CHICAGO | St. Regis Chicago (Vista) | 1,191 FT | 101 FLOORS

[bnk]

A rather big loss on the restuarant front for St. Regis


https://chicago.eater.com/2021/11/30...an-development

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by bnk

A rather big loss on the restuarant front for St. Regis


https://chicago.eater.com/2021/11/30...an-development

Maybe the condo owners will sue (again)?

[twister244]

Originally Posted by bnk

A rather big loss on the restuarant front for St. Regis


https://chicago.eater.com/2021/11/30...an-development

Damn.... I was really excited about that. Hopefully they can find a good alternative.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by bnk

A rather big loss on the restuarant front for St. Regis


https://chicago.eater.com/2021/11/30...an-development

As stated in the article:

"A memo sent to the building’s investors on Tuesday from Magellan Development Group states that Alinea’s decision was “due to the impacts of COVID on staffing shortages and supply chain issues” and that the group has “determined that now is not the right time for them to take on the project.” Instead, the company will focus attention on its three restaurants and two bars — Alinea, Next Restaurant, Roister, Aviary, and the Office..

...In April 2020, Alinea confirmed the New York outposts of the Aviary and the Office would not reopen inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Kokonas told Eater NY that the closure wasn’t pandemic related."

It's a blow for sure, but Magellan will not let this prime restaurant location sit vacant. They will undoubtedly find another restaurant partner, it's just a matter of how quickly.

[BVictor1]

12/12/21

[iLeunamme]

It’s finally growing on me.

[west-town-brad]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/st-regi...=hp_listc_pos3

"the year's most thrilling skyscraper" according to the WSJ

[UpwithOlives]

Originally Posted by Rooted Arborial

????????????????????????

The author of that article - Michael J Lewis - continues to prove that a person can have an impressive looking education and job and still come across as

a little less than trustworthy.

It makes me wonder if he might have some investment in the building because he uses the word "thrilling" where "peculiar" or "hyped" would seem more

appropriate.

"Thrilling" may not be your choice of words, but it hardly seems a reason to accuse him of being "less than trustworthy" and having ulterior motives.

More likely that he hasn't followed the progress of the building over the last few years in the way many of us have, and comes to it with a fresh set of eyes and may indeed find it thrilling.

It's just one man's opinion. And his resume is impressive.

[BuildThemTaller]

Originally Posted by Rooted Arborial

*****************************

Mr. Lewis is considered an academic, an architectural critic and has a national podium (or two) and has written gushingly about this building before.

His choice of words is not accidental and his judgement on this and some other areas of the arts and architecture has over time

impressed me primarily by his ability to promote things of dubious merit and, in the case of this cobbled together, gerrymandered-looking structure,

he seems more overtly suspect.

Yes, this is all opinion and that is why Mr. Lewis' patina as a determiner of cultural tastes is not trustworthy. Blair Kamin was way better at presenting a

balanced analysis (Not that he was perfect) and that comparison alone leaves Mr. Lewis looking like a manipulative salesman.

Does your nose bleed all the way up there in your ivory tower? It must have amazing views of the clouds making their slow progress.

You don't like the tower. You think that anyone that does is dim or ill-informed. Reposting the same thoughts again and again with more SAT words isn't helping the discourse.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Rooted Arborial

Blair Kamin was way better at presenting a balanced analysis

Blair Kamin had a lot of positive things to say about this tower as well.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...g54-story.html

I wonder who paid him off.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Rooted Arborial

I guess that sort of image is "thrilling" to some people, but not to me.

Exactly!

You get it now.

Different people can have different opinions.

[BruceP]

Originally Posted by iLeunamme

It’s finally growing on me.

Yeah, like the heartbreak of psoriasis. The treatment of those blow-through floors is a major design fail. Ditto for those louvers on the south side of the building. Jeanne Gang is turning out to be a true successor to Helmut Jahn: looks great on paper, but not so much when executed.

[bhawk66]

I feel confident with St. Regis on board this building will be a hot spot in years to come. But as of today, the sales team has their work cut out for them to get more of those upper floors with some lights on.

Btw, if any adventurer is able to snag any interior shots of the progress of the hotel/restaurant spaces that would be a great addition to this thread.

[lakeshoredrive]

Originally Posted by bhawk66

I feel confident with St. Regis on board this building will be a hot spot in years to come. But as of today, the sales team has their work cut out for them to get more of those upper floors with some lights on.

Btw, if any adventurer is able to snag any interior shots of the progress of the hotel/restaurant spaces that would be a great addition to this thread.

I agree! Once the restaurant and bar opens as well as events being held in their event spaces, it will be more lively and a great place to congregate at.

[SIGSEGV]

A few from today:

[harryc]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

A few from today:

great little run-down, looks like a nice walk.

[kolchak]

Hotel lobby -

[bhawk66]

Originally Posted by kolchak

Hotel lobby -

Nice shots, kolchak. Looks like they got a ways to go but with that ceiling height, this lobby should be pretty grand indeed. St. Regis is really gonna class this place up.

[ardecila]

LSE is only quiet because the street patterns route car traffic around the area instead of through it. I can see how that might be unsettling for people who live in the rest of the city surrounded by auto sewers. If you're used to noise all the time, then the lack of it is weird.

However, LSE has plenty of pedestrian activity and it is very lively especially during nice weather. The park is very well-used. There are grocery stores (plural), restaurants, cafes, and services like dry cleaners, nail salon etc. If that isn't enough, it's a short walk into the Loop or Streeterville for more stuff. GEMS School is private and has more than its fair share of kids getting dropped off in G-wagons, but you do see children and families walking around which is far more than you see in River North or Streeterville.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but clearly a lot of people have moved there so it certainly has appeal.

[left of center]

That and the fact that LSE is not on anyone's way to anywhere. The only real "main street" type thoroughfare is Columbus Dr. on the far western end of the parcel. You have LSD on the east, but that's basically a highway of cars zipping by. Wacker and Randolph east of Columbus are more or less on-ramps to LSD. Otherwise I agree with everyone, the few times I have been to LSE on foot, there is a good amount of pedestrian activity (during the summers).

If I have one complaint about the street situation there, its that the circulator street around the park (Benton, Westshore, South Water, Park) is very narrow and makes anyone driving on that street feel like they are on some suburban access drive or frontage road. I wouldn't have minded wider streets. Not that I would want additional traffic lanes, but adding a parking/biking lane to increase the width of those streets would have gone a long way to making the street feel more like a Chicago residential side street. The narrow roads give me Dearborn Park vibes. Otherwise, its an excellent urban development that I have really enjoyed watching rise the last 2 decades. Can't wait for the last 2 parcels (Site I and Site O) to hash out!