CHICAGO | General Developments

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by ardecila

TBH it’s probably a good model for lodging moving forward. Erect a small apartment building, maybe with some modest facilities for housekeeping etc, then get the entire building operating as a limited service “hotel” under the category of vacation rentals which are allowed in all B/C zoning. That way you avoid pissing off permanent residents in existing residential buildings while sidestepping questions of taking housing stock off the market.

It would have to be real small. Vac rentals are limited to 6 units or 25% of the total units (whichever is less) Although you might be able to organize them as 6 sleeping room suites. but you would still need 75% normal units.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ardecila

We’ve definitely seen that rendering before. The new news then is Sonder’s involvement?

TBH it’s probably a good model for lodging moving forward. Erect a small apartment building, maybe with some modest facilities for housekeeping etc, then get the entire building operating as a limited service “hotel” under the category of vacation rentals which are allowed in all B/C zoning. That way you avoid pissing off permanent residents in existing residential buildings while sidestepping questions of taking housing stock off the market.

I stayed at something like that in Rome once. Pretty sure most of the building actually was a hotel, but then on one floor they were operating a small, cheap type of hotel thing with maybe 10 to 15 total rooms. They were small, but each had its own bathroom and it wasn't a hostel or anything technically. It wasn't that bad - if you don't want to spend a lot of money it's not bad but nowadays I probably wouldn't do it again unless necessary.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by PKDickman

It would have to be real small. Vac rentals are limited to 6 units or 25% of the total units (whichever is less) Although you might be able to organize them as 6 sleeping room suites. but you would still need 75% normal units.

When the ordinance says something like “six rentals” it pretty much means “six reservations”

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by Rizzo

When the ordinance says something like “six rentals” it pretty much means “six reservations”

(10) if the dwelling unit is located in a building containing five or more dwelling units, an attestation that: (i) no more than six dwelling units in the building, or one quarter of the total dwelling units in the building, whichever is less, are or will be used as vacation rentals or shared housing units, in any combination; and (ii) if the dwelling unit identified in the license application is licensed as a vacation rental, such dwelling unit will not exceed the limit set forth in item (i) of this subsection (b)(10);

[marothisu]

Apparently the $50M house in Lincoln Park is off the market now. Not sure if they actually sold it or just gave up. My guess is they just gave up, but you never know...

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by PKDickman

(10) if the dwelling unit is located in a building containing five or more dwelling units, an attestation that: (i) no more than six dwelling units in the building, or one quarter of the total dwelling units in the building, whichever is less, are or will be used as vacation rentals or shared housing units, in any combination; and (ii) if the dwelling unit identified in the license application is licensed as a vacation rental, such dwelling unit will not exceed the limit set forth in item (i) of this subsection (b)(10);

Right, but “rental” should not be construed as to mean more than one reservation. You suggested separate bedrooms in a suite, as if the suite counted as a single dwelling unit per the zoning ordinance which could in essence contain as many bedrooms as building codes allow under separate reservations. I don’t think that would fly. That’s pretty much like some hostels on the northside where apartments are converted into subdivided areas for sleeping, each bed a separate reservation.

[PKDickman]

Originally Posted by Rizzo

Right, but “rental” should not be construed as to mean more than one reservation. You suggested separate bedrooms in a suite, as if the suite counted as a single dwelling unit per the zoning ordinance which could in essence contain as many bedrooms as building codes allow under separate reservations. I don’t think that would fly. That’s pretty much like some hostels on the northside where apartments are converted into subdivided areas for sleeping, each bed a separate reservation.

No, these are licensing regulations.
You do not apply for a new license each time some jamoke rents a room.

A maximum of six units in a building can be licensed as Vacation Rentals.

Because the definition says:
“Vacation rental” means a dwelling unit that contains 6 or fewer sleeping rooms that are available for rent or for hire for transient occupancy by guests,
if you had a building with at least 24 dwelling units, you could make 6 of them 6 bedroom suites and get 36 reservations at a time under the loosest interpretation of the ordinance. However the remaining 18 dwelling units could not be vacation rentals or shared housing.

To go beyond that number, you need a hotel license, in which case thee upper limit to the number of rooms is not defined.

[chicubs111]

Originally Posted by spyguy

Beef 'n Brandy no more. Looks like the current hideous building on State Street will be restored into a small Sonder "hotel" and retail.

There's some other buildings on State that I would like to see get the same type of treatment.

San Francisco-based company bringing hotels to three historic Loop buildings

Sonder will open 39 rooms in the Jewelers Building, 19 S. Wabash Ave., and 41 rooms in the Waterman Building, 127 S. State St., she said. Sonder plans to add more locations in and around the Loop, Schulz said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...120-story.html

[10023]

Originally Posted by spyguy

Beef 'n Brandy no more. Looks like the current hideous building on State Street will be restored into a small Sonder "hotel" and retail.

There's some other buildings on State that I would like to see get the same type of treatment.

When do they tear down that thing to the right?

[Skyguy_7]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

San Francisco-based company bringing hotels to three historic Loop buildings

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...120-story.html

That is great news, especially considering the high number of locations for a brand that's so new to the area. Thanks for sharing.

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by 10023

When do they tear down that thing to the right?

That thing to the right was a bit of an International Style gem called Chandler's Shoes (later Bakers) and designed in 1948 by Holabird and Root before it's two story recessed curved glass entrance was destroyed 7 years ago.

[Busy Bee]

^^^


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[Via Chicago]

yea its criminal what they did to it

[marothisu]

^ Yeah. Sometimes I don't understand why these people insist on doing stuff like this and make perfectly good things mediocre or worse.

[Busy Bee]

^It's just business. Thoughtless opportunistic business, but nonetheless business. They figured by butchering the original recessed storefront they could ink out an additional 300 square feet or so of floor space. Hopefully one of these days the original design can be restored.

[Via Chicago]

my recollection of the argument at the time was that modern retailers want maximum window frontage, and an entrance in a recessed area set back from the sidewalk dosent do a good job of drawing people in. and they may have a point but that space could have been activated in a creative way while still honoring the architectural merits of the original design. once the original design is compromised its almost impossible to ever restore its former integrity. esp in this situation where as evidenced by the posts calling for it to be torn down, the damage has already been done and the appreciation for what it once was has already been lost in the butchering.

[Zerton]

Honestly those recessed entry storefronts aren't as nice as they seem at first. There are still a few old examples left around the city.
The low entry ceilings create a smushed feeling upon entry and they're generally kind of dark.
It's kind of like being under a mini bridge.
Plus they create perfect little nooks for homeless people to hang out all night (nothing against the homeless, but that's what happens).

[Via Chicago]

theres an example on Chicago Ave, which is now epic spices. they sort of added an additional door that leads in to the vestibule, but essentially the same concept. its a really beautiful old storefront with a ton of character. not a great photo but you get the idea. the glass plays all sorts of fun little tricks with reflections and the original trim really completes the package. you can also see how they used the little trick of the leading lines of both the terrazzo and windows of drawing you in...its literally all pointing inward and has a slight funhouse effect





Ten Cat Tavern, which at one time was a storefront, is another one






i personally love the design and find them very elegant entryways. in comparison to these smaller scale example, Chandlers was the obvious reigning king of this vestibule type and again, i find its wanton destruction quite sad. the glass they tore out was also all original/antique and had that certain quality you simply dont find in modern examples

[Baronvonellis]

In alot of German cities there's shopping centers that look just like that Chandlers shoes entryway, except the vestibule would cut through the whole block like that. Then there would be several small shops all the way to the other side of the block. In person those shopping centers are kind of dark and not very nice in person, but they seem to do ok in Germany. Although even the downtown of a midsize German city has the same foot traffic as the loop.

I love those smaller examples in the neighborhoods. I think they are very elegant and nicer than just a flat window along the street, it seems more inviting and draws you into the shop. I wish more retail was built like that now.

[Via Chicago]

or budapest

https://i1.wp.com/digitalcosmonaut.c...size=436%2C600
https://i1.wp.com/digitalcosmonaut.c...size=436%2C600

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8323/8...fc39129f_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8323/8...fc39129f_b.jpg