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Originally Posted by Baronvonellis
This-
"Blitz told him the company "understands the community would never want a building of that size," Thomas said, and the two chatted about the neighborhood's reaction to The Out Hotel Chicago proposal. "
NIBMYs in Lakeview and Lincoln Park are out of control. Developers know they don't even want to try to go toe to toe with the NIBMYs there.
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I think developers can still build pretty big in those neighborhoods. I agree that the NIMBYism is pretty bad, but it's not insurmountable. And the cost of real estate in these areas is reaching the point where it probably will be worth the effort.
And lets not forget that there is still a lot of underutilized land that can be densified as-of-right. The Clark-Belmont intersection is a perfect example. They can build up to 6 stories, 55 units (as somebody else mentioned) without needing a zoning change, yet it's 2013 and we still have a Dunkin Donuts parking lot.
Look at some of those strip malls on prime spots on the north side: would underlying zoning not allow something denser than what sits there, while still allowing for there to be commercial space?
The question is what the cause of this inertia is. Perhaps a real estate/market guy like SamintheLoop knows? I wonder if very low interest rates have anything to do with it--the payments are nice and comfortable, and hence property owners don't feel obliged to dramatically raise revenues from their holdings...?