Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
Hayward, how can this possibly be thought of as a strip mall? It comes to the sidewalk and has no visible parking.
I'm a little puzzled about this project and the PD negotiations. Last summer, Ald. Fioretti gave me the impression that DHED was objecting to the residential, but when I asked a high-level DHED source he said the alderman had some unspecified objection. In addition, my DHED source was anxious to make sure the project was a well-designed gateway that would work well with a future Taylor Street bridge.
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The functionality behind a classic strip mall (like you'll see across the street) and this building as well as the Southgate Center are very similar. They are both primarily accessed by automobile and internalize the bulk of their circulation.
I'm hard pressed to believe the bulk of their customers will arrive by public transit or walking (though I've been one of those people). They provide free parking by only shopping within their center...very similar to the policies of any strip mall. "Don't park here and walk somewhere else."
As for its placement up to the street, that's great. Yes it "appears" to be more urban. Even bond companies admits that. The problem is hundreds of lineal of feet of unchanging architecture....which lends itself to the long horizontal exteriors of its cousins in the burbs. Granted there's plenty of buildings in the loop like Marshall Fields building or Block 37, or Water Tower Place that literally have an entire city block of the same architectural expression. But these structures compensate in height, articulation, and materials.
I still think this building feels too introverted. I understand it's an adaptation to what's already there. Even though Roosevelt is primilarly auto-centric I'd like the building to break down in scale a bit. It would be nice to see more facade variation and enhancement to that lobby to open up to the street. Not that I'm trying to celebrate this particular development, but the proposed improvements to the Wrigleyville mall might be appropriate for the Canal project.
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....-home-run.html