CHICAGO | General Developments

[SolarWind]

June 2, 2008

[honte]

^ Thanks SW... I obviously had a loss of memory last night about what this looks like, just remembering the entrance portion. Bad example for me to use in my earlier post...

[BVictor1]

.

[Chicagoguy]

Originally Posted by SolarWind

June 2, 2008

Does anyone know when Barneys is planning on moving into here? Also is their any talk of what is planned to go into the old Barneys building across the street?

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,3873988.story

DePaul grows in South Loop
Lytton Building expands school's largest campus

By Robert Manor
June 9, 2008

...Acquisition of the 384,000-square-foot Lytton Building at State Street and Jackson Boulevard makes DePaul the largest college landowner in the South Loop, according to the school.

...DePaul said it will retrofit its new building at 14 E. Jackson Blvd. for graduate programs offered by the university's College of Communications. DePaul's School for New Learning is expected to relocate there as well.

DePaul said it will invest $7 million to improve the ornate terra cotta exterior and upgrade interior spaces.

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,6443523.story

U. of C. OKs hospital pavilion plan
Flexible design uses modular cubes that can be reconfigured

By Bruce Japsen
June 9, 2008

The University of Chicago Medical Center, preparing to embark on a $700 million expansion, has settled on a final design for a new hospital pavilion that will use a modular design executives say allows for flexibility should future renovations be needed.

The 10-story, 1.2 million-square-foot hospital pavilion will span a two-block area on East 57th Street, just north of the Comer Children's Hospital and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the city's South Side.

[VivaLFuego]

^ Will that be replacing the parking deck on the SW corner of 57th and Cottage Grove?

[honte]

^ It seems so boring... almost oppressive - uninviting and more sterile than any Mies building could possibly be.

I hope it's just the renderings, but even so, it doesn't look like much potential is there. You'd think for a $700M building they could do something spectacular. Vinoly is highly overrated.

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,3873988.story

DePaul grows in South Loop
Lytton Building expands school's largest campus

By Robert Manor
June 9, 2008

...Acquisition of the 384,000-square-foot Lytton Building at State Street and Jackson Boulevard makes DePaul the largest college landowner in the South Loop, according to the school.

...DePaul said it will retrofit its new building at 14 E. Jackson Blvd. for graduate programs offered by the university's College of Communications. DePaul's School for New Learning is expected to relocate there as well.

DePaul said it will invest $7 million to improve the ornate terra cotta exterior and upgrade interior spaces.

This building was retrofit 8 years ago for high-tech businesses (lots and lots of tech infrastructure) using Central Area TIF funds. Well-spent...

[the urban politician]

^ I can't tell if that was sarcasm

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

^ Will that be replacing the parking deck on the SW corner of 57th and Cottage Grove?

[VivaLFuego]

Thanks. It's striking how the old neighborhood (mostly dense rooming houses, courtyard buildings, some 6-flats and a few rowhouses) is basically completely gone and replaced with hospital facilities. Much different than the area I came up in... all of my childhood friends' houses/apartments are long gone. A continuation of the depopulation of Hyde Park that hasn't been compensated with new development in other parts of the neighborhood.

[Abner]

Originally Posted by honte

^ It seems so boring... almost oppressive - uninviting and more sterile than any Mies building could possibly be.

I hope it's just the renderings, but even so, it doesn't look like much potential is there. You'd think for a $700M building they could do something spectacular. Vinoly is highly overrated.

Have you been to the new GSB building on 58th? It has a superficial appeal but I don't like it at all, and I think it's a terrible use of space--a way-too-big atrium and a layout that really didn't allow much square footage in the building. I can't imagine he's responsible for it being too small (there's not enough space there for the GSB's current needs, let alone future expansion), but I do think he can be blamed for the sterile feel, confusing layout, and buggy environmental features. Those grand window wells collected a whole lot of dead birds.

[Abner]

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

Thanks. It's striking how the old neighborhood (mostly dense rooming houses, courtyard buildings, some 6-flats and a few rowhouses) is basically completely gone and replaced with hospital facilities. Much different than the area I came up in... all of my childhood friends' houses/apartments are long gone. A continuation of the depopulation of Hyde Park that hasn't been compensated with new development in other parts of the neighborhood.

At least in that part of the neighborhood it's been replaced with something, and something of value to boot. Which is more than you can say for much of Hyde Park, and certain other medical districts.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by spyguy

"The University of Chicago Medical Center, preparing to embark on a $700 million expansion, has settled on a final design for a new hospital pavilion that will use a modular design executives say allows for flexibility should future renovations be needed..."

...in case they ever decide to settle on a real design?

[honte]

Originally Posted by Abner

Have you been to the new GSB building on 58th? It has a superficial appeal but I don't like it at all, and I think it's a terrible use of space--a way-too-big atrium and a layout that really didn't allow much square footage in the building. I can't imagine he's responsible for it being too small (there's not enough space there for the GSB's current needs, let alone future expansion), but I do think he can be blamed for the sterile feel, confusing layout, and buggy environmental features. Those grand window wells collected a whole lot of dead birds.

Oh sure, I've been there and I see it all the time. I think it's a really unworthy neighbor for its lofty environs and nowhere near as good as the Saarinen complex it replaced. It has the feeling of a 1950s Holabird and Root State facility - actually, kind of like their big building over there on the Midway.

I thought it was especially ironic that they hired him for this hospital commission, since the GSB looks basically like a hospital itself.

By the way, anyone know the timetable for the construction of the arts center? Has the fundraising for that been completed?

[Abner]

Originally Posted by honte

I think it's a really unworthy neighbor for its lofty environs

Yeah, it seems to be doing a bad impression of Robie and the Seminary rather than "referencing" them. I'm surprised they're bringing him back. Of course this new hospital will mostly have as its environs... more hospital. I wonder if there are really good examples of new hospitals that have the large amount of space and flexibility they're looking for here.

[SamInTheLoop]

Something else I noticed on the preliminary Plan Commission agenda this month - JDL is apparently changing their plan from the high-rise (the design of which, like all JDL projects I found to be horrible) to a few single family homes.....

[Alliance]

I don't think that hospital building could scream "HOSPITAL!" any louder...how drab.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Something else I noticed on the preliminary Plan Commission agenda this month - JDL is apparently changing their plan from the high-rise (the design of which, like all JDL projects I found to be horrible) to a few single family homes.....

Yep this has been a long time coming. The Wirtz family sued to high heaven because of the alleged damage to the foundations any highrise construction on this site would have caused. This is a very old project (relatively), probably dating back to the turn of the century (I mean 2000). JDL finally gave up and gave in. Pity, really, since I'm sure -something- could have been worked out from an engineering standpoint and the site is just begging for something of the general form JDL was proposing (albeit perhaps something more attractive).