CHICAGO | Lincoln Yards

[emailspyro@gmail.com]

I’m also thinking a shift to residential and mixed use would be the way to go here. They also need invest in better architecture to make this into an attraction that would support business focused around entertainment.
They should hire Stefano Boeri and build another Vertical Forest building such as the one in Milan. It would be a statement, not one about height but about nature.

Simply imagine this at LY, it would be a slam dunk and would for it very nicely:

https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.n...rtical-forest/

[Toasty Joe]

Lol aside from that being the poster child for greenwashing, Chicago does not have the climate to support a vertical forest building

[emailspyro@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

Lol aside from that being the poster child for greenwashing, Chicago does not have the climate to support a vertical forest building

Care to explain in the climate? Chicago is a very green city, evergreens as well as a large variety of perennial plants and trees thrive here, especially natives that wouldn’t even need much watering etc. there are plenty examples of trees on Chicago building and balconies are becoming commonplace.
Am I missing something?

Also, the greenery doesn’t make a build “green” but it sure is adding to the appeal.

[oakesd88]

Originally Posted by emailspyro@gmail.com

Care to explain in the climate? Chicago is a very green city, evergreens as well as a large variety of perennial plants and trees thrive here, especially natives that wouldn’t even need much watering etc. there are plenty examples of trees on Chicago building and balconies are becoming commonplace.
Am I missing something?

Also, the greenery doesn’t make a build “green” but it sure is adding to the appeal.

Not drawing the connection between Lincoln Yards development and discussion about climate and climate change.

[MAC123]

You can look 2 posts up on this same page

[Toasty Joe]

Originally Posted by emailspyro@gmail.com

Care to explain in the climate? Chicago is a very green city, evergreens as well as a large variety of perennial plants and trees thrive here, especially natives that wouldn’t even need much watering etc. there are plenty examples of trees on Chicago building and balconies are becoming commonplace.
Am I missing something?

Also, the greenery doesn’t make a build “green” but it sure is adding to the appeal.

Roots in the ground soil remain warmer than soil elevated in the air and relatively exposed on 4 sides, even considering thermal insulation. While some trees may survive even our harshest winters, many would likely die. Note that Chicago's thermal break rule on balconies has either gone into effect or is about to.

Also trees and soil are heavy, and so is snow. Milan gets relatively little snow compared to Chicago, and this added weight would require more expensive fortification efforts on balconies. Not impossible, but may not economically pencil out for developers unless they can find ~200-400 residents willing to pay a large premium to have a sliver of forest on their balcony that likely won't survive the winter.

Chicago has so much land, the "greenest" thing to do is build solid density and keep expanding our parks system so everyone has accessible nature. We don't need to privatize it in name of aesthetics. Just build better looking buildings.

[bhawk66]

^ To me it seems like a case of "trying too hard". It also looks obnoxious, imo. I think these designs are nascent and feel that a downside looms. All this vegetation not only requires a ton of water, etc., but traps water against the surfaces. Every surface it touches will need twice the attention in the maintenance time schedule, ie. paint, etc. Ivy, for example, is such a revered look on buildings, universities especially, but they are said to trap water against the brick and thus accelerate deterioration. Though, Wrigley Field has been holding up the bleachers for over a century, so...carry on, I guess.

[oakesd88]

Originally Posted by MAC123

You can look 2 posts up on this same page

This environmental and climate discussion has veered off topic from posts about Lincoln Yards.

[nomarandlee]

Good write-up on the current situation

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/07...VjOIkSQkZSA2io

The 606 Trail Extension Moving Forward Near Lincoln Yards — But Megadevelopment’s Future Uncertain
The city is hosting a community meeting for the trail extension next month, with construction to begin in 2025. The update comes as developer Sterling Bay is seeking new investors for Lincoln Yards.

Quinn Myers
9:14 AM CDT on Jul 13, 2023

.......“I would say this is a great opportunity for Mayor [Brandon] Johnson to take a serious look at what was codified in passing this mega-TIF deal, and figure out if it can be changed to best serve the broad interests of Chicagoans,” Irizarry said. “If they really want outside funding and they need other help, it’s a great time to get some concessions.”

Those concessions could include not only more public space but additional affordability requirements, schools and other projects, she said.......

......Snyder believes Lincoln Yards as a whole would be more attractive to investors and users alike if there were more north-south public transit routes to access the site, including new bus lines on Elston and Clybourn avenues.

“With many people preferring public transit, I think that really made that area harder to market than I think that they realized,” Snyder said. “I just don’t think this was quite the slam dunk that it appeared to be.”.......

..

[ORD2010]

I'm pro changing some things up and adding more public amenities, however i hope it doesn't come at the cost of density and we end up with a suburban development with just 5-8 story buildings on stroads.

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by ORD2010

I'm pro changing some things up and adding more public amenities, however i hope it doesn't come at the cost of density and we end up with a suburban development with just 5-8 story buildings on stroads.

Exactly. If there is a revised plan they should look at the surrounding zoning and make sure the North Branch Transitway (or whatever it's called) is integrated in the development.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by ORD2010

I'm pro changing some things up and adding more public amenities, however i hope it doesn't come at the cost of density and we end up with a suburban development with just 5-8 story buildings on stroads.

Agreed. At the minimum, I'm happy to see the city is still moving forward with the 606 extension. Any pedestrian connection that makes it easier to get across the "38th parallel" I call it (Kennedy + river + train tracks) is a win for everyone who lives in the area.

[ardecila]

Interesting. The last time the city studied this was maybe 5-6 years ago, the key challenge is getting the trail over the Metra tracks. The two solutions they proposed are either a pedestrian underpass at the Metra tracks, or an hairpin-shaped overpass that would jog to the north, cross over the tracks near Cortland and then back south to the trail alignment. Somewhat similar to the trail overpass at 18th St in the South Loop.

The underpass is the best option in a lot of ways - most direct route for joggers and cyclists, the shallowest grades, etc. But the hairpin overpass could possibly tie into a new Clybourn Metra station, with stairs/elevators from each Metra platform up to the bridge (again like 18th St or Roosevelt Metra Electric stations). That would give a completely grade separated pedestrian path from Metra into Lincoln Yards, without crossing Ashland, Elston, Cortland or any of the other busy streets.

Underpass Rendering
Hairpin Overpass Rendering

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by ORD2010

I'm pro changing some things up and adding more public amenities, however i hope it doesn't come at the cost of density and we end up with a suburban development with just 5-8 story buildings on stroads.

I'm actually OK if the project gets less dense. 12 million square feet of mostly office at this location was never on. Even without the pandemic and WFH, I could see this development petering out as each new phase failed to deliver the public benefits and "authentic neighborhood feel" we were all promised. LY tenants/residents would have come to realize that this was indeed a pretty lousy spot for Chicago to build a second (third?) central business district.

There's no way in hell SB wants to relitigate their entitlements, but if they need extra handouts I think the public (including open space organizations and active transit advocates) should have some kind of seat at the table. I'd be perfectly happy with a 7 million-square-foot plan with less office, more residential, better infrastructure and additional publicly accessible amenities.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I'm actually OK if the project gets less dense. 12 million square feet of mostly office at this location was never on. Even without the pandemic and WFH, I could see this development petering out as each new phase failed to deliver the public benefits and "authentic neighborhood feel" we were all promised. LY tenants/residents would have come to realize that this was indeed a pretty lousy spot for Chicago to build a second (third?) central business district.

There's no way in hell SB wants to relitigate their entitlements, but if they need extra handouts I think the public (including open space organizations and active transit advocates) should have some kind of seat at the table. I'd be perfectly happy with a 7 million-square-foot plan with less office, more residential, better infrastructure and additional publicly accessible amenities.

Public monies were already going to be needed for the grandiose plans for 606 Trail ext, Clybourn station relo, Some iteration of transit on the transitway Oh and don't forget the reestablishment of the street grid AND new bridges. Any scale back of these critical infrastructures would be a loss and failure of the grand plan.
Worst case is the whole thing is scrapped and we end up with Amazon type warehouses.

[Klippenstein]

The city really needs to focus on the transit plan and the rest will fall into place. I think there's a close to 0% chance this will be developed into large warehouses.

[ithakas]

I'd be happy if some of these mega-developments were planned like a contemporary Printers Row – ie. dense but mid-rise scaled, with little parking and a high focus on walkability.

Also, this quote from the book "Walkable Cities" describes something the author's firm proposed for a design contest for Piazza dei Navigatori in Rome; could be a good way for a developer to turn their entitlements and infrastructure agreements into a fine-grained area of the city.

“We proposed dividing the large site into seven distinct building blocks, and assigning each block to one of the competitors, ourselves included. We wrote a one-page form-based code that controlled the volume and placement of each building, and admonished the judges that, rather than sponsoring a single monument, they could build a diverse neighborhood.”

[west-town-brad]

clybourn ave bus

elston ave bus

90% residential.... mid rise, some mansions, etc.

it will generally match lincoln park and bucktown, which it sits between

[Randomguy34]

Sterling Bay has now confirmed that residential and life sciences will make up a larger percentage of Lincoln Yards. The office component has shrunk significantly.

Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor at a Crain's event in May said he expected apartment projects to be a larger part of the development mix at Lincoln Yards, given the waning demand for offices that were originally a centerpiece.

"You're going to see a lot more multifamily, you're going to see a lot more life science. Those two will be the main components," Gloor said during the event.

"Going into it we thought a higher percentage of overall square feet would be office. I think that number has shrunk pretty dramatically," he said.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...d-sterling-bay

[ardecila]

Interesting that the first residential building Sterling Bay is doing in the area is not actually within the Lincoln Yards boundary but just across the street.

https://chicago.urbanize.city/post/s...33-n-kingsbury