CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5 - Page 215

VivaLFuego · #**4281** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:01 PM**

Wow, I'd never seen those renderings of New City. Very excited about its potential. Only 2 concerns are the copious amount of parking and that little central plaza, which could be creepy and depressing if not filled with vibrant retail (since it's off the street grid and sort of lifestyle-centery). Regardless, it should do wonders for the urbanity of that area. With this, the ~800-1000 new residents at SoNo, and the eventual re-development on the Green Homes site, the North/Clybourn/Halsted triangle should have a pretty impressive 24-hour critical mass.

Untitled · #**4282** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:17 PM**

In the section with the images (which I peruse regularly), one is labeled:

Grant Park Tower 4 - on the far left

Should be right instead of left.

pip · #**4283** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:42 PM**

amazing how big Cabrini Green was assuming all that vacant green space is the former Cabrini Green. That parking looks like a garage and not a surface level lot. VivaLFuego, I think Chicago needs more little places to hang out, little nooks here and there. I like this development.

SamInTheLoop · #**4284** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

The "little" white crane was just to get the foundation in and assemble the climbing form & climbing crane - it will be removed once the climbing crane is finished. - this is the same type as being used on 1 WTC The second set of braces can be seen in Steely's photo above.
Movie http://www.dcmerectors.com/tower-crane_video.htm

Thanks Harry. This is very interesting. I certainly can't remember another example in recent Chicago history of an initial tower crane being erected just to start off a project, erect the "real" tower crane and then being taken down. Can anyone else? Why couldn't they have just used a mobile crane like all other project do (or 99+% of them anyway...)

SamInTheLoop · #**4285** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChitownBill

speaking of AMLI 900, the parking structure is going up and I have never seen one built like this. It is essentially being put together like a giant erector set with precast concrete slabs being put in place by crane and fastened by workers..amazing stuff!

Sounds similar to the garage for the Left Bank apartment tower...

SamInTheLoop · #**4286** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

Wow, I'd never seen those renderings of New City. Very excited about its potential. Only 2 concerns are the copious amount of parking and that little central plaza, which could be creepy and depressing if not filled with vibrant retail (since it's off the street grid and sort of lifestyle-centery). Regardless, it should do wonders for the urbanity of that area. With this, the ~800-1000 new residents at SoNo, and the eventual re-development on the Green Homes site, the North/Clybourn/Halsted triangle should have a pretty impressive 24-hour critical mass.

Agreed! The one close-up of the retail facade has me thinking this actually won't look half-bad (I have such low expectations of retail architecture in general). I would have liked to have seen more density here than 500 units, but it should still be a huge improvement for the neighborhood as far as density and vibrancy...

SamInTheLoop · #**4287** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:57 PM**

Looks like another lame agenda this month at the Plan Commission. I believe only one downtown high-rise, and that is just an amendment for the Hotel Palomar project. I know some may not believe it, but I really think the net result of our two new downtown alderrmen will be a noticeable slowdown in projects making it through the approval process. Their misguided efforts to build community consensus (as if this were even a remotely acheivable phenomenon) on every project that comes before them will, in the aggregate, slow down high-rises projects on their way to Plan Commission.

The other thing that also always strikes me as odd, is here we are in the rapidly redeveloping 3rd largest city in the nation, and our city's Plan Commission spends a lot of its precious time on dinky little projects - 6 units here, 15,000 square feet there, etc. Perhaps they should go before some other body?...

i_am_hydrogen · #**4288** Posted **Nov 13, 2007, 11:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

Wow, I'd never seen those renderings of New City. Very excited about its potential. Only 2 concerns are the copious amount of parking and that little central plaza, which could be creepy and depressing if not filled with vibrant retail (since it's off the street grid and sort of lifestyle-centery). Regardless, it should do wonders for the urbanity of that area. With this, the ~800-1000 new residents at SoNo, and the eventual re-development on the Green Homes site, the North/Clybourn/Halsted triangle should have a pretty impressive 24-hour critical mass.

Exactly. There's some interesting transformation afoot in that area:

1) SoNo
2) NewCity
3) British School building with an REI store
4) Redevelopment of the North and Clybourn station
5) Apple Store on the site occupied by the BP gas station

As for the amount of parking, I remember reading that the CTA requested a 25% reduction of the project's parking spaces. I'm not sure where that stands.

Tom Servo · #**4289** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 12:20 AM**

is it just me, or is this area even more anti-urban than the roosevelt/canal area?

*EDIT* apple store?? YES! so we'll have 3 in a short while (b37, michigan, here)? that's some pretty sweet news as i hate going anywhere near michigan ave. (or as i like to call it, the gauntlet)

Steely Dan · #**4290** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 12:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

is it just me, or is this area even more anti-urban than the roosevelt/canal area?

it's just you. neither is great from an urban perspective, but at least north/clybourn has a subway stop at the heart of it.

10023 · #**4291** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 12:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Oooh, Chicago is getting an aklgl and a B. Ents, you lucky dogs.

Are there any more developments in the works to gentrify that bombed out area where they tore down all the project highrises? Would be cool if in 5-10 years they've redeveloped everything between New City and the old Montgomery Ward building. It's one of the few areas that close to downtown where there really isn't anything worth saving from large scale development.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip

amazing how big Cabrini Green was assuming all that vacant green space is the former Cabrini Green. That parking looks like a garage and not a surface level lot. VivaLFuego, I think Chicago needs more little places to hang out, little nooks here and there. I like this development.

Also, if you look at the first rendering, that little central plaza lines up with a street that formerly hit a dead end at Halsted. I forget the name of the street but recall it had some bars along it, and with people moving to the area it'll probably turn that plaza into just one end of a stretch of retail and restaurants eventually.

What they need to do now is build over some of those surface lots along North Avenue and develop that little triangle between North, Halsted and Clybourn with the subway station on it. Although I doubt that gas station is going anywhere. Actually, they should take the opportunity to straighten out that S-curve in the Brown Line a little bit (by running it diagonally over what is now a parking lot). It'll take away land for development but the incremental benefit to North Side transit would probably be worth it if you could get rid of that slow zone. Then stick a Brown Line stop right there, close enough that it's connected underground to the Red Line, and make that intersection a real transit nexus. Isn't the Circle Line supposed to go through this intersection as well?

i_am_hydrogen · #**4292** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 12:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023

Oooh, Chicago is getting an aklgl and a B. Ents, you lucky dogs.

Are there any more developments in the works to gentrify that bombed out area where they tore down all the project highrises? Would be cool if in 5-10 years they've redeveloped everything between New City and the old Montgomery Ward building. It's one of the few areas that close to downtown where there really isn't anything worth saving from large scale development.

That is being filled in with mixed-income residential as part of the CHA's "Plan for Transformation." In the aerial rendering of NewCity, you can see some of the new housing that has been constructed south of the NewCity site along Halsted.

You can view a video here (click the one for Cabrini Green): http://www.thecha.org/housingdev/housing_map.html

Ecker · #**4293** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 12:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10023

Although I doubt that gas station is going anywhere.

The gas station is being replaced by an Apple store.

harryc · #**4294** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 1:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Thanks Harry. This is very interesting. I certainly can't remember another example in recent Chicago history of an initial tower crane being erected just to start off a project, erect the "real" tower crane and then being taken down. Can anyone else? Why couldn't they have just used a mobile crane like all other project do (or 99+% of them anyway...)

1) big site, Dearborn on one side and Clark on another - both have 1 lane down with just the walkways. Carroll on the south is a 2 level road. ( lower level )

Before the white crane

2) complex base with a maze of raker beams and foundations . They already are building roads across raker beams, foundation, and rebar to access stuff that needed the soil retention, which needed the foundation, to brace the rakers against.

These brace against the core and some outlaying foundation.

A set of bars being padded before they are buried under a temp road.

10023 · #**4295** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 1:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ecker

The gas station is being replaced by an Apple store.

Umm, ok then. I've been away from Chicago for a while, it seems.

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

That is being filled in with mixed-income residential as part of the CHA's "Plan for Transformation." In the aerial rendering of NewCity, you can see some of the new housing that has been constructed south of the NewCity site along Halsted.

You can view a video here (click the one for Cabrini Green): http://www.thecha.org/housingdev/housing_map.html

Good. Hopefully they manage to lay out something that restores a real street grid to the area and continues the retail along the main arterial streets. Division should be lined with mid-rise, mixed-use buildings with ground level retail all the way from Wells to the river.

Tom Servo · #**4296** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 1:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

it's just you. neither is great from an urban perspective, but at least north/clybourn has a subway stop at the heart of it.

okay... well the stores in the north/clybourn area do rock pretty hard... i guess i just don't understand how certain areas in chicago can be SO car-centric... whatever...

spyguy · #**4297** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 1:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Looks like another lame agenda this month at the Plan Commission.

Anyone know what's going on with the 161 West Kinzie project? Great design plus lots of retail and it was an apartment tower so construction would have started quickly.

SolarWind · #**4298** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 2:58 AM**

November 13, 2007

harryc · #**4299** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 3:37 AM**

501 N State - Palomar

Tom Servo · #**4300** Posted **Nov 14, 2007, 4:42 AM**

i just saw the dwight building in person for the first time... OMG... awesome... can someone get a picture of it durring the day??