CHICAGO | General Developments - Page 1759

UPChicago · #**35161** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 3:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikemak27

Chicago Riverwalk to open this weekend

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...iver-boardwalk

Could someone take pics?

woodrow · #**35162** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 3:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikemak27

Chicago Riverwalk to open this weekend

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...iver-boardwalk

Very excited to get on the river there. Really love the idea of walking from Lake Street to the lake!

I was checking on the "rooms" yesterday. The fountain and jetty rooms are cool, though they seem low on vendor spaces. The last section is just an EPIC letdown. I mean, they ran out of either ideas or money, or both. Possibly when the plantings go in, things will get better, but yikes. Rough concrete, no pavers, the ADA bridge has zero design grace, nothing has beeb done under the Wacker sidewalk, and the railing on Wacker is a poured-in-place "temporary" wall from the early aughts when they re-built Wacker. My hope is that they will make improvements down in the near future.

Via Chicago · #**35163** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 3:17 PM**

yea last portion is a bomb, which is sad considering how quality the design is overall. i dont understand how they dropped the ball that badly. there had to be a better solution than dropping in an interstate on-ramp.

Kngkyle · #**35164** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodrow

Very excited to get on the river there. Really love the idea of walking from Lake Street to the lake!

I was checking on the "rooms" yesterday. The fountain and jetty rooms are cool, though they seem low on vendor spaces. The last section is just an EPIC letdown. I mean, they ran out of either ideas or money, or both. Possibly when the plantings go in, things will get better, but yikes. Rough concrete, no pavers, the ADA bridge has zero design grace, nothing has beeb done under the Wacker sidewalk, and the railing on Wacker is a poured-in-place "temporary" wall from the early aughts when they re-built Wacker. My hope is that they will make improvements down in the near future.

Agreed. The final section is horrible. I believe it was mentioned before that they blew the budget on the other sections and got stuck having to make major cuts to the last section. Hopefully in the not too distant future it can be re-done or finished properly. Get a corporate sponsor or something to fund it. It's a prime location for a restaurant as well. There is so much potential there.

BuildThemTaller · #**35165** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 4:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

Agreed. The final section is horrible. I believe it was mentioned before that they blew the budget on the other sections and got stuck having to make major cuts to the last section. Hopefully in the not too distant future it can be re-done or finished properly. Get a corporate sponsor or something to fund it. It's a prime location for a restaurant as well. There is so much potential there.

This is great news! I walk from Dearborn along Wacker to work every morning. Avoiding the street traffic and stop lights will improve my commute to and from work considerably. Also, it'll be so much better to take in the River and skyline from that angle every day.

While I am also disappointed that the ramp between the Riverwalk and Upper Wacker is super lame, the open grass is exciting. I'm sure that this will become a prime spot in the spring and summer for visitors to enjoy the confluence for a picnic or quick rest. I can see a restaurant becoming very successful in this location, too.

rlw777 · #**35166** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 5:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodrow

I was checking on the "rooms" yesterday. The fountain and jetty rooms are cool, though they seem low on vendor spaces. The last section is just an EPIC letdown. I mean, they ran out of either ideas or money, or both.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

yea last portion is a bomb, which is sad considering how quality the design is overall. i dont understand how they dropped the ball that badly. there had to be a better solution than dropping in an interstate on-ramp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

Agreed. The final section is horrible. I believe it was mentioned before that they blew the budget on the other sections and got stuck having to make major cuts to the last section. Hopefully in the not too distant future it can be re-done or finished properly. Get a corporate sponsor or something to fund it. It's a prime location for a restaurant as well. There is so much potential there.

I think you all might be underestimating that last portion. It's intended to be a flexible space that can accommodate various programming options. Every other 'room' has very specific programming it makes sense to have a flexible space where they might have the sort of sculpture exhibitions they have in MP or maybe an Architectural Biennial kiosk or a variety of other things.

Randomguy34 · #**35167** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 6:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

The very large mound of crushed debris is being removed, bout 1/3 gone now. at ~12' deep, and cover 2 city blocks, it is a big undertaking.

[Brachs plant - Cicero / Lake ]

Still sad to see that they tore down the complex. My mom worked at the candy factory for a year, and it was a fascinating area to see. Wish that some of the buildings could have been repurposed

r18tdi · #**35168** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 6:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Wish that some of the buildings could have been repurposed

Ditto.

woodrow · #**35169** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 6:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlw777

I think you all might be underestimating that last portion. It's intended to be a flexible space that can accommodate various programming options. Every other 'room' has very specific programming it makes sense to have a flexible space where they might have the sort of sculpture exhibitions they have in MP or maybe an Architectural Biennial kiosk or a variety of other things.

I am okay with the idea of a flexible space. In fact, it will be nice. Where the room fails is in its execution. The finish is truly disappointing. It appears to be from a different set of designers and contractors. Why did they decide to not use pavers? I can't square the idea that the architects of the extremely pedestrian ramp are the same as those that did the fantastic, grand stairs/ramps/seat design of the "River Theater."

Still love the Riverwalk and will even enjoy the westernmost portion, but i sure hope they can find some $$ to finish it.

Kngkyle · #**35170** Posted **Oct 19, 2016, 6:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlw777

I think you all might be underestimating that last portion. It's intended to be a flexible space that can accommodate various programming options. Every other 'room' has very specific programming it makes sense to have a flexible space where they might have the sort of sculpture exhibitions they have in MP or maybe an Architectural Biennial kiosk or a variety of other things.

It wasn't intended to be flexible space. They ran out of money and had no other choice. The idea of flexible space isn't a bad one, it's just the execution here is pretty shoddy as woodrow stated. But that again goes back to the lack of funds.

Freefall · #**35171** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 6:47 AM**

This is two days away from completion? Hmm, okay.

photo cred: DNAInfo

denizen467 · #**35172** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 10:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ tom was warned on numerous occasions to stop being a complete and total fuck-tard. i threatened him with a ban to get him to shape up and he said "go ahead and ban me, see if care about this stupid fucking forum and its idiot members". so i gave him exactly what he wanted.

the asshat brought absolutely nothing to the table. he was a textbook troll with nothing but contempt for our forum community; he will not be missed.

Thanks for sharing the background with everyone. To me he was like a 6 year old in the corner you could simply ignore whenever he got bratty. But I didn't follow all his comments everywhere so I'm not up to speed on the recent stuff, which I at least could tell was worsening heavily. I would probably think a year suspension or something would give people a chance to get a hold of themselves or their life issues in order, etc.; however, if a guy begs to be banned...

UPChicago · #**35173** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 1:49 PM**

Would have rathered they not have bothered with that section than to give us that......

OrdoSeclorum · #**35174** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 2:22 PM**

Walked by Milwaukee and Haddon (just south of Milwaukee and Division) and grabbed this shot of the new building on Haddon.

Fits right in. I'd love to see more new construction fit in like this. On a block in Lakeview with four courtyard buildings? Let's throw a few more of them up.

Near North Resident · #**35175** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 3:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freefall

This is two days away from completion? Hmm, okay.

photo cred: DNAInfo

Late and over budget - the Chicago way

I remember thinking the same thing about the bloomingdale trail "opening" its not 100% done, its just usable by the public

as to the above, are those metal shingles? Those are not going to age well...

maru2501 · #**35176** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 3:15 PM**

wheelchair accessible finally

Chi-Sky21 · #**35177** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 3:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freefall

photo cred: DNAInfo

I do not think it is that bad of a space, the ramp however i thought was bad. You can't see it in this photo but the entrance at the top seemed unnecessarily narrow.

intrepidDesign · #**35178** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 3:33 PM**

We should have known it was going to turn out like this, all the concept images from early on for this portion were always vague and half baked. I would hope that eventually they fix this up, I mean, it's right at the confluence. I'm glad the riverwalk is more ADA compliant, but man oh man, ascetically, it looked better when it was a glimpse into Lower Wacker. Surely the city can spring 50k for some trees and landscaping.

Ned.B · #**35179** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 8:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Near North Resident

as to the above, are those metal shingles? Those are not going to age well...

It depends on what the material is. If it were zinc for instance (and I'm not sure zinc is ever that shiny) they would patina and age beautifully. maybe those are stainless steel?

Near North Resident · #**35180** Posted **Oct 20, 2016, 8:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ned.B

It depends on what the material is. If it were zinc for instance (and I'm not sure zinc is ever that shiny, they would patina and age beautifully. maybe those are stainless steel?

my guess is aluminum and its going to look like crap in one winter