CHICAGO | General Developments

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^No, ComEd is putting in a big (245,000 volt) underground transmission line under 9th Street.

Oh, right, that. I meant the north eastern corner of Polk and the train tracks. It looks like it used to be a parking lot but was fenced off until recently, when I started seeing private contractor trucks moving around. I got the impression it was unrelated the ComEd work.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by Buckman821

Source: Target In Talks To Purchase Lincoln-Belmont-Ashland Building

I really wish the previous development has gotten off the ground. Now instead of a dense, mixed use structure with multiple storefronts holding the corner we are going to get a big box. Hooray

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by a chicago bearcat

Yeah, if we could move it to the transit thread for Chicago, that'd be awesome. I've been told by CTA officials that there are other constraints in the subway section of the Red line that limits eventual run times to 2.5 minutes at most. This was in response to a plan I had floated involving cost savings/crowding reduction through rerouting rather than through bus line elimination.

That could very well be the case, I wouldn't be able to confidently say otherwise. I would guess if that is the case, that it might have more to do with the operating systems that monitor the train positions and safety precautions... and items like that can always be upgraded.

Even without those changes, having the Circle Line and Red Line operate on a 2.5min frequency, each individually on a 5min frequency could work quite well, especially if the new transfer stations of the Purple Line end up siphoning off a good chunk of Red riders North of the tunnel.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^No, ComEd is putting in a big (245,000 volt) underground transmission line under 9th Street.

Is this the definitive end of the underpass project, then? Arrgh...

[Rizzo]

I'm at the new Starbucks on rush right now. Pretty damn nice. Photos coming

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Is this the definitive end of the underpass project, then?[/I]

Should have no relation. The line will be at least 8 feet underground, and it looks like it's twice that deep under the Metra tracks. They've actually tunneled there, rather than cut and cover.

weirdaaron, there isn't a northeast corner of Polk and the tracks. LaSalle Street is so close that the stop sign is mounted on the retaining wall.

[wierdaaron]

Bah, south east corner. I walk by it on the way to the theater. For a while the entrance to the lot was gated off but then it started opening up for trucks, and I saw orange vested guys walking around. It's separated from the Roosevelt property by fences on the south and west sides.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

weirdaaron, there isn't a northeast corner

So is this a typo of weirdaaron rather than a typo of wiredaaron? Maybe the idea was to be self-referential. Aaron/Erin/etc. might shed light on this.

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Speaking of big retail on North Ashland, further south there's lots of demo going on at Webster - at the southwest corner, going down towards Elston. Hopefully Mariano's gets underway soon; that stretch has been an eyesore for a long time.

If Target sets up at Belmont, are Jewel's days numbered? At least in the city? Supervalu has been in trouble, and Mariano's and Target just turn the screw further.

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I haven't seen any articles about the "Oak & Rush" Starbucks. It looks nice. I wonder if so far it's been only a soft opening?

[Rizzo]

I like the competition. It forces these stores to deliver excellent customer experience, service and quality or else go out of business. Disappearing are the days of bland supermarkets with grade B produce buzzing beneath ugly fluorescent lighting. The "marketplace experience" was made mainstream by whole foods. The mid-price grocers that adopted it and are improving it are well ahead of the game. Jewel has started to do that but they better pick up the pace replacing older stores with new formats.

Kind of wonder if Meijer might buy Supervalu and go complete overhaul on all Jewel stores. It would meet their needs for reaching the midwest urban markets, and also fall within range of their smaller format stores.

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by denizen467

So is this a typo of weirdaaron rather than a typo of wiredaaron? Maybe the idea was to be self-referential. Aaron/Erin/etc. might shed light on this.

It's an intentional typo of weird. It was my AIM screenname when I was 12 and it's followed me since. My reasoning back then was something about I-before-E and the tautology of spelling weird weirdly. I'm sure it made all kinds of sense at the time...

[Mr Downtown]

Southeast corner of Metra tracks and Polk (SWC Clark & Polk) is where Amli project will go, but Meade Electric was using the part right next to the tracks for a while to stage some of the ComEd construction.

[ardecila]

Lol, Mr D, you could probably see this site from your window... The site in question is either the AMLI site or the site of the former Centrum Roosevelt Collection Part II (tower + townhouse-wrapped podium).

[James2390]

Was wondering if any there's any recent news regarding that proposed development on Halsted and Bradley in Lakeview? I just recently moved kinda close to there.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by James2390

Was wondering if any there's any recent news regarding that proposed development on Halsted and Bradley in Lakeview? I just recently moved kinda close to there.

foundation work is currently underway

[Zerton]

Originally Posted by pilsenarch

Tartan check-mate: Burberry's Reinvigorates the Mag Mile

God save us from the tasteful.

In selecting the new Burberry store on Michigan Avenue as her calling-card critique, interim Tribune architecture critic Cheryl Kent has chosen to rechannel Blair Kamin's worst schoolmarm tendencies, slamming it as "a screaming chrome ornament", "a boor", and a "noisy drunk", concluding, "That's sort of a bad joke like the Burberry store is a really not-funny, bad joke." (Seriously - does that last sentence even qualify as English?)

To be sure, there's a lot to be offended by on Michigan Avenue, from the ballroom bunker of the Marriott, to the sugar-candy grotesque of John Buck's 600 North Michigan. To be offended, instead, by Burberry's, however, is an admission of catatonia.


http://arcchicago.blogspot.com


http://arcchicago.blogspot.com/2012/...burberrys.html

That building is a tacky caricature. It's plaid because Burberry sells plaid clothes? It's stupid. The façade is low quality also - the seams are badly constructed.

And to put it at the same level architecturally with Herzog and de Meuron's Tokyo Prada store is absurd. That building is exponentially better than Burberry's store here.

[tintinex]

Originally Posted by k1052

foundation work is currently underway

Here's a write-up on the Halsted/Bradley construction status

North Halsted Mega Development Under Construction in Lake View
The entire lot in Boystown is fenced off and hidden from residents while construction work on the highly controversial Halsted Flats commences.

http://lakeview.patch.com/articles/n...photo-11931754

[J_M_Tungsten]

http://m.chicago.curbed.com/archives...17th-damen.php

[spyguy]

[untitledreality]

Cant say Im a big fan of UC encroaching on the old mansions of Woodlawn Avenue. I like the renovations ...and am even okay with the closure of 58th, but I would much prefer to see them expand the South Campus instead of eating up Hyde Park block by block.

[Neuman]

Anyone see this article today on Chicagorealestatedaily.com about Block 37??? The interesting part is the very last paragraph.

"A CIM affiliate recently spent $5.8 million to buy the rights to develop hundreds of new hotel rooms and residential units above Block 37, and the firm has sought permission from the city to revamp the signage on the exterior of the structure."

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...owner-of-fraud