion of Broadway Avenue from Montrose to Lawrence is prime for redevelopment. All of the properties are either tear downs or drive-in fast food joints.

Minus the whole demand part. It sure seems like a lot of the proposed residential developments in Uptown have lost steam. That and the prevailing NIMBY attitude in the neighborhood gives me little confidence in future upzoning and density around the new Wilson.

[the urban politician]

^. I really think that the CTA should have a policy of refusing to upgrade a rail station without substantial upzoning around it.

[Justin_Chicago]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

Minus the whole demand part. It sure seems like a lot of the proposed residential developments in Uptown have lost steam. That and the prevailing NIMBY attitude in the neighborhood gives me little confidence in future upzoning and density around the new Wilson.

That is due to the heavy presence of affordable housing tenants and old Helen Shiller supporters attending the development meetings. This vocal minority cry foul on every new market rate development. I love Cappleman, but he gives in too much to these instigators. The density levels of Halsted Flats and Maryville were cut in half from the original proposals. I do see changes in Uptown over the last 10 years. The crowd visiting the Target at Montrose and Broadway is a perfect example. Unfortunately, the Maryville development was one of the last prime lots on the northside with zoning for a 40+ story high rise. What a waste of space. I am not sure if anyone here remembers, but the original Sedgwick proposal in 2011 had two 40+ story high rises on a large base. The new ~20 story proposal will hardly make a dent in the skyline. I regress. This topic drives me crazy.

[Kenmore]

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

That is due to the heavy presence of affordable housing tenants and old Helen Shiller supporters attending the development meetings. This vocal minority cry foul on every new market rate development. I love Cappleman, but he gives in too much to these instigators. The density levels of Halsted Flats and Maryville were cut in half from the original proposals. I do see changes in Uptown over the last 10 years. The crowd visiting the Target at Montrose and Broadway is a perfect example. Unfortunately, the Maryville development was one of the last prime lots on the northside with zoning for a 40+ story high rise. What a waste of space. I am not sure if anyone here remembers, but the original Sedgwick proposal in 2011 had two 40+ story high rises on a large base. The new ~20 story proposal will hardly make a dent in the skyline. I regress. This topic drives me crazy.

Skyscrapers aside, I think even asking for 6-10 story midrises in place of all the strip malls and fast food joints is asking too much. The demand just isn't there. And you're too kind of Cappleman, the dude has gone out of his way to prop up a friggin Sonic (within spitting distance of transit) as his major development accomplishment. And I don't think it's just Shiller holdovers, the disgruntled pre-crash condo owners are just as bad on the anti-density NIMBY front.

[the urban politician]

The Aldermanic system is failing Chicago. Since they won't give up their fiefdom, the only other way to wrest control is to have a very powerful entity use some sort of leverage to FORCE neighborhoods to accept density. I'm thinking the transit agencies can achieve this by refusing to upgrade stations without substantial upzoning around them. Hell, threaten to stop serving a station while you're at it. Even better, team up with the CDOT and some other departments and 1) offer free street cleaning and maintenance for neighborhoods that approve proposed upzoning but implement a new fee for neighborhoods that don't, and 2) charge higher water bills (or leave it the same) with similar conditions.

If the CTA thing is too harsh, how about this: offer to keep fares the same for L stops whose surrounding neighorhood approves a substantial upzoning, otherwise the fare for that stop doubles. At any time if the neighborhood approves upzoning, the fare drops back down to the original rate.

I can think of so many dirty ways we can force NIMBY scum & their Alderpuppets to start acting like responsible adults so that the city can once again get back to the business of densifying appropriately.

[Justin_Chicago]

Originally Posted by Kenmore

Skyscrapers aside, I think even asking for 6-10 story midrises in place of all the strip malls and fast food joints is asking too much. The demand just isn't there. And you're too kind of Cappleman, the dude has gone out of his way to prop up a friggin Sonic (within spitting distance of transit) as his major development accomplishment. And I don't think it's just Shiller holdovers, the disgruntled pre-crash condo owners are just as bad on the anti-density NIMBY front.

My problem with the northside is that I love the diversity (Argyle, Devon, Koreatown, etc.), but the high rise building stock is too old for my taste. Many do not have central air and require significant investment to upgrade the interior units. Maybe I am too lazy, but I enjoy the fact that I can buy a new construction condo in the South Loop or West Loop and not worry about updating the interior. I thought the Maryville site was a perfect location for a new high rise. Easy access to express buses downtown, close proximity to the Wilson red line station, a massive park across the street, and great schools within walking distance (Disney Magnet). In the Maryville case, I agree that disgruntled pre-crash condo owners were heavily involved in the earlier meetings. Even if the increased supply would lower their condo values, which is a bad argument, I would not even consider buying into any of the surrounding building stock. Do not even get me started with the "shadow" argument ruining the park. I am in the market for a new construction building. Now after lingering in the area for over 10 years, I am looking to head South or West.

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by kemachs

Assuming this was a casualty of the recession? Don't tell me this was a community/Alderman opposition situation...

It was a victim of the recession. If anything, at least the old run down gas/service station at the corner was torn down and we at least get something to use - Walgreens - although I would have MUCH rather have the service station for another 5 years if we could have gotten the 12 story building back.

I'm also torn, as I really love the older building on that spot. Why can't they take down the 1-story row of buildings on the southeast corner instead!!

Also on the Sheridan CTA curve work - it wouldn't shave anywhere near 5 minutes off. At most maybe 20 seconds. The issue is there's a station right there, and trains are either slowing into the curve/station or speeding up away from the station and directly into the curve. Honestly I don't really see how the straightening here is going to result in much, as the trains are already going at a very very slow speed just entering or leaving the station. I don't know why they want to go decimate all that great older architecture to speed things up a few seconds. Between the cemetery, Thorek Hospital's destruction the whole way down Irving and onto Sheridan and the straightening - that strech from Broadway all the way to Clark will basically be void of any life. It's very sad.

If they could build this new proposal on the southeast corner of Dakin, the 12 story building had been built at Irving and Sheridan a few years ago and Thorek hadn't ripped down the entire northeast corner of Irving and Sheridan you would have had a GREAT little urban pocket right there along Sheridan.

[Justin_Chicago]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

Also on the Sheridan CTA curve work - it wouldn't shave anywhere near 5 minutes off. At most maybe 20 seconds. The issue is there's a station right there, and trains are either slowing into the curve/station or speeding up away from the station and directly into the curve. Honestly I don't really see how the straightening here is going to result in much, as the trains are already going at a very very slow speed just entering or leaving the station. I don't know why they want to go decimate all that great older architecture to speed things up a few seconds. Between the cemetery, Thorek Hospital's destruction the whole way down Irving and onto Sheridan and the straightening - that strech from Broadway all the way to Clark will basically be void of any life. It's very sad.

The Sheridan red line stop currently limits the length of the train. They cannot add 2 more cars due to the curvature of the track. The project is about expansion and speed.

[thewaterman11]

Rahm has given his approval of the proposed skate park on the southwest portion of Grant Park in the form of another $1.5 million in TIF requests. May the oligarchy continue to prosper.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140...from-advocates

The city plans to ask for an additional $1.5 million in Tax Increment Financing to round out the funding for a dazzling new skate park planned for Grant Park.

Shannon Breymaier, a spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said Wednesday that officials would ask the City Council to approve the money at a meeting in March. One million dollars in TIF funds are already committed to the project.

Emanuel "look[s] forward to the completion of the project," Breymaier said, adding that the mayor supported the idea of turning the 3-acre space in the southwest corner of Grant Park into a wheel-friendly plaza, further "ensuring that every Chicago child is within a 10-minute walk to a park or playground."

Also turns out that this is the last year for the skate park project to use TIF funds if the project is to start this year.

If the funding is approved, the entire project will go to bid immediately, said Bob O'Neill, president of the Grant Park Conservancy, which has been lobbying on behalf of the project since 2006, when it was introduced in conjunction with Maggie Daley Park renovations.

The clock has been ticking for eight years on the skate park, and O'Neill said time's almost up. To qualify for TIF money this year, projects need to be completed by the end of 2014.