CHICAGO | General Developments

[Chicago_Forever]

^Sweet!

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

I think it's 3D printed by self-assembling nanobots.

That would be amazing!! Give it 5 years

[denizen467]

There is structural steel out of the ground at New City - it's just a small area at the SE corner of the site (probably first-stage retail low rise?), but they're already practically ready to do 3rd floor decking.

[chris08876]

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Nobu Hospitality will officially be joining the Chicago hotel boom with its entry in the West Loop, the company announced this afternoon in a press release. Once completed in 2016, the boutique hotel will sport 155 rooms. A key fixture of the hotel will be its restaurant, where Chef Nobu Matsuhisa will serve up Japanese cuisine. Nobu will build its new hotel and restaurant at the corner of Randolph and Peoria and joins several other trendy hotels planned for the West Loop area, including the upcoming Soho Hotel. Nobu currently owns and operates hotels in Las Vegas and Miami Beach, but Chicago will become the home to its next US opening (take that New York!).

=================================
http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...16-opening.php

[chris08876]

Navy Pier Flyover Recreation Trail To Begin Construction Soon

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring on the Navy Pier Flyover, an elevated path for pedestrians and bicyclists that is intended to alleviate congestion along the busiest section of the Lakefront Trail near Navy Pier. During the summer months, sections of the 18.5 mile trail can become so overloaded with congestion that bicyclists and pedestrians often run into each other, causing major headaches for everyone involved. The city hopes that the 16 foot wide path that stretches from the Chicago River Bridge to Jane Addams Park will be the solution to the trail's congestion issues, but also in safety issues, as the flyover allows bicyclists and pedestrians to completely avoid vehicle traffic entering and exiting Navy Pier. The Chicago Department of Transportation hopes to complete the project in 2018.

========================================
http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...ction-soon.php

[Skyguy_7]

^I hope they incorporate a viewing window on the first floor of the new building's east side. Banksy - Chicago

[marothisu]

Sorry if this has been posted already - I've been out of the country for the last 8 or 9 days. I was coming in on the Kennedy last night and I noticed some construction equipment right near the Ohio Street ramp. I think this is where an office building was planned on Ohio or Grand from Sterling. Is this it or something else probably?

---

Also, Salvation Army is moving from its West Loop location (Monroe and Ashland near the United Center) to Humboldt Park and building a new 4 story, 391 room, 413 bed facility at 825 N Christiana (near Chicago and Homan). They received the $40 million building permit yesterday. Here's a rendering from 2011:



Article from last week:
http://www.whpdevelopmentcouncil.net/news/7341

[Mikemak27]

"Also, Salvation Army is moving from its West Loop location (Monroe and Ashland near the United Center) to Humboldt Park and building a new 4 story, 391 room, 413 bed facility at 825 N Christiana (near Chicago and Homan). They received the $40 million building permit yesterday. Here's a rendering from 2011:"

Do we know what is going to happen to the building or land at the west loop locations? Did they sell it or do they have other plans for it?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Mikemak27

"Also, Salvation Army is moving from its West Loop location (Monroe and Ashland near the United Center) to Humboldt Park and building a new 4 story, 391 room, 413 bed facility at 825 N Christiana (near Chicago and Homan). They received the $40 million building permit yesterday. Here's a rendering from 2011:"

Do we know what is going to happen to the building or land at the west loop locations? Did they sell it or do they have other plans for it?

Haven't found anything that says anything. That article from 2011 basically says they outgrew the West Loop location (started in 1976) and it would have been too expensive to repair it and too expensive to tear it down and building a new building. The other one says it was cramped..it would be a good location for housing though if someone wanted to renovate.

http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/...loop-location/

[Mikemak27]

At the end of the article in the Gazette, it states this; "Powers said the Salvation Army will work with Alderman Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward) to find a buyer for the current Harbor Light facility."

Giggidy Giggidy Goo!
While this land is no longer in the second ward, there's no reason to allow for anything other than a highly dense, market rate, mixed use of ground floor retail and market rate units. The Madison and Ashland street buses, along with the pink/green line stop at Lake will allow residents an easy way to work.

http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/...loop-location/[/QUOTE]

[Chi-Sky21]

Should be interesting, those Salvation Army buildings are on a large plot of land, there is potential to do something nice there. Now if they could only get rid of that union hall across the street from it also that entire corner would be really happening!

[ardecila]

Uh, there's nothing wrong with the Salvation Army buildings... they are beautiful, super-urban and fairly dense, there's no reason they need to be torn down when there are SO MANY vacant lots nearby. With some renovations, they might work well as affordable housing or even market-rate.

[Chi-Sky21]

There is nothing wrong with the buildlings facing the street along Ashland and Monroe, but behind that i HIGHLY doubt the current layout of buildings would work. Also there are 2 parking lots on the site that i do not think they would leave like that especially since one fronts Skinner Park, i would think a developer would want to take advantage of the park/skyline views.

[Mikemak27]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Uh, there's nothing wrong with the Salvation Army buildings... they are beautiful, super-urban and fairly dense, there's no reason they need to be torn down when there are SO MANY vacant lots nearby. With some renovations, they might work well as affordable housing or even market-rate.

Affordable housing in a location that could attract high rents is an awful use of taxpayer funds. Affordable housing should only be built where land values are lower with great access to public transportation. We shouldn't be picking winners and losers with housing. A middle class family can only afford to rent in Portage Park or Ashburn, yet we are going to subsidize someone else to live here instead. That makes no sense, especially when the city, county, state, schools, fire, police, transit, libraries, and pensions are all incredibly underfunded or near bankruptcy. Building market rate units here will raise property values and contribute significant amounts of money in property taxes to all these local governments. This in turn will help pay for more affordable and CHA units elsewhere in the city.

[Link N. Parker]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Sorry if this has been posted already - I've been out of the country for the last 8 or 9 days. I was coming in on the Kennedy last night and I noticed some construction equipment right near the Ohio Street ramp. I think this is where an office building was planned on Ohio or Grand from Sterling. Is this it or something else probably?

---

Also, Salvation Army is moving from its West Loop location (Monroe and Ashland near the United Center) to Humboldt Park and building a new 4 story, 391 room, 413 bed facility at 825 N Christiana (near Chicago and Homan). They received the $40 million building permit yesterday. Here's a rendering from 2011:



Article from last week:
http://www.whpdevelopmentcouncil.net/news/7341

This is great news. Although I do not like the parking lot aspect of this drawing (they should do some sort of underground parking lot or a garage), I like the fact that they are building something interesting. This also allows for the area on Monroe to get re-developed into something dense!

[Link N. Parker]

[QUOTE=Mikemak27;6501135]Affordable housing in a location that could attract high rents is an awful use of taxpayer funds. Affordable housing should only be built where land values are lower with great access to public transportation. We shouldn't be picking winners and losers with housing. A middle class family can only afford to rent in Portage Park or Ashburn, yet we are going to subsidize someone else to live here instead. That makes no sense, especially when the city, county, state, schools, fire, police, transit, libraries, and pensions are all incredibly underfunded or near bankruptcy. Building market rate units here will raise property values and contribute significant amounts of money in property taxes to all these local governments. This in turn will help pay

Agree 100%! Something tells me that the area around Ashland and Monroe is going to really start booming soon...

[ardecila]

Affordable housing doesn't have to be subsidized. I'm thinking from the perspective of a developer, not a concerned citizen. It would be great to pack the building with efficiency units - small, but renting at market rate, ergo affordable. At Monroe, you're not far from the Blue Line or the upcoming Ashland BRT.

Building affordable housing around outlying transit nodes is equally fantastical, because outlying areas have no desire for density beyond single-family, especially it it's affordable. Poor communities on the south and west sides are still trying to build buildings that made sense in the 1920s - infill 2 and 3 flats. What makes sense now is midrises clustered around transit, but wealthy communities don't want them because of traffic and shadows while poor communities don't want them because Cabrini Green (as if an urban 10-story building is the same as a 30-story tower in a park).

[wierdaaron]

Managed to get ahold of some kind of render for 333 N Mich's retail renovations, possibly. Blackhawks are the first tenant to announce anything about the building, they'll be doubling+ their floor space over two stories.

Mag Mile Building Renovation Will Include Expanded Blackhawks Flagship Store
Curbed
Wednesday, March 19, 2014, by Curbed Staff



Is this the render you mentioned being in the lobby Hayward?

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Managed to get ahold of some kind of render for 333 N Mich's retail renovations, possibly. Blackhawks are the first tenant to announce anything about the building, they'll be doubling+ their floor space over two stories.

Mag Mile Building Renovation Will Include Expanded Blackhawks Flagship Store
Curbed
Wednesday, March 19, 2014, by Curbed Staff



Is this the render you mentioned being in the lobby Hayward?

Yup, exact same one.

[wierdaaron]

So the marble is staying. I could learn to like it if they stick with that 20's gold trim motif, right now it just seems to clash with everything. I do hope they can land some attractive retail tenants, same with the rest of the "Mag Mile South" buildings. Millennium Park Plaza seems to be off to a good start with the Labriola pizza place. I wonder if the owners of all the Michigan Ave buildings south of Randolph are starting to take a close look at their retail upgrade prospects as well, or if they're waiting to see how things turn out.

With that Walgreens replacing the Bennigans I wish they'd just nix the one at 20 N Mich and open that prime space for something a little more... robust. An Al's Beef or something like that where you could get a Chicago dog and a italian beef right across from the Bean... that'd be almost magical.