CHICAGO | General Developments

[jc5680]

Soil testing begining at the Jones Prep site…

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

... if the area's so intractable, why is Lake Meadows going full steam towards redevelopment with many of the urban features you want?

Lake Meadows has a lakefront location and easy Lake Shore Drive access. It's also such a large project that it will essentially generate its own infrastructure to compensate for what the neighborhood lacks. Design-wise, it will define a pretty coherent precinct of new-ness and cleanliness, like Central Station or Lakeshore East. The kind of "suburban sterility" that a lot of urban colonizers despise. That feeling alone will help to discourage crime.

The transformation of the North Side didn't happen through gigantic urban-renewal projects, it happened through a long, gradual process of infill. Expecting this process to overcome the problems in this neighborhood is unrealistic - so you can't compare it to Uptown or Edgewater, which was my point.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by jc5680

Soil testing begining at the Jones Prep site…

^ Great to see this vacant lot finally redeveloped

[ardecila]

Riverwalk Bike Station (next to the Vietnam Memorial at Wabash)

[Busy Bee]

^Nice! But am I the only one that thinks this looks a bit small?

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Riverwalk Bike Station (next to the Vietnam Memorial at Wabash)

Is this going to be like the one in Millennium Park or part of the B Cycle sharing program?
---

Two other park-related items:

Memorial for the Navy - obviously shaped like a ship's bow with some kind of water feature



North Grant Park Renovation Plans

When: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - 6:30 p.m.
Where: Columbia College Chicago, Stage Two Center
618 S Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor

Columbia College Chicago has graciously agreed to host us! Come out and review the concept plans for the North Grant Park Renovation Project. The landscape architecture firm, MVVA, will present plans and gather input. We have worked with them and the Chicago Park District on what are very exciting plans. A large-scale model and images will be presented. This plan was created after the Chicago Park District and GPC/GPAC organized a large public input meeting attended by over 200 people as well as input taken via the internet and several other public meetings.

We need your input to further refine the plans. They include many very interesting and innovative concepts with all-season design and activities as well as other creative outdoor spaces connecting Millennium Park to the Lake. The plans are very green.
Thank you for your participation!

[wrab]

Nice find, spyguy! Ross Barney? I love that you'll be able to climb and sit all over it. Would this be Navy Pier Park?

[EarlyBuyer]

Thanks spyguy for posting this, I like it!

Is this going to be a combination Navy memorial/skateboard park?

[ardecila]

It's about time there was actually something naval at Navy Pier.

The Gateway Harbor plan includes extending the park south onto what is now a gravel maintenance yard.

[Chicago3rd]

Originally Posted by wrabbit

LINK

Move lakeshore drive and truck park west of the rail line and make the park bigger.

[Busy Bee]

That'll happen never.

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

Move lakeshore drive and truck park west of the rail line and make the park bigger.

Better yet....though this is absolute dream land....I am increasingly thinking they should deck over LSD and the truck staging area from roughly 31st ...hell even from Hyde park....all the way to hollywood....that would be about 14 miles give or take

and while they are at it put columbus under ground and deck and put all the east-west cross streets through grant park under ground nd deck....parkland from Michigan ave to lakefront....that would be freckin' incredible

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Baronvonellis

Perhaps, they should start developing the area with lower density like how Edgewater started. Then gradually building more density. Rather than trying for high density to start with before a neighborhood is in place.

It's a worthwhile idea, the problem is that now, once the neighborhood is established as a low-density suburb, it will never be allowed to re-densify because the neighbors group will make the alderman downzones everything.

Case in point: Dearborn Park Phase II is an atrocious land use, but it's never going away.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by lawfin

Better yet....though this is absolute dream land....I am increasingly thinking they should deck over LSD and the truck staging area from roughly 31st ...hell even from Hyde park....all the way to hollywood....that would be about 14 miles give or take

and while they are at it put columbus under ground and deck and put all the east-west cross streets through grant park under ground nd deck....parkland from Michigan ave to lakefront....that would be freckin' incredible

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.

So, what drugs are you currently on?

[EarlyBuyer]

Photos by EarlyBuyer

Facade and window wall installation has begun.

Two floors above grade poured, with the third and final (for the Western half of the structure) yet to come. Magellan reports the entire building will be enclosed by the end of March.

[Nowhereman1280]

OOOO nice glass and cladding. The brown panels look like they are the same material as the cladding on Parkview East...

[Rizzo]

That is a lot of glass. And the landscaping looks like it's going to be good too.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

Move lakeshore drive and truck park west of the rail line and make the park bigger.

Even if that were even possible, the park would be useless. It would (if not already) has a poor edge condition. If your park has poor edge conditions, your better off just not building one.

There would need to be some sort of ribbon of high density residential to line it and charge the space with activity. Stacking lakeshore drive over the railroad tracks would be expensive, but not impossible. You could even supply a local lane to service residential towers. I don't see the truck staging area being there forever, so it could theoretically be modified or relocated.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Even if that were even possible, the park would be useless. It would (if not already) has a poor edge condition. If your park has poor edge conditions, your better off just not building one.

There would need to be some sort of ribbon of high density residential to line it and charge the space with activity. Stacking lakeshore drive over the railroad tracks would be expensive, but not impossible. You could even supply a local lane to service residential towers. I don't see the truck staging area being there forever, so it could theoretically be modified or relocated.

You don't need to stack them. Simply shifting LSD westward, up against the rail tracks, would do the trick (like it is at 35th).

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

You don't need to stack them. Simply shifting LSD westward, up against the rail tracks, would do the trick (like it is at 35th).

Why not stack? The point is to reduce the width of the physical barrier that separates the city from the Lakefront. I'm deliberately ignoring cost here, btw