CHICAGO | General Developments - Page 1135

wierdaaron · #**22681** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 4:30 AM**

Re-election? I thought Mayor of Chicago was like a Supreme Court seat. You resign or you die.

Jokes aside, it could just be part of building national awareness of the city. Or Rahm could be trying to raise his own profile to lay groundwork for a far future presidential run. It's hard to picture him in the oval, but remember he quit his job as Obama's kingmaker and chief of staff to take this job. I always wondered if that brush with presidency made him want it, and he saw Daley stepping down as a way to it.

denizen467 · #**22682** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 5:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

haha... I'm assuming the "leased building" is actually the Wrigley Innovation Center. That tells me the much-vaunted Innovation Center, up until now, has been a whole lot of empty square footage.

It's not just a Wrigley innovation center, it is the HQ of Wrigley. Remember Mars acquired them recently. The last time I drove by there, a year or so ago, the signage suggested the building was Wrigley's, so I assumed this article was referring to a nearby building. It is possible with changes after the Mars merger that a sizeable block of space has become available; this building could be very suited to a manufacturing r&d center.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

I wonder if this will push the city to invest in infrastructure on Goose Island. The streets are atrocious, they can't even rebuild that damn rail crossing on Division which is currently a pothole the size of a bus. There's also the bridges on Division, which are awesome and industrial but hopelessly outdated.

The only significantly objectionable streets there are Division (from bridge to bridge) and the Halsted viaduct at Chicago. Halsted Street itself was redone very recently when the new bridge was built, and North Branch Street (the only other route for traversing the island) is excellent. I wonder about Division too, but I always assumed CDOT was waiting until the bridge replacement project.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

after hundreds of millions in public investment, the island is today home to warehouse operations employing literally dozens of workers.

FedEx has their main downtown distribution center there; there is a huge institutional restaurant warehouse (Jetro); Mercedes of Chicago has a giant service facility there, and Perillo or some other luxury dealer has some kind of a facility there; Calumet Photographic has a big store there; etcetera, etcetera. Maybe it failed to hit quadruple digits, but calling it dozens sounds a little too sarcastic even for you.

By the way, is that Greyhound facility being fully utilized? Have there been any redevelopment plans for it? I feel like it was in the news once before the crash. It looks like a crumbling waste of real estate.

ardecila · #**22683** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 5:44 AM**

The city should rebuild the grade crossing at Division immediately, new bridge or not, before any more cars break their axles. It's been a problem for years and I don't know why it wasn't handled through the Arterial Resurfacing program long ago.

denizen467 · #**22684** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 6:02 AM**

^ Honestly I think something is really wrong over at CDOT. Just really weird omissions and decisions. Larrabee was resurfaced north of Chicago Ave last fall and it was full of bumps and dips from day one. Grand Ave between Wells and Orleans has been waiting for post-resurface striping for a half year, with near head-on driver confrontations all the time. And massive bridge-is-out portable electric signs were left in position in various places for months after the Wells bridge was reopened. Did they fire everyone who knew anything about maintaining roads?

the urban politician · #**22685** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 3:57 PM**

The Chinatown hotel seems to be stuck on the second floor with no activity for a while. Are they just waiting out the winter?

spyguy · #**22686** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 9:04 PM**

Seems like there's some life to the Lake + Forest development - let's see if it finally happens.

Meanwhile, the Oak Park is seeking out proposals for the site at Harlem and South Blvd.

http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles...South-project/

Four developers vie for Harlem and South project
Monday, January 27th, 2014

The village of Oak Park is considering five proposals from four developers for the village-owned property at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and South Boulevard.

All five proposals for the mixed-use development would include ground-floor retail space. The developers and development teams submitting proposals are: Urban R2; Lincoln Properties and LPC Contractors; Argent Group, Harlem Irving Group, Urban Innovations and Strategic Development Partners; and North American Properties and Urban Street.

Busy Bee · #**22687** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 10:04 PM**

Every time I see a Jahn design I always wonder why he doesn't recieve more commissions locally. Does he or his office have a reputation for being difficult to work with or something?

ardecila · #**22688** Posted **Feb 23, 2014, 11:48 PM**

Jahn is personally quite imposing but I haven't heard the same about his staff. He is not terribly budget-conscious, though, so developers concerned with their bottom line may hesitate to approach him. Most of his local projects are in the public/institutional sectors, because those clients aren't spending their own money. (Those new canopies at O'Hare cost over $300M)

His most famous local project (Thompson Center) may have something to do with it too... the building was plagued by one prominent issue after another, from inadequate cooling to excessive heat gain to falling panels. The interior space is spatially stunning and unrivaled in the Midwest but the color scheme is unattractive to many people.

ardecila · #**22689** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 12:51 AM**

27-unit, 4-story flatiron building w/retail is planned for the corner of Larrabee and Crosby. Architect is Studio Dwell so the quality should be high. Sadly the food&liquor store on the block will remain.

wierdaaron · #**22690** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 1:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Sadly the food&liquor store on the block will remain.

Ouch. As the area picks up, though, seems like they'd be foolish not to sell. Granted, the previous sentence was basically "yay gentrification!", but that is one of the sketchiest liquor stores I've seen that close to downtown and seems silly being a few steps away from Groupon, Dyson, and Wrigley offices.

Rizzo · #**22691** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 1:49 AM**

I'm kind of glad that it's sticking around because it forces "complicated architecture." I get so tired of the blank slate approach to development where they need whole blocks or perfect rectangles to make the development work out right. Hopefully someday that liquor store will adapt to a changing neighborhood and improve its image.

Notyrview · #**22692** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

27-unit, 4-story flatiron building w/retail is planned for the corner of Larrabee and Crosby. Architect is Studio Dwell so the quality should be high. Sadly the food&liquor store on the block will remain.

oh god get over yourself

wierdaaron · #**22693** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 2:00 AM**

Maybe they could get a loan based on the increased land value to finance a renovation of the store to cater to the building and neighborhood. There's a residential building on Grand and Wells I think that has a little tiny convenience store on the ground floor seemingly intended to be an amenity for residents, but at its specific location it's the only place that offers convenience store stuff (drinks, snacks, deli sandwiches, lotto) in that area so they get tons of business. That approach could have the same luck on Larabee.

Rizzo · #**22694** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 2:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Maybe they could get a loan based on the increased land value to finance a renovation of the store to cater to the building and neighborhood. There's a residential building on Grand and Wells I think that has a little tiny convenience store on the ground floor seemingly intended to be an amenity for residents, but at its specific location it's the only place that offers convenience store stuff (drinks, snacks, deli sandwiches, lotto) in that area so they get tons of business. That approach could have the same luck on Larabee.

That's what I'm thinking. The store serves its purpose well and will be around in the neighborhood, poor or wealthy. But it might help if the vinyl siding with the jail door on the front are removed as the neighborhood gets safer and less susceptible to vandalism. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a fine brick commercial building under all that cheap cladding. If improving the store's image will help the business and the neighborhood I'm all for it. We need these small buildings in an area full of coarse grain development. I also love that stone commercial building on Division because it disrupts the rigidity and uniformity of those new townhomes

Ch.G, Ch.G · #**22695** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 4:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notyrview

oh god get over yourself

Is anyone else perplexed by this comment?

Rizzo · #**22696** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 4:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Is anyone else perplexed by this comment?

Yeah we all saw it, now move on to development discussion....

the urban politician · #**22697** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 5:07 AM**

Looks like flatiron buildings are in vogue again. A good thing, as I've always been a big fan of them

marothisu · #**22698** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 6:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

27-unit, 4-story flatiron building w/retail is planned for the corner of Larrabee and Crosby. Architect is Studio Dwell so the quality should be high. Sadly the food&liquor store on the block will remain.

Cool, on a vacant lot too. Any renderings?

ardecila · #**22699** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 6:56 AM**

I don't have a problem with neighborhood corner stores.

The loitering isn't great, though.

DCCliff · #**22700** Posted **Feb 24, 2014, 9:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Jahn is personally quite imposing but I haven't heard the same about his staff. He is not terribly budget-conscious, though, so developers concerned with their bottom line may hesitate to approach him. Most of his local projects are in the public/institutional sectors, because those clients aren't spending their own money. (Those new canopies at O'Hare cost over $300M)

His most famous local project (Thompson Center) may have something to do with it too... the building was plagued by one prominent issue after another, from inadequate cooling to excessive heat gain to falling panels. The interior space is spatially stunning and unrivaled in the Midwest but the color scheme is unattractive to many people.

He also spec'd much better, but more expensive detailing throughout Thompson (rotunda & stair panels and rails, etc., which the state ve'd out - - and it shows. A lot of the detailing is crappy, but some $ were saved. Supports your comment precisely.