CHICAGO | General Developments

[Mr Downtown]

Re Riverside Park: I recently heard a rumor that Related's site plan would push the Metra tracks westward, so they wouldn't be right up against Clark, making possible all sorts of good things. Welcome news, if true. That's an idea I've been pushing since the 1980s, but it got a lot trickier when the Rezko PD delineated a fee simple ownership for Metra rather than the previous "relocatable easement."

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Hmm, it says "Previous PD" on the top which makes me inclined to say that this was Rezko's previous plan for the lot. This conceptual design looks too suburban to be by Related, there don't appear to be any offices even though they were purposed (not including the tech center), and the watercolor drawing looks too much like it's from the 2000's era

Yeah, I really, really, really hope that isn't the current proposal. WAY too suburban. A true waste of opportunity.

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Re Riverside Park: I recently heard a rumor that Related's site plan would push the Metra tracks westward, so they wouldn't be right up against Clark, making possible all sorts of good things. Welcome news, if true. That's an idea I've been pushing since the 1980s, but it got a lot trickier when the Rezko PD delineated a fee simple ownership for Metra rather than the previous "relocatable easement."

If that rumor is true, then that could allow the potential circulator (if it gets built) to run straight through the middle, along the new ROW, and allow the site to be significantly more transit accesible. Even without a circulator, pushing the tracks west will allow development along Clark St and make it more functional

[Ryanrule]

Tracks need to be buried

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Well, well what do we have here?

Source: Sloopin

From the Sloopin comments:

I can't get into too much detail other than the illustration is part of an investor package distributed by a group (not Related) attempting to aquire the parcel around 18 months ago.

Thank god Related was able to outbid these clowns.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by ChickeNES

Thank god Related was able to outbid these clowns.

Why is that my first thought was automatically McCaffery...

[wynnbuck]

Originally Posted by johnnygosox

I'm a lifetime Southsider...58 years (and counting).
I reside at 30th and Indiana...South Commons, Douglas....Bronzeville.
By the way, the only significant public housing left in this part of town are the Dearborn Homes.

@johnnygosox What is the gentrification timetable you have seen / and is in the future for the area, Bronzeville, and Kenwood? I guess it's 3 separate questions...

[wynnbuck]

@marothisu 708 was part of the Loft Development deal, along with a 8 other properties you listed. Did it get flipped again?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by wynnbuck

@marothisu 708 was part of the Loft Development deal, along with a 8 other properties you listed. Did it get flipped again?

Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea. Article for anyone interested below. The guy sold his whole portfolio for $76M. Wonder what his ROI was. A few of these lots could become good developments. It mentions the 708 W Wayman lot could become the site of an office tower in the future for example.


http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...for-86-million

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Re Riverside Park: I recently heard a rumor that Related's site plan would push the Metra tracks westward, so they wouldn't be right up against Clark, making possible all sorts of good things. Welcome news, if true. That's an idea I've been pushing since the 1980s, but it got a lot trickier when the Rezko PD delineated a fee simple ownership for Metra rather than the previous "relocatable easement."

Wow, that is good news. Of course, it requires the cooperation of Metra. But I don't see why they would say no to 3/4 mile of new tracks, paid for with Other People's Money.

It could be done fairly cheaply... a mile of new double track and grading is about $10M, so this would only be $7.5M.

But I agree, it would be nice to leave space for a future transitway alongside the Metra tracks. Even if the circulator doesn't happen, a grade-separated busway running up to Congress could be useful in the future.

[Randomguy34]

@Marothisu The quote from the Crain's article makes me curious about how prominent they want this site to be

Architecture firm Gensler is already working on a design for an office building of several hundred thousand square feet on the Wayman site, a project that would require a zoning change and has significant engineering challenges, Garrison said.

“It's a really interesting site that creates a lot of challenges and a lot of opportunities,” Garrison said. “You could do something really interesting architecturally, and there's no way you could miss it driving on the Kennedy.”

[marothisu]

^ Yeah, seems like they want it to be pretty prominent. The site is literally next to the expressway and definitely would be impossible to miss. It's also kind of interesting because it's close to Fulton Market district. Can just walk across the bridge a street south to get there.

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by marothisu

^ Yeah, seems like they want it to be pretty prominent. The site is literally next to the expressway and definitely would be impossible to miss. It's also kind of interesting because it's close to Fulton Market district. Can just walk across the bridge a street south to get there.

I think Gensler is also designing an office building for Sterling Bay at the parking lot for Coyne. 1 million square feet and already leased out, from what I've heard.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ithakas

I think Gensler is also designing an office building for Sterling Bay at the parking lot for Coyne. 1 million square feet and already leased out, from what I've heard.

Really? That's pretty big...who did you hear that from? They don't even have plans out yet as far as I know.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Re Riverside Park: I recently heard a rumor that Related's site plan would push the Metra tracks westward, so they wouldn't be right up against Clark, making possible all sorts of good things. Welcome news, if true. That's an idea I've been pushing since the 1980s, but it got a lot trickier when the Rezko PD delineated a fee simple ownership for Metra rather than the previous "relocatable easement."

What about the SCAL I wonder. If they want to relocate Metra much beyond 15th Street, they'd have to rebuild its SCAL crossing as well. And I don't know if the level crossing has been posing congestion issues, but maybe at this opportunity the railroads would want to join the project to rebuild it as a grade-separated crossing. Presumably the obvious practical solution then would be to depress Metra beneath the SCAL, like Ryanrule suggested, which sounds win-win (though expensive). The SCAL viaduct over Clark also is antiquated, so there's additional motivation there; repositioning the viaduct slightly would also free up a currently dead triangular parcel of land east of Clark. In any event, the Wells connector will require at least a little bit of reconstructing the SCAL r-o-w.

[the urban politician]

Wow it would be fantastic if Related moved the Metra tracks, and we could have buildings properly fronting the west side of Clark St.

But why would Related volunteer to do that? Do you guys think the pressure would have to come from the city? I'm trying to think how moving the tracks creates a more profitable layout but I can't. If there was a nice streetscape full of shops and cafes on the east side of Clark that would make a lot of sense, but instead we have the Dearborn Park fortress.

Plus, Daley's idiotic endeavor to grade separate Clark and Roosevelt makes street fronting buildings even more undesirable. Clark St is basically a highway.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by denizen467

What about the SCAL I wonder. If they want to relocate Metra much beyond 15th Street, they'd have to rebuild its SCAL crossing as well. And I don't know if the level crossing has been posing congestion issues, but maybe at this opportunity the railroads would want to join the project to rebuild it as a grade-separated crossing. Presumably the obvious practical solution then would be to depress Metra beneath the SCAL, like Ryanrule suggested, which sounds win-win (though expensive). The SCAL viaduct over Clark also is antiquated, so there's additional motivation there; repositioning the viaduct slightly would also free up a currently dead triangular parcel of land east of Clark. In any event, the Wells connector will require at least a little bit of reconstructing the SCAL r-o-w.

This rail junction is really at the nexus of several mega-projects including; CrossRail proposal; Illinois HSR; Central Area Circulator as well as the Wells/Wentworth project. Hopefully all stakeholders can get on the same page and CMAP is involved in the planning.

[Mr Downtown]

But since CN bought the EJ&E to avoid being part of CREATE, I don't see them willingly contributing to such a project. They'd much rather put that money into double-tracking the J. Seems like they mostly use the Air Line for low-priority manifest freights; lots of backhaul tank cars.

[denizen467]

^ Fine, but what if this is such small dollars to them, and one or both of the viaducts are due for replacement, that CN would consider it? The stretch of SCAL in question here is just 1000 feet, river to Clark. They probably have those funds laying around a couch somewhere.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I assume with Apple leaving next door the chance of a seeing new high-rise on the block only increases?

Probably, although I don't know what they do with the Nike store (maybe they move across the street to the Crate & Barrel flagship?).

I do hope they allow someone to check out and document Malabry Court before anything is demolished. Fascinating article by Lynn here and photo here.