CHICAGO | Lincoln Yards

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

Yep, in rare form I agree with the Alderman on this one.

Sterling Bay has developed a bit of a hubris of late, and I'm glad that they have to contend with the reality of building within a Democracy.

Not that I agree with the NIMBYs's reasons--those buttwads just care about parking and congestion, the worthless ants that they are.

My issue is how Live Nation will cannibalize Chicago's smaller venues, many of which are within historic buildings that cities like Phoenix and Dallas only dreamed that they could ever have. I'd like to see the Congress, and the Uptown Theaters, and other deteriorating classic venues thriving to their capacity, before the city even thinks about putting in a brand new entertainment arena surrounded by acres of concrete.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

My issue is how Live Nation will cannibalize Chicago's smaller venues, many of which are within historic buildings that cities like Phoenix and Dallas only dreamed that they could ever have. I'd like to see the Congress, and the Uptown Theaters, and other deteriorating classic venues thriving to their capacity, before the city even thinks about putting in a brand new entertainment arena surrounded by acres of concrete.

Agree 100%.

[Steely Dan]

yeah, i don't think many people are going to lament Live Nation's cannibalistic monopoly-grab being kicked to the curb.

the soccer stadium is more meh. i would like the fire to get back into city limits eventually and i had a faint hope that maybe they could go to the LY stadium whenever they find a way to wiggle out of their toyota park contract, but if it's not to be, no big loss.

this is chicago; only major leagues need apply.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by chrisvfr800i

"The tallest of them would rise to 650 feet instead of the gasp-inducing 818 feet that the firm and its architects, the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, proposed in July.
The neighbors have every reason to be concerned. A 650-foot tower wouldn’t just loom menacingly over the little shops of the Armitage retail strip. It even would be out of scale with Lincoln Park’s tall buildings, which line the western edge of the park from which the neighborhood takes its name."

This guy is a gasp-inducing menace!!

Kamin gets a bit too much derision on this forum at times, in my opinion, but holy smokes does he deserve every bit of ridicule one can throw for highlighting the importance of some arbitrary adherence that any Lincoln Yards high-rises need be kept at the same height and compliment lakefront high-rises in LP almost 1.5 miles away.

Those two areas have the feeling of completely different neighborhoods in style and function from each other.

.....The whole soccer stadium idea always did seem a bit of an odd plan to me. So much valuable high profile space devoted to a sports stadium for a minor league sport that is 5th most popular in the country. I hope they can find some quasi-public institution or landmark to attract people to that parcel but a soccer stadium just seemed an awkward attempt to do it.

[BonoboZill4]

This is a major step in the right direction for the development, but I'm still a no on the project. If I had to choose between this one and the 78, I choose the 78 100 times out of 100 times I'm asked.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by BonoboZill4

This is a major step in the right direction for the development, but I'm still a no on the project. If I had to choose between this one and the 78, I choose the 78 100 times out of 100 times I'm asked.

Why are you against he project? What do you think should be on this prime real estate?

[r18tdi]

On one hand, yes, fuck Live Nation.
On the other, SB paid the city $100M+ for the 2FM site and are now being told by a city official to build a park there. How does work?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, i don't think many people are going to lament Live Nation's cannibalistic monopoly-grab being kicked to the curb.

the soccer stadium is more meh. i would like the fire to get back into city limits eventually and i had a faint hope that maybe they could go to the LY stadium whenever they find a way to wiggle out of their toyota park contract, but if it's not to be, no big loss.

this is chicago; only major leagues need apply.

I want the Fire back in the city as well, but this ain't the place to do it and the Fire's long-term contract with Bridgeview makes all this discussion very premature. In 10-15 years when the Fire are approaching the end of their contract, they should absolutely look at city sites... I'd love to see it off the Orange Line somewhere, there are vast brownfields around the Halsted and Ashland stops where an MLS stadium would fit nicely while still preserving access to their SW Side Latino fanbase. Ashland maybe better because it has a ramp to I-55 already.

Originally Posted by r18tdi

On one hand, yes, fuck Live Nation.
On the other, SB paid the city $100M+ for the 2FM site and are now being told by a city official to build a park there. How does work?

You know how FAR works, right? Just because a portion of the site is parkland doesn't necessarily mean the developer needs to lose overall square footage.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by ardecila

You know how FAR works, right? Just because a portion of the site is parkland doesn't necessarily mean the developer needs to lose overall square footage.

True, although I thought SB was filing two separate PDs for LY north and south? Could they shuffle FAR from one to the other?

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

True, although I thought SB was filing two separate PDs for LY north and south? Could they shuffle FAR from one to the other?

No they can't.
But the stadium is not the only thing in LYsouth.
Open air stadiums consume negligible FAR.
Since the PD documents are essentially blank, it's floor area could be built elsewhere or even in the same location with a smaller footprint without even altering the application.

[ardecila]

There's lots of ways to skin the cat and mix profitable development with open space. Maybe you could stack 2-3 artificial-turf soccer fields on top of a retail power center ala Southgate Market, with parking on a sunken ground floor. Pile dirt up along the north and east sides so it looks like a big landform from the river.

I did something similar for my architectural thesis back in school.

Maybe they could even offer the new retail space to Home Depot to unlock that prime parcel as well.

[SamInTheLoop]

Kamin’s latest, just posted to Trib this pm, is more-or-less on the money:

There is no way this should be heard at this month’s Plan Commission given that the plan is now in complete flux. At least try to maintain some appearance of a legitimate planning approval process in this town, pols.

I’m glad the stadium and corporate entertainment district were nixed. They were stupid ideas and never should have left the drawing room...

Now it should truly be back to the drawing room to get it right....

Hey - great planning idea, guys! Why don’t we draw up lots of office at LY!?!

[emathias]

I think they should propose the world's largest (first?) Multilevel marijuana grow center. Full-block footprints, 15+ stories, 100% aquaculture.

Perfect.

[Via Chicago]

Latest Lincoln Yards twist only ratchets up music club owners' anxiety

“People are saying they killed the entertainment district, but all that it (Hopkins’ statement) means is the venues won’t be in one mega-mall building and owned by Live Nation,” said Robert Gomez, a club owner (Subterranean, Beat Kitchen) who is co-chair of the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL). “Nothing really changes.”

“There has still been no disclosure about what kind of venues are being proposed,” he added. “We were told privately that it would be multiple venues with up to 10,000 capacity collectively. Even if Live Nation can’t own the venues, they can still lease them or control them. Or what about AEG or any other large player (national concert promoter) coming in and taking control? You still have all these power brokers for music that we would all have to dance around that could come in there and take over.”

CIVL, a consortium of independent music clubs, came together in part to give the city’s music community a voice in the Lincoln Yards project, which most directly threatens the future of the nearby Hideout, but is also seen as a potential disruption of the local music scene. “If all these new venues come in, some other venues will have to go,” said Double Door owner Sean Mulroney.

Club owners were taken aback that the city was prepared to help bankroll corporate-owned competitors through tax increment financing (TIF). In interviews with a dozen club owners and members of the music community across Chicago, all felt blind-sided by the project, which came into view less than a year ago.

“The communication (between developer Sterling Bay and the community) in general has been minimal,” Gomez said. “The feeling is that the intent all along was to fly this under the radar until it was a done deal.”

Adding to the sense of anxiety is that the Chicago Plan Commission is scheduled to consider a revised Lincoln Yards plan, presumably tailored to address Hopkins’ objections, at its Jan. 24 meeting.

“It’s been close to a year now, and we still haven’t seen a detailed plan for how they (Sterling Bay) are going to do this,” said club owner Bruce Finkelman, who owns multiple venues including the Empty Bottle and Thalia Hall. “Why would you consider pushing something like this through when the people who are going to be affected by it haven’t even seen a plan of exactly what this involves?”

[Leveled]

Originally Posted by emathias

I think they should propose the world's largest (first?) Multilevel marijuana grow center. Full-block footprints, 15+ stories, 100% aquaculture.

Perfect.

If i had money ide buy this thing and put one in there.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Leveled

If i had money ide buy this thing and put one in there.

If I had the money I'd buy that thing and make it my house. I don't care, I'll access it by boat...

[Mr Downtown]

^I'm pretty sure Amtrak is gonna sell it off soon. Get the city to landmark it first, and you might be able to get it for $1 by transferring the FAR to whoever buys the adjacent land. Unless Amtrak lawyers succeed with a claim that the Staggers Act trumps local landmark ordinances.

[Leveled]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

If I had the money I'd buy that thing and make it my house. I don't care, I'll access it by boat...

See, plants dont mind electric lighting. But to live in there, you would have to carve up the walls or accept living in twilight.

[LouisVanDerWright]

^^^ with wide open floor plans that's plenty of windows. Those are like 6x12' probably.

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^I'm pretty sure Amtrak is gonna sell it off soon. Get the city to landmark it first, and you might be able to get it for $1 by transferring the FAR to whoever buys the adjacent land. Unless Amtrak lawyers succeed with a claim that the Staggers Act trumps local landmark ordinances.

It's funny because I actually know people who would lease the space inside of this building. They only need access for a few trucks a week.

[ORD2010]

I have honestly always had a fascination with that building, I use to pass it all the time, I always wanted to see it turned into a modern art museum, or some form of exhibition space or offices, like the battersea station in london, have a large bridge connecting to roosevelt for pedestrians