CHICAGO | General Developments

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by spyguy

And random renderings of the Hotel Lincoln (a Joie de Vivre hotel) and rooftop bar

I noticed from the site's press release that one of the Pritzkers just invested into Joie de Vivre, so maybe that explains the expansion into Chicago.

[ardecila]

I don't know if it will be the first two-story Walgreens. However, Walgreens (via Duane Reade) has introduced all sorts of new features at stores in New York that they will probably import to Chicago. They have nail salons, prepared foods, juice bars, health clinics, sushi, and growler bars.

[BWChicago]

I think the old Walgreens at State & Randolph was a two-story, and that was the oldest in the chain at the time of closing if I recall correctly

[harryc]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

I think the old Walgreens at State & Randolph was a two-story, and that was the oldest in the chain at the time of closing if I recall correctly

Yes, ground level and lower level.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

I think the old Walgreens at State & Randolph was a two-story, and that was the oldest in the chain at the time of closing if I recall correctly

Isn't the one at Randolph and Franklin also two-level, including basement?

[spyguy]

Don't worry, we'll be getting a new 2 story Walgreens flagship at State and Randolph (modeled after the Duane Reade on Wall Street) pretty soon.

Surprised this hasn't gotten a lot of attention since it's basically a West Loop landmark. The retail portion definitely sounds intriguing since it's so close to Aviary, Next, Moto, etc. I'd love to see a rooftop bar/lounge with the Fulton Market sign as a backdrop.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...UE01/311199978

Sterling Bay buying Fulton St. cold storage building with offices in mind
By: Ryan Ori November 21, 2011

Chicago developer Sterling Bay LLC aims to turn a hulking warehouse in the city's rapidly gentrifying meatpacking district into high-tech office space.

Sterling Bay has agreed to buy the Fulton Market Cold Storage building at 1000 W. Fulton St., sources say. A zoning change is needed to convert it to office space for thousands of workers, ground-floor restaurants and built-in parking for about 300 cars.

[harryc]

SE corner (in background) - new yuppie stuff in fore


SE corner (in background) - legacy distribution businesses in fore.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by spyguy

Surprised this hasn't gotten a lot of attention since it's basically a West Loop landmark. The retail portion definitely sounds intriguing since it's so close to Aviary, Next, Moto, etc. I'd love to see a rooftop bar/lounge with the Fulton Market sign as a backdrop.

I'm hoping that if I ignore it, it won't happen.

One more awesome industrial district turned into a playground for people with way more money and social standing than me. One more source of working-class jobs relocated to McCook or Bolingbrook. Maybe I should just move to Detroit.

[the urban politician]

^ The core of Chicago either becomes a playground for the rich or it dies.

Seems simple enough for me.

Modern industrial tenants want to be in large warehouses far from dense areas, close to highways, and where the cost of land and taxes are lower.

The only way a developer or property owner can justify renovating a ridiculously old building is with the knowledge that either well paying residential or commercial tenants will be occupying the space, not a bunch of hipsters who paint landscapes for a living and want to pay $400/month of rent. Also, why would I spend $5 million renovating a large brick building only to not know whether or not I will ever fill the space with some fictional industrial tenant?

I'm doing a reno in E. Village, it's costing a shitload of money, and the only reason I'm doing it is because it is an area where rents & future property value increases seem to justify the effort.

Besides, what's wrong with the core of the region (Chicago central area and surroundings) becoming more expensive while the middle class and more moderate income families being pushed towards the periphery? I'd much rather see Chicago go through that process than what has happened to most other cities in the midwest and nation as a whole (city core went to shit and never recovered).. My point of view may not seem very sympathetic, but that's just my take on the whole thing..

[J_M_Tungsten]

The only thing that gets me is the indoor parking for 300 cars, but I guess since it is on the periphery of the downtown, they need the parking to sell the business to people. I'm not too familiar with the area, but isn't there a green line stop near there?

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

One more source of working-class jobs relocated to McCook or Bolingbrook. Maybe I should just move to Detroit.

Well do your homework, because you'll be greeted by the same force of gentrification upon entering Detroit city limits.

And I'll also say that what's happening to the cold storage building is precisely the type of conversions going on in Detroit.

I agree it sucks another piece of Old Chicago will be lost to the 21st century global city, but it's better than an empty building sitting around. Please keep in mind that industry needs to modernize with the times. The buildings in the West loop are vintage, they are terrible for modern manufacturing and storage but are superb for office space and residential. At least give some credit for another century on their lifespan.

Nothing says the area can't remain industrial so as long as the businesses themselves continue to invest.

[pip]

I'm curious about the victor hotel in this pic:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H...140393_1_2.jpg

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

but isn't there a green line stop near there?

Yup... right at Morgan and Lake. Less than a 3 minute walk. Parking for 300 is a joke, you wont even have the demand for that within the office/retail component of redeveloping the building, so what does it become then? Partial parking garage for Fulton Market?

[J_M_Tungsten]

3 minutes away! That's insane!

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by pip

I'm curious about the victor hotel in this pic:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-H...140393_1_2.jpg

It's a nightclub

[harryc]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

It's a nightclub

This area used to boast some nice punk clubs - coming out at 4am to the sight of bemused workers wheeling around chicken carcasses. Bright white lighting and white docks. Now townhomes.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by spyguy

Sterling Bay has agreed to buy the Fulton Market Cold Storage building at 1000 W. Fulton St., sources say. A zoning change is needed to convert it to office space for thousands of workers, ground-floor restaurants and built-in parking for about 300 cars.

Good news, I think. I love this building and have been worried about it for the long term. It has to be something, and I don't think it can be cold storage forever. There's a potential for an Old Post Office problem with this one, I think, as it's got few windows, a very large footprint and more usable space than seems could easily be absorbed. If someone's investing in this without it first spending a decade at risk, I'm tickled.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Hayward

I agree it sucks another piece of Old Chicago will be lost to the 21st century global city, but it's better than an empty building sitting around. Please keep in mind that industry needs to modernize with the times. The buildings in the West loop are vintage, they are terrible for modern manufacturing and storage but are superb for office space and residential. At least give some credit for another century on their lifespan.

The description you used for these buildings is kind. I do this for a living and vintage manufacturing buildings are not just "terrible" for modern industrial purposes, they are damn near useless for modern purposes. You can't get shit done in a building designed for 20th century equipment. New automated lines and automated warehousing requires high cube buildings that consist of a single floor. If we want to continue to have any competitive manufacturing at all we need to continue to update our industrial building stock to be competitive with what is being built abroad which is, you guessed it, modern high cube industrial buildings.

[ardecila]

I'm actually really interested in the evolution of manufacturing processes over time. Chicago was the king of industrial architecture, with really creative (and unsung) people like Charles Nimmons and Alfred Altschuler finding ways to glorify industrial production through architecture. They created buildings that were beautiful, perfectly functional, and economical for their occupants to build and maintain - that's why they're still around today after 80 years of neglect.

Today, the best you can hope for is a tilt-up box on Bolingbrook surrounded by a moat of useless lawn and ugly parking lots. Industrial architecture was a huge inspiration for Modernism, but now there's virtually no concept that industrial architecture can fit into a city or that it can be beautiful.

[BVictor1]

I don't know if this has been posted, but the brutalist portion of South Shore High School is nearly totally demolished.