CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[Ricochet48]

Renelle is quite short, but overall I feel it's a great fill. I'm surprised there was even space to put anything there in the beginning. The height allows walkers on State to see the top of the Tribune which is great (especially because I walk there everyday )

The Ontario infill is much weaker than the proposal, but the style is on point imo. Very meh height-wise (looks to be the same height as the western high-rise), but similarly it's much better than the vacant lot. Crazy how it's stood for so long...

Finally, the combo of the hotel & office building surrounding that artistic building that used to be English excites me the most. It's depressing to walk by those lots when picking up Lou's, so I'll be very glad when there's some fill there.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by RedCorsair87

I find Renelle so disappointing. Compared to its neighbors, it seems so short. I know not every building is going to break 1000ft, but it's pretty pitiful. It
also doesn't particularly stand out color-wise with it's light colored neighbors.

Belgravia clearly felt luxury condos were the way to go here... pick up the high-end condo buyers in the area who were disgusted by Trump, while avoiding the extreme competition in the rental sector.

Building condos means building parking (very difficult to sell condos without parking) and Renelle could not get any taller without adding a parking podium. There is only a certain number of parking spots in the existing garage beneath the building.

[harryc]

Jan 29

[harryc]

Feb 2

[BonoboZill4]

Renelle:

[the urban politician]

Not that I don’t like views, but I’d live in Renelle. It’s a great location

[Skyguy_7]

^ For the sake of context, TUP is referring to my comment, which mods deleted I'm assuming because I slammed socialists. I said Trump Tower is in a league of luxury above Renelle, especially considering the fact for roughly the same price, you can get a condo 50 floors higher, offering much better views. And I said it would be silly to spend the same coin on a lesser condo, out of spite.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

^ For the sake of context, TUP is referring to my comment, which mods deleted I'm assuming because I slammed socialists. I said Trump Tower is in a league of luxury above Renelle, especially considering the fact for roughly the same price, you can get a condo 50 floors higher, offering much better views. And I said it would be silly to spend the same coin on a lesser condo, out of spite.

It would also be silly to buy a condo in Renelle instead of Trump because politics since you can just buy one in Vista. Vista has arguably better views than Trump and is a similar price point so why not just buy there if you don't like his politics?

[harryc]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

It would also be silly to buy a condo in Renelle instead of Trump because politics since you can just buy one in Vista. Vista has arguably better views than Trump and is a similar price point so why not just buy there if you don't like his politics?

The finishing in the "Tower that shall not be named" just seemed cheap and gimmicky - the mock ups for Rennelle were noticeably higher end - at least to my untrained eye.

Renelle also can boast ALL the units are top end condos, no plebes or hotel guests.

[gebs]

Originally Posted by harryc

The finishing in the "Tower that shall not be named" just seemed cheap and gimmicky - the mock ups for Rennelle were noticeably higher end - at least to my untrained eye.

Renelle also can boast ALL the units are top end condos, no plebes or hotel guests.

Having worked in a high-end interiors studio, I can confirm that the finishes at 401 N Wabash are considered cheap by industry standards.

[marothisu]

717 s Clark got new construction building permit on Friday. Mostly a parking lot but also the former printing building. The permit says 31 floors, but other sources online say 29. Should deliver around 350 new units

[maru2501]

Originally Posted by gebs

Having worked in a high-end interiors studio, I can confirm that the finishes at 401 N Wabash are considered cheap by industry standards.

Even in the Putin Suite?

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by marothisu

717 s Clark got new construction building permit on Friday. Mostly a parking lot but also the former printing building. The permit says 31 floors, but other sources online say 29. Should deliver around 350 new units

https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/2/4/...r-printers-row

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Hourstrooper

https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/2/4/...r-printers-row

Why was the parking increased so sustantially?

[Hourstrooper]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Why was the parking increased so sustantially?

My guess is b/c its so close to LaSalle st station maybe so they can make extra ticket revenue.

[Mr Downtown]

Two theories on the 717 parking:

Perhaps the Palmer building will have a significant retailer for which the parking is attractive.

Or maybe Ald. King leaned on them to build more. She's very auto-focused, and said at her last town hall that she was very concerned about 633 S. LaSalle being built with no onsite parking. (Meanwhile, the garage at Alta Roosevelt sits half-empty.)

[marothisu]

The increase of parking is unfortunate, but at least all things considered, the parking ratio is barely over 0.5 spaces per unit (i.e. 1 space per just under 2 units).

[marothisu]

Got a few pictures from my visit to town. This one on 2/2/2019 in the West Loop. Most of the high rises pictured here were not here even 4 years ago. This is looking north on Green Street from Randolph. Gr333n U/C in the background.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Two theories on the 717 parking:

Perhaps the Palmer building will have a significant retailer for which the parking is attractive.

Or maybe Ald. King leaned on them to build more. She's very auto-focused, and said at her last town hall that she was very concerned about 633 S. LaSalle being built with no onsite parking. (Meanwhile, the garage at Alta Roosevelt sits half-empty.)

On City Council, it does seem like those black alderman from a middle-class background have a strong car mentality and can't imagine people living without cars, much less designing public policy around such people. I get a similar vibe from Pat Dowell. Other black alderman like Burnett who hail from a more low-income background tend to sympathize with transit riders more, whether they are low-income or not.

Of course, there are plenty of white folks with a car mentality also (see John Kass, or any NW Side alderman). But in the core city, most of the aldermen seem to understand planning around walking, biking, and transit first...

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by ardecila

On City Council, it does seem like those black alderman from a middle-class background have a strong car mentality and can't imagine people living without cars, much less designing public policy around such people. I get a similar vibe from Pat Dowell. Other black alderman like Burnett who hail from a more low-income background tend to sympathize with transit riders more, whether they are low-income or not.

Of course, there are plenty of white folks with a car mentality also (see John Kass, or any NW Side alderman). But in the core city, most of the aldermen seem to understand planning around walking, biking, and transit first...

It's because the third and fourth wards should be split hamburger style, not hotdog style.