CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development - Page 5

Kngkyle · #1 Posted **Nov 6, 2016, 4:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

Chicago Fire has two designated player slots open and the third draft pick, right? The team should improve dramatically this summer with that firepower available. This table shows me that an average team can bring in 20,000+. Maybe bring the MLS team in the city and give Bridgeview the minor league NASL or USL team. One can wish. I am sure ownership or prospective owners are figuring things out as popularity grows.

They just restructured the whole team last year, and the year before, with new (cheapish) designated players and each year have been at the bottom of the charts. Ownership doesn't seem to want to invest in quality play. They do have some good players now but not enough. The new coach and manager are taking things in the right direction though, so I do remain somewhat optimistic. They'll never truly be a 'Chicago' team until they are actually in the city with easy access to public transit. The 62-acre Related-owned site would be a good location for an urban stadium.

ardecila · #2 Posted **Nov 7, 2016, 9:47 PM**

^ Or they could extend the Orange Line 5 miles to the site. There's a utility corridor running through Bedford Park, they could build an at-grade line similar to the Skokie Swift for ~$10M/mile.

All the grade crossings are pretty low-traffic industrial park things. Assuming 3 miles at grade and 2 miles elevated, that's $270M. Not crazy when you consider that the Toyota Park site could be used for remote airport parking or park-and-ride to the city. Hell, a new stadium near downtown would cost that much easily when you factor in all the parking, infrastructure, etc going into it.

Justin_Chicago · #3 Posted **Nov 7, 2016, 10:44 PM**

World Series spending not big boon to local economy, experts say

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/wor...y-experts-say/

Justin_Chicago · #4 Posted **Nov 8, 2016, 1:56 PM**

Number of cranes at work in Chicago hits 8-year high

There truly is an extraordinary number of cranes in the air above downtown Chicago. Currently, 33 are busy constructing high-rise buildings, the largest number since the 2008 recession brought development to a halt.

Besides 33 buildings using cranes now, seven others are awaiting permits to begin this year, according to the city's Department of Buildings. Among them are the Wanda Vista hotel and condo at 363 and 401 E. Wacker Drive, a hotel at 854 W. Randolph St., apartment and retail buildings at 1136 S. Wabash Ave. and 935 W. Altgeld St., and the multiphase Riverline development involving a 28-story apartment building and 452 condos at 720 S. Wells St..

The cranes in the air show "confidence in the city," said Emanuel. He noted that for every crane, 800 to 1,200 people are working on a building.

Among 48 downtown Chicago projects this year, 31 have been residential and there have been six office and six hotel towers.

article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...107-story.html

HowardL · #5 Posted **Nov 10, 2016, 4:20 AM**

Just had a 43 million plus day at CME Group. That means that two entire additional, 24-hour day's worth of trading happened in one Chicago trading day today.

Three days worth of risk management trading in one day. Those are some damn good systems.

Still need to check on the VIX over at CBOE.

HowardL · #6 Posted **Nov 11, 2016, 1:46 AM**

The final count for CME volume was 44.5 million trades on Wednesday and 31 million today.

That means the big exchange did 5 solid days of work in 48 hours.

Pretty good.

HowardL · #7 Posted **Nov 20, 2016, 12:51 AM**

Launching an open-outcry trading floor? How very 21st century

Quote:

Box Options Exchange is building the first new trading floor in Chicago in decades, bucking a trend of shrinking and shuttering pits nationwide.

Over the past 20 years, major exchanges such as Chicago operators CBOE Holdings and CME Group have closed pits in favor of more efficient and transparent electronic systems. “Many people would like to see less floor trading rather than more, and I wouldn't rule myself out,” says Ed Boyle, CEO of parent Box Holdings Group. “But the fact of the matter is, there are some types of trades that are better suited to the floor.”...

Interesting. Had never even heard of these cats.

The adoption of electronic options trading and migration of trading firm order entry from pit to data center has consistently lagged futures trading. Options are not for the faint of heart.

CastleScott · #8 Posted **Nov 20, 2016, 7:38 PM**

Just a quick question for you Chicago guys. Do some of you believe that 150 story project just off Lake Shore Drive near where the Chicago River flows into the lake will ever be built (it was proposed to be about 2000ft tall)? I recall seeing a huge deep hole with some water near the bottom a few yrs ago when I was there visiting friends.

Thanks guys..

Emprise du Lion · #9 Posted **Nov 20, 2016, 9:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CastleScott

Just a quick question for you Chicago guys. Do some of you believe that 150 story project just off Lake Shore Drive near where the Chicago River flows into the lake will ever be built (it was proposed to be about 2000ft tall)? I recall seeing a huge deep hole with some water near the bottom a few yrs ago when I was there visiting friends.

Thanks guys..

That's the former Chicago Spire site. The developer that owns it now is expected to announce what their intentions for the site are the first half of next year.

I highly doubt it'll be a 2000 ft tall building though.

sentinel · #10 Posted **Nov 21, 2016, 4:52 PM**

Oops - It's small consolation that Chicago is not alone in this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/bu...l?ref=business

Justin_Chicago · #11 Posted **Nov 22, 2016, 1:52 PM**

Korean software maker relocates HQ to Chicago

The company, which has about 900 employees worldwide, most of them in Seongnam, South Korea, set up shop in Chicago about a year ago after opening offices in San Francisco and New York.

Chicago was the company's U.S. headquarters. Now it's the business address for the entire company, even though most of its staff and founder remain in South Korea.

TmaxSoft recently moved to 230 W. Monroe St., where it's building out 9,000 square feet, having outgrown a 2,000-square-foot space at 101 N. Wacker Drive. It now has about 20 employees, primarily in sales and marketing.

Yulish says he expects headcount to hit 50 to 100 within two years. Eventually, Tmax Soft will add engineering talent for support and training.

“We're always talking about whether we expand R&D,” Yulish says. “Chicago and Silicon Valley are the two places we'd look. But Chicago is by far the better option. Costs are definitely part of it. There's a lot more loyalty from a workforce perspective. The proximity to customers is also important. There are a lot of Fortune 500 companies here, but you can get to both coasts easily. And O'Hare is one of the most connected hubs globally.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ago-from-korea

marothisu · #12 Posted **Nov 23, 2016, 4:58 AM**

Awesome news about TMaxSoft. I would love if some of the people from South Korea move here

Here's another quote:

Joshua concluded: “As a city that is central to markets across the US and all of North America, Chicago represents the perfect base from which we can drive our presence in the US and beyond. I am determined to take this new challenge head on and help drive TmaxSoft forward to become one of the world’s preeminent international software companies.”

http://www.tmaxsoft.com/us_en/2016/1...bal-ceo-us-hq/

sentinel · #13 Posted **Nov 23, 2016, 3:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin_Chicago

Korean software maker relocates HQ to Chicago

The company, which has about 900 employees worldwide, most of them in Seongnam, South Korea, set up shop in Chicago about a year ago after opening offices in San Francisco and New York.

Chicago was the company's U.S. headquarters. Now it's the business address for the entire company, even though most of its staff and founder remain in South Korea.

TmaxSoft recently moved to 230 W. Monroe St., where it's building out 9,000 square feet, having outgrown a 2,000-square-foot space at 101 N. Wacker Drive. It now has about 20 employees, primarily in sales and marketing.

Yulish says he expects headcount to hit 50 to 100 within two years. Eventually, Tmax Soft will add engineering talent for support and training.

“We're always talking about whether we expand R&D,” Yulish says. “Chicago and Silicon Valley are the two places we'd look. But Chicago is by far the better option. Costs are definitely part of it. There's a lot more loyalty from a workforce perspective. The proximity to customers is also important. There are a lot of Fortune 500 companies here, but you can get to both coasts easily. And O'Hare is one of the most connected hubs globally.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ago-from-korea

Excellent news - the area that I bolded REALLY struck out at me

IrishIllini · #14 Posted **Nov 24, 2016, 1:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentinel

Excellent news - the area that I bolded REALLY struck out at me

Yeah, that's great to see.

HowardL · #15 Posted **Nov 28, 2016, 5:47 PM**

Because Brexit ... This comes after speculation that CME was exploring the possibility to move CME Clearing Europe to Dublin to stay in the Eurozone.

CME Group bids for LSE's French clearing business: Sunday Times

Justin_Chicago · #16 Posted **Nov 30, 2016, 2:20 PM**

Data-science startup Civis raises $22 million

Civis Analytics, a data-science startup that has been quietly growing its roster of customers and talent since launching four years ago, raised a huge round of capital.

The company raised $22 million, led by Drive Capital, a Columbus, Ohio-based firm that recently raised a new fund, as well as strategic partners Verizon and advertising giant WPP, and Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet.

The new money will help Civis add more staff to build out its software platform for data scientists. The company plans to add 50 data scientists, software engineers and other technologists. Civis already employs about 135 people, up from 90 a year ago. Roughly half of them are data scientists, engineers and coders. The company recently moved into a larger, 29,000-square-foot space at 200 W. Monroe St. It also has a small office in Washington, D.C.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ses-22-million

Justin_Chicago · #17 Posted **Dec 1, 2016, 2:14 PM**

For Peapod spinoff, photos of Oreos and Cheerios mean big business

Peapod's founders, brothers Andrew and Thomas Parkinson, became pioneers in the online grocery industry when they founded their Skokie-based company in 1989. They were also among the first to encounter the headaches associated with e-commerce. One of the Parkinsons' biggest problems was gathering high-quality, consistent and updated images of every food item sold by the thousands of manufacturers who supply Peapod.

So in 2009, Peapod, now owned by Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, started ItemMaster to take photos for thousands of food and consumer packaged goods clients and build a cloud-based database. In March, Peapod spun it off into an independent company.

Today, the company announced a new partnership with Walmart.com in which the retailer will use ItemMaster's photography, as well as videos and user-generated reviews that ItemMaster also collects in its database. The news follows last week's announcement that the company raised $7.5 million in Series A funding, led by New Jersey-based Edison Partners. Chicago Ventures, which led an earlier seed round, also participated.

Murray says ItemMaster will use the funding to invest in technology and nearly double its headcount. The company, which will relocate to 30 N. LaSalle in the Loop from Skokie next year, has about 50 employees in Chicago and 70 total. It plans to add another 50 in technology, product and sales positions next year.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...noff-expanding

Justin_Chicago · #18 Posted **Dec 2, 2016, 1:39 PM**

Big plans on tap for Lagunitas: More beer, concert venue, rooftop bar

Lagunitas Brewing Co., known for beers like Lagunitas IPA and Lil Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale, has major plans in store for its Chicago brewery, such as creating a small concert venue, opening a rooftop bar and tripling its brewing output.

To accomplish those plans, which are still pending regulatory approval, Lagunitas is trying to change its zoning — from that of the more restrictive planned manufacturing district in the Pilsen industrial corridor to an industrial-commercial planned development that would allow for special event use, such as concerts.

The zoning change would allow Lagunitas to move forward with its plan of creating a small venue for occasional concerts within its existing 300,000-square-foot facility at 2607 W. 17th St., similar in spirit to the amphitheater at its Petaluma, Calif., brewery. Lagunitas also intends to expand its existing taproom and boost its operations with a second bottling line and cold storage facility, said spokeswoman Karen Hamilton, who's sister of Lagunitas founder Tony Magee.

The music venue, which could have capacity for between 400 and 650 people, could build up to about 15 concerts per year, like the Petaluma amphitheater, she said.

The Chicago brewery produces about 405,000 barrels per year, beer that's distributed east of the Rocky Mountains and overseas in Europe, Hamilton said. The second bottling line and additional fermenters would enable the facility to max out at 1.2 million barrels a year.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...130-story.html

Justin_Chicago · #19 Posted **Dec 5, 2016, 6:05 PM**

Tyson Foods launches $150 million VC fund in Chicago

Tyson Foods has launched a $150 million corporate venture fund that will be run from Chicago.

Tyson, which is the world's top meat processor, is based in Springdale, Ark., but it bought Chicago-based Hillshire Brands, the packaged-meat spinoff of Sara Lee, for $8.55 billion in 2014.

Tyson joins Motorola Solutions, Baxter International, Abbott, Zebra Technologies and General Electric among companies with corporate venture capital groups in Chicago.

Large companies are feeling pressure to come up with new sources of innovation in hopes of not becoming the next industry to get “Ubered.” The number of corporate VCs has doubled in the past four years, according to New York-based research firm CB Insights.

Tyson New Ventures LLC will be run by Mary Kay James, who was at DuPont Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the chemical giant, for 13 years.

The company will concentrate its investments in three areas: alternative proteins, food security and using the internet in the food chain. Its first investment was in Beyond Meat, a startup in El Segundo, Calif., that created a plant-based protein.

Article: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...und-in-chicago

Justin_Chicago · #20 Posted **Dec 16, 2016, 3:54 PM**

Chicago-based G2 Crowd raises $4.3 million in new funding

G2 Crowd, the Chicago-based company that aggregates user reviews of business software, has raised $4.3 million in funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document filed Thursday.

The new funding came from existing investors and founders, said Adam Beeson, G2 Crowd’s communications director. The company was launched in 2012 by five co-founders, including former SteelBrick CEO Godard Abel ⇒.

The company, which moved into a new downtown office space in July, has doubled its headcount in the last year, Beeson said. It was previously headquartered in Highland Park.

It raised a $7 million Series A round last year to ramp up hiring and expand into new software categories.

Article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesk...215-story.html