[headcase]

TODAY @ 12:15, 224 S Michigan

CAF Lunchtime Lecture
February 14
The Spertus Institute’s New Glass House
Mark Sexton, Krueck & Sexton Architects

SSDD

[headcase]

I'm kind of exicted for this relaunch of the House of Blues, it was starting to look a little out dated and this new renovation sounds promising.

I've never been in the hotel, but the paint they used on the exterior is terrible.

SSDD

[headcase]

http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/hobpaint/dearbornbeforeandafter.jpg

And Lynn Becker's (http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/hobpaint/hobpaint.htm) take on the repainting.

SSDD

[trvlr70]

I've never been in the hotel, but the paint they used on the exterior is terrible.

SSDD

It has an awesome interior, but likely is in need of refurbishments. It is one of Chicago's cooler hotel properties and this renovation will keep up that standing. I wonder what they'll do with the big Budha just inside the entrance?

[honte]

"Chicago's survey of landmark buildings essentially excludes any structure built after 1940. That survey is now over a decade old, and it has left the city's incredibly rich modernist legacy at peril. While the damage at Marina City can probably be reversed- with however much cost- at some later date, without an extension of landmark protection, other modernist icons may not survive at all. Another great Bertrand Goldberg building, Prentice Hospital, with its cloverleaf of rounded towers, will be placed at maximum risk when the facility moves to new, larger quarters next year. The older, classic property will revert to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which has almost invariably chosen demolition over preservation. "

Great statement by Becker. He took to words right out of my mouth.

But why didn't he complain when they messed up the plaza by glassing-in some pilotis on the residential towers? Perhaps because he would offend some of his neighbors?

[dvidler]

Changing Chicago
February 14, 2007; Page B4
A real-estate investment manager will unveil a $155 million mixed-use development tomorrow on land in Chicago last occupied by crime-plagued housing projects.

Metropolis is the first foray into development by Quintin E. Primo III, head of Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners, which has $3 billion of real-estate investment under management.

The first phase of the project will have 330,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by a grocery store in an area that has little access to fresh food. No residents in the area will be displaced. Mr. Primo, along with his partner Judson Investment Company LLC, will put 102 condominiums on top, 20 of which will be reserved for moderate-income residents, which are those who earn 80% of the area's median income.

Metropolis will be built on a 10-acre parcel in the Bronzeville neighborhood. A tentatively planned second phase could bring the total investment to nearly $500 million.

Mr. Primo and his group still face some hurdles. The group needs approval from the city to buy eight of the 10 acres it doesn't already control, though it has political support from the ward's powerful alderman. Just a few blocks from U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play, the site is in an area that has seen little investment for decades. That is changing now that Stateway Gardens and Robert Taylor Homes housing projects, with concentrations of crime and poverty, have been demolished.

[Chicago2020]

Richard M. Daley deserves four more years

Chicago Sun Times
February 14, 2007

When Time magazine named Richard M. Daley the nation's top mayor a couple of years ago, we were were among the many who said it was a well-deserved accolade because Daley had irrefutably made Chicago a better city. That judgment is as true today as it was then, and for that reason the Sun-Times News Group endorses Daley for re-election. His vision, hard work and leadership have made Chicago a city that continually demonstrates how urban life remains relevant in the era of ever-expanding suburban growth.
Downtown Chicago is quite simply a jewel that dazzles visitors. We can only hope Daley's dream of lassoing the 2016 Olympics is realized so that our city by the lake gets to display its many attractions to the world. While the central district -- an increasingly residential area as well as business dynamo -- has prospered under his governance, Daley has not neglected the neighborhoods. He points with understandable pride at new or improved streets, alleys and sidewalks, spruced-up parks, 15 new police stations and 52 new or renovated libraries enhancing life in Chicago's diverse communities. Anti-crime cameras have augmented the work of police in lowering crime and making streets safer.

Much remains to be done. While the city's schools have made progress under Daley-run reform, too many kids still do too poorly on achievement tests. It's true that financial help in the form of replacing the property tax as the major funder of education must come from Springfield. Still, Daley must keep the pressure on administrators and teachers to do better by Chicago's children.

Now he faces a new and daunting challenge -- marshaling the resources to restore the CTA's rail system. While some of the delays are caused by construction to upgrade service, many slow-go zones stem from deterioration of CTA infrastructure. Getting Springfield to pay attention to this problem as well as education will take a deft hand.


Corruption casts a long shadow over Daley's record. He has not been directly implicated but it happened on his watch. The mayor says he has learned from the past, though some of his statements in support of Robert Sorich and others convicted for rigged hiring have been equivocal. We and the city's taxpayers expect Daley to follow through on the reforms he has implemented and to be more vigilant.

Dorothy Brown, the clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court, and William "Dock" Walls, a former aide to Mayor Harold Washington, have run spirited campaigns emphasizing the need for better schools, more affordable housing and improved transit, but in the end our decision is that Chicago's best interests would be served by another four years with Daley at the helm.

[Pandemonious]

I too currently live in Marina City, and I actually like the new paint job on the HOB hotel. I don't see anything wrong with it, and I think it actually goes a little bit better with the look of the HOB itself.. maybe I am alone... In the two before and after images shown above, the HOB is cut off, which is key to the entire composition IMO.

As for Daley. Who the hell could replace him and do a better (hell, even half as good?) a job? Chicago has been reinventing itself in a lot of different ways, and a lot of that is thanks to his leadership. Who the hell is even running against him? I don't think they stand a chance.

[kayosthery]

Here's an quick photo update of the work going on in Rosemont for the new hotel at River and Balmoral.

Looking North.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o94/kayosthery_photos/2-4-07010.jpg

3rd floor framed.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o94/kayosthery_photos/2-4-07011.jpg

Erecting tower sections for the tower crane.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o94/kayosthery_photos/CIMG0563.jpg

Steely, this building previously had 16 floors but was redesigned to 11 due to FAA issues. It now will have 12 floors and will be 147' tall. Should updates for this building be moved back to the "City Compilation" thread, or should they remain here?

[wrabbit]

".....Another great Bertrand Goldberg building, Prentice Hospital, with its cloverleaf of rounded towers, will be placed at maximum risk when the facility moves to new, larger quarters next year. The older, classic property will revert to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which has almost invariably chosen demolition over preservation. ".....

Prentice really must not go - it is a singular structure. I remember seeing this one in books when I was a kid, and the thrill years later of finally seeing it in person. Any attempts by NW to raze it ought to be met with a protest of some sort - I know that I'll be carrying a picket if need be to save it from the wrecking ball.

[the urban politician]

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=2702&TM=86147.8
Madison Street makeover
East Garfield plan calls for heavy business recruitment for potential ‘Main Street’

By HAYDN BUSH
Managing Editor


When Rev. Michael Eaddy, pastor of Peoples Church of the Harvest, 3570 West Fifth Ave., was growing up in East Garfield Park in the 1960s, the neighborhood's Madison Street strip was a destination that drew in shoppers for miles around. At a press conference Tuesday at Edna's, 3175 W. Madison, neighborhood groups unveiled a new action plan for Madison Street between Damen and Central Park Avenue that Eaddy and other West Side residents hope will bring the street back to its former glory. While residential development in East Garfield Park has boomed in recent years, commercial development has lagged behind, a dynamic that has not gone unnoticed by Eaddy and other neighborhood leaders.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/SiteImages/Article/2702a.jpg
Madison Street, seen here near Oakley, has been targeted for redevelopment.
Photo by Josh Hawkins

"When you didn't go downtown, you could always go out west," Eaddy recalled of his youthful days in the neighborhood. "We want to recapture that."

Ernestine King, executive director of the Greater Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce, said the plan, crafted after a year of meetings with neighborhood groups coordinated by the University of Illinois-Chicago City Design Center, is dedicated to turning Madison Street into a destination that can lure both residents and visitors to the area's two main attractions, the United Center and the Garfield Park Conservatory.

"We're bringing back Madison as Main Street," King said of the effort, which has enlisted groups ranging from the Madison and Western Chamber of Commerce to several local churches to help with planning.

The plan unveiled Tuesday calls for the creation this year of a Madison Street Development Committee, which would work to recruit businesses and public investment to the area. For 2007, King said the group hopes to hire a staffer while working on recruiting businesses.

"In the first year, we want to recruit and attract people to the area," King said.

Abe Lentner, Coordinator for Technical Assistance Programs at UIC's City Design Center, said the neighborhood still has more than 100 vacant lots and a 30 percent vacancy rate in commercial structures.

"That sends a message that East Garfield Park is closed for business," Lentner said.

To combat that image, Lentner called for the recruitment of "quality retail" development, and said the new group should also push to find opportunities for neighborhood entrepreneurs to start new businesses or expand existing ones.

Mike Tomas, director of the East Garfield Park New Communities program and employee of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, said the group would promote stricter design standards for potential new buildings in more heavily trafficked areas like Madison and Western, but would consider more "flexible" standards further west, where less development is in place. According to the report, that could translate into more New Urbanist principles farther east, with the possible inclusion of strip malls and parking lots in front of developments in less built-up areas.

And Tomas, citing the creation of 1,500 new residential units in recent years, said he believes the neighborhood has the potential to attract more small businesses-cafes and grocery stores, for instance-and said the new group is in talks with a hardware retailer to locate in the neighborhood.

"Two million dollars leaves the neighborhood every year for hardware," Tomas said, adding, "40,000 square feet of family apparel could be sustained in the...area."

Tomas said that the Department of Planning and Development, along with the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), have set aside funding for the new Madison Street group this year to pay for brochures, trips to retailers' conventions, the hiring of a UIC graduate student to help design a website and other recruitment tools to bring more businesses to Madison Street. In the long run, Tomas said he would like to see streetscaping improvements on Madison Street, but said the nature of those improvements has not yet been determined.

[the urban politician]

Changing Chicago
February 14, 2007; Page B4
A real-estate investment manager will unveil a $155 million mixed-use development tomorrow on land in Chicago last occupied by crime-plagued housing projects.

Metropolis is the first foray into development by Quintin E. Primo III, head of Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners, which has $3 billion of real-estate investment under management.

The first phase of the project will have 330,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by a grocery store in an area that has little access to fresh food. No residents in the area will be displaced. Mr. Primo, along with his partner Judson Investment Company LLC, will put 102 condominiums on top, 20 of which will be reserved for moderate-income residents, which are those who earn 80% of the area's median income.

Metropolis will be built on a 10-acre parcel in the Bronzeville neighborhood. A tentatively planned second phase could bring the total investment to nearly $500 million.

Mr. Primo and his group still face some hurdles. The group needs approval from the city to buy eight of the 10 acres it doesn't already control, though it has political support from the ward's powerful alderman. Just a few blocks from U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play, the site is in an area that has seen little investment for decades. That is changing now that Stateway Gardens and Robert Taylor Homes housing projects, with concentrations of crime and poverty, have been demolished.

^ This sounds exciting. Sadly there have been too many south side projects announced in the past few years that haven't really gotten off the ground.

[trvlr70]

I swear, Meridian can't seem to stick as a name on any local properties. The Sutton Place Hotel and Conrad Hotel were both formerly Le Meridians.

[Latoso]

Replace the L (at least downtown, ala London's Circle Line) with a more elevated monorail or maglev train, with elevated green platform hubs with commercial areas below throughout the city.

Blasphemy! The "L" shall never die.

[Chicago Shawn]

Blasphemy! The "L" shall never die.

Ditto, I will chain myself to the rivited steel columns should anyone dare to demolish our treasured citywide landmark.


Not really a "general development", but an amusing article:

It's the Big Dig, Chicago style
Rare snow removal plan enforced as city elections near

By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons and David Heinzmann, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Mitch Dudek contributed to this report
Published February 15, 2007


Given the history of snowstorms and the ballot box in this town, no mayor worth his salt would try to plow us out of a blizzard on the cheap in an election year.

City Hall went the extra mile this week, issuing a rare "Phase 3" snow removal plan, which dispatched armies of city workers across Chicago to shovel sidewalks, crosswalks and even a few stoops.

City officials said Election Day--which is less than two weeks off--had nothing to do with the first use of Phase 3 since January 1999, when Chicago was hit with its second-biggest snowstorm on record.

The example of Mayor Michael Bilandic losing City Hall after botching the blizzard of 1979 is solidly part of Chicago lore, a fiasco that Daley is not about to repeat.

The decision to send more than 750 extra workers across the city to shovel snow early Wednesday was "absolutely not" a political decision made with an eye to the upcoming local elections, Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Mike Picardi said.

"At 12 inches, I'll always activate Phase 3," Picardi said.

Snowfall measured a foot at Midway Airport. A handful of storms since 1999 have thrown that kind of snow on Chicago without bringing out the shovel brigade, but Tuesday's event was complicated by harsh winds off the lake that made this storm "quite exceptional," said WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling.

"This storm was quite respectable. It ranks up there with the top tier" of storms in Chicago history, Skilling said.

National Weather Service reports put the storm's wind gusts at 30 to 50 m.p.h., significantly higher than peak gusts during similar snowstorms in 2000, 2002 and 2005.

The snow had stopped falling by Wednesday afternoon, but many side streets were still filled with drifts.

"We will work all night long until we get the streets down to the pavement," Picardi said. The commissioner said Wednesday that workers would keep at it until midnight and be back on the streets at 4 a.m. Thursday.

Picardi said the combination of snow and high winds convinced him it was necessary to put the additional forces on streets to clear crosswalks, bus stops and fire hydrants.

"It was a very rare and very tough storm to fight," he said.

Some would-be aldermen aren't so sure about the city's motives. Carina Sanchez is running against Ald. George Cardenas in the 12th Ward.

"Anytime you see something like this happen, especially in an election year, it makes you wonder, `Why now and why not before when there have been other snowstorms?'" she said. "It will be interesting too to see if the city workers knock on people's doors to inform residents that the snow has been cleared."

Picardi said officials didn't play favorites in dispatching workers--they went to all 50 wards.

The workers were sent to each ward's Streets and Sanitation office, where they identified vital locations to clear, including schools, hospitals and churches, officials said.

For instance, one street team in the 31st Ward went to Belmont Community Hospital and Barry Elementary School before combing West Diversey and North Central Avenues, said the department's spokesman, Matt Smith.

Wayne Crawford, 44, an electrical worker for the city, got a call late Tuesday asking him to report to the office for the 27th Ward at 4 a.m. Wednesday, he said. Crawford spent the day clearing snow with a shovel.

"It's getting very heavy," he said Wednesday afternoon while shoveling at Chicago and Milwaukee Avenues. "I didn't expect to be doing this today."

Workers from the city's Department of Transportation focused on removing snow from pedestrian bridges and viaducts at expressways. Some commuters noticed the difference.

On his way to work, Gaetano Battaglia couldn't walk across the Chicago Avenue bridge over the Kennedy Expressway because it was filled with snow. So, Battaglia, 24, of West Town, walked in the street with other commuters.

When he returned in the afternoon, the bridge's sidewalk had been cleared.

"I've never seen it like this before," he said with a smile.

In the seven years she has lived in the neighborhood, Gabrielle Kolehainen said it was the first time she had seen the bridge's sidewalk cleared after a snowstorm. The accountant crossed the bridge while out shopping Wednesday.

"I was happily surprised," said Kolehainen, 48. "They should take care of the pedestrians--not just the cars."

[spyguy]

Since there are three planned towers in the future, I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread or not. If not, Steely can move it I'm sure.

--------------

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070215005333&newsLang=en

Capri Capital Partners LLC Announces Plans For Major Mixed-Use Development in Chicago
February 15, 2007 06:00 AM Eastern Time

Capri Capital Partners, LLC (“Capri”) in a joint venture with Judson Investment Company (“Judson”) has announced it will develop “The Metropolis,” a proposed three phase mixed-use project located at the intersection of South State Street and Pershing Road (39th Street) on the south side of Chicago.

The Metropolis will be an architecturally significant development planned to consist of approximately 1,000,000 square feet. In its first phase of 500,000 square feet, the project will include expansive green space surrounded by two six-story curvilinear buildings of steel and glass. Approximately 330,000 square feet of commercial retail area and 102 residential condominium units are planned in the initial phase at a cost of $155 million. Future phases are planned to include three towers dedicated to residential and hotel uses.

The visionary development will further the economic vitalization and transformation of Chicago’s historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard community. Both interim construction and permanent employment will be generated for the community due to the substantial investment that the joint venture is making.

“Beyond economic development for the community, the ultimate design intent of Metropolis is to create a “city center” for the near south side of Chicago,” said Quintin E. Primo III, Chairman & CEO of Capri. “Importantly, the project addresses the chronic lack of commercial retail in the area and will offer market rate and affordable housing to the growing community. Twenty percent of the 102 condominiums will be reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers, earning no more than 80% of the area’s median per capita income.

“This extraordinary investment in this particular place demonstrates confidence in Chicago’s vision for the transformation of places once dominated by decaying public housing into new communities of hope,” said Jonathan F. Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and a founder of The Partnership for New Communities, a group of Chicago business and civic leaders dedicated to community revitalization. Primo is a member of The Partnership Board.

“Our mission is not about fixing up a block or two, not about a few high-profile social programs, not about a temporary fix,” Fanton said. “Transformation means deep, widespread, and permanent change. So, we applaud Quintin and Capri Capital Partners for looking beyond the surface… for listening to what the data were actually saying about the marketplace… for imagining what could be… and for demonstrating the leadership to make it happen.”

“The architectural vision for Metropolis is an abstract expression of Bronzeville’s unique cultural history,” said Ross Wimer, Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (“SOM”). “The building façades recall the repeated musical patterns of blues and jazz and the residential unit layouts invoke harmonious rhythms and the ideals of freedom and flexibility.

“A public venue celebrating African American history and culture will be located in the central, curvilinear public park,” added Wimer. “It will encourage learning, activity and dialogue between the retail spaces and the public. At the corner of State and Pershing, the proposed digital clock tower announces both the new landmark development and the renaissance of the historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood.

CB Richard Ellis is the exclusive leasing agent for Metropolis.

“We’re extremely encouraged by the anticipated transformation of this market,” said Todd Caruso, Regional Head of Retail for CB Richard Ellis. “The Metropolis is well-positioned between the Roosevelt Road retail corridor north and new retail development occurring on 87th Street south. The lack of retail supply in the general area should allow the project to readily draw shoppers from the surrounding 15 neighborhood communities.”

“This project is important to the south side, and the numbers speak for themselves,” said Primo. “According to MetroEdge, approximately $671 million of the total $909 million in mid-south consumer expenditures represent “retail leakage,” or dollars spent by residents outside their community.”

“The project is historically significant in so many ways,” said Hugh Williams, President and CEO of Judson Investment Company. “As minority-owned firms, Judson and Capri understand that Metropolis sits in the middle of an underserved area in the early stages of a rebirth. It will attract middle- and upper-income residents that will integrate with existing low-income area residents, who have been denied access to grocery stores and other simple amenities that people want in their neighborhoods.”

The site is bordered by Pershing Road (39th Street) to the North, 40th Street to the South, Chicago Rock Island Railroad Embankment to the West and State Street to the East.

----------
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company announce
‘The Metropolis’ Mixed-Use Revitalization Development on Chicago’s South Side

February 15, 2007 10:57 AM Eastern Time

Today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (“SOM”) in partnership with Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company, announced their involvement in a community revitalization project in Bronzeville, located on Chicago’s south side. The Metropolis, situated at the intersection of Pershing Road and South State Street, is planned to cover one million square feet and will become the area’s largest mixed-use complex. The proposed development will feature 150,000 square feet of residential condominiums, 330,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of site improvements including an open-air park with fountain, a public library and underground parking. The site, bounded by an abandoned railway along the south, will be demolished to give way to the new development.

SOM was selected to develop the architectural concept for the Metropolis. According to Design Partner Ross Wimer, “the design for Metropolis was inspired by Bronzeville’s African-American heritage rooted in blues and jazz. In addition, “a significant focus is the incorporation of sustainable elements that will be implemented, reinforcing the City of Chicago’s commitment to green design. These include photovoltaic cells (solar panels) in the clock tower that will provide power for the development, and a “green roof” that will help insulate the buildings and control storm-water run-off, as well as provide a park for residents, ” said Wimer.

Managing Partner Richard F. Tomlinson II is working in tandem with Ross Wimer on the Metropolis initiative. “We are honored to be able to make a contribution to this underserved community and the City of Chicago by helping to create an architecturally significant design that will serve as a centerpiece for the area’s vitality and growth opportunities,” said Tomlinson. “Throughout SOM’s history, we have been committed to using our deep resources and experience to help advance the dynamic growth of the community at large through forward-looking projects that make a larger contribution to the City.”

The SOM Chicago office has extensive experience in working with the City to revitalize communities and open spaces, such as Millennium Park, the Chicago Central Area Plan and Lakeshore East. Currently, the firm is actively working on plans to develop Lakeside (Southworks), and recently proposed developments on the south side and on the lakefront as part of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid.

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1830/50862862ys9.jpg

[spyguy]

http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/regions/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003546523

Mixed-Use Development Slated for Chicago's South Side
February 15, 2007
By Dees Stribling, Midwest Correspondent

Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners L.L.C., in a joint venture with Judson Investment Co., has unveiled plans to develop a three-phase mixed-use project on the South Side of the city. All together, the three phases of the project, called the Metropolis, will total about 1 million square feet of residential, retail and ultimately hotel space. Ground will be broken on the project (pictured) sometime this fall.

"We’re following the lead of two neighboring projects, Legends to the south, and the Park Boulevard to the north," Quintin E. Primo III, Chairman & CEO of Capri, told CPN this afternoon. "Sales at those projects have been very impressive, and we expect the same kind of demand for the Metropolis."

The first phase, measuring about 500,000 square feet, will include two six-story buildings. Cost for the roughly 330,000 square feet of retail space and 102 condo units of the first phase will be about $155 million, according to Capri. Future phases will include three additional towers of residential and hotel space.

The project’s location, at 39th and State Street on the South Side, is in Chicago's historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood. In recent years, according to the developers, the area has been underserved in terms of retail, a situation the development is hoping to help alleviate. Also planned for the site are public green space, a venue celebrating African American history--details of which remain to be determined--and perhaps a digital clock tower.

"The neighborhood has been grossly underserved by retailers for a long time,” noted Primo. “But now they’re very interested in locating there, because of residential growth nearby. We’re definitely going to have a grocery store as a tenant, 58,000 to 70,000 square feet. A bank and a drug store for the location are also very likely."

The residential part of the development will offer both market rate and affordable housing options. About 20 percent of the 102 condominiums will be reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers, earning no more than 80 percent of the area's median per capita income, according to Capri.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1346/metropoliswb9.jpg

[pip]

Wow, nice.

[modkris]

This project looks amazing! I hope SOM designs more mid-rise buildings like this in the coming years. Perhaps we could be seeing something similar in the proposed Olympic Village? Either way, LOVE IT!

[LA21st]

Chicago's neighborhoods need more development like this. Im glad more developers are going beyond the small condo/flat buildings outside of downtown/lakefront.

I hated to think all the former CHA sites would become low density hoods.

[honte]

MY GOD. This is like a fantasy come true to see such great stuff happen on the former Robert Taylor land. I cannot believe it! I pass by this forlorn site at least 4 times each week.

Two other great news items here: SOM's involvement with South Works planning, and the towers shown in the future phases of this development along the Metra tracks. Awesome!

[VivaLFuego]

Really great concept, can't wait to see it happen.

[Alliance]

GREAT design.

My one hesitation is the colored stripies...they fail in too many buildings. I't rather be a bit more conservative and make something with a bit more staying power.

(maybe add another big-low rise tower)

Digital clock-tower....I cant wat to see that :)

[Chi_Coruscant]

Capri JV Reveals $500M Mixed-Use Project
By Gina Kenny
http://www.globest.com/news/845_845/chicago/152996-1.html

CHICAGO-A joint venture between Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Co., both minority-owned companies based in Chicago, announced Thursday a one-million-sf project called The Metropolis for the South Side of Chicago. The mixed-use project will be completed in three phases at the intersection of South State Street and Pershing Road. The project is currently estimated at $500 million, says Quintin Primo, chairman and chief executive officer of Capri.

The first phase of the development will be two, six-story, curvilinear buildings, with two stories of retail extending from each, totaling 500,000 sf. The buildings will have approximately 330,000 sf of retail on the first two floors with 102 condominium units on the remaining four floors. Construction is estimated to begin in the fall and should take between 15 and 18 months to complete.

The developers are in “preliminary discussions” with a grocery store for 50,000 sf to 70,000 sf, Primo tells GlobeSt.com. There has also been “keen interest” from a “drug store chain” and a bank. “We think that by the time we start demolition of an embankment that is there, we should have between 40% and 50% of the space accounted for,” he says. Primo would not disclose the asking lease rate for the building.

The condominium units will consist of both market rate units and units for buyers with low to moderate income, he says. The market rate units will sell for between $250,000 and $400,000, Primo says. There will be 20% of the units reserved for buyers with low to moderate income, which will sell for between $150,000 and $200,000, he says.

An art and technology center will also be part of the first phase and will likely be constructed in the “expansive green space” around the building, Primo says. The center will probably have a theme celebrating African-Americans and will have a computer center and a recording studio that residents of the area will be able to use for free, he says says. The developers are in discussions with the John B. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to help underwrite the cost of the building, Primo says.

The property adjacent to the development includes two public housing towers. Primo says the developers felt it was important to include affordable housing and amenities for the community, such as the center and a grocery store. “In all of our projects in urban communities, we are committed to serving existing residents,” Primo says.

The development will be a three-phase project and is should be completed in 2013 or 2014. Other phases of the project will include three towers with residential units and a hotel.

[VivaLFuego]

Sounds incredible, I hope for something similar at the site of the Cabrini-Green towers.

[honte]

^ Almost all of the CHA replacement so far has been a total disappointment. We should be demanding ideas this bold and wise at all of the CHA sites.

[Mr Downtown]

Ideas bold and wise was what got us into this mess and made the CHA such a disaster.

Ordinary neighborhoods, with ordinary houses and small apartment buildings, that have an ordinary relationship with the street and yards, an ordinary distinction between public and private space--that's what you use to create healthy neighborhoods where poor families with children can live normally. Thus the HOPE VI program.

Why do we always think that this new architectural novelty or that city planning trend will be so fabulous that we can ignore the lessons of 2000 years of city building?

[SamInTheLoop]

Ideas bold and wise was what got us into this mess and made the CHA such a disaster.

Ordinary neighborhoods, with ordinary houses and small apartment buildings, that have an ordinary relationship with the street and yards, an ordinary distinction between public and private space--that's what you use to create healthy neighborhoods where poor families with children can live normally. Thus the HOPE VI program.

Why do we always think that this new architectural novelty or that city planning trend will be so fabulous that we can ignore the lessons of 2000 years of city building?

While I get the main point you're trying to make, it doesn't excuse the fact that the overwhelming majority of CHA replacement architecture is not very good. Whatever "ordinary" is, don't ever mistake it for being an acceptable substitute for high-quality, forward-thinking design...

[honte]

^ Poor management and cheap budgets are what killed those buildings, IMO. Yes, there were numerous planning problems in the actual architecture, but if you look at the ones that didn't have piss-poor budgets (such as Hilliard), they were much more successful. Segregating poverty is what killed the communities.

Meanwhile, the type of bold vision that was used on the original projects has been perfectly successful when applied correctly. Lake Meadows and Prairie Shores, while not admired by some on this board, are undeniably as good today as they were when they were built.

You must also remember that these mixed-income buildings must attract market-rate people to support their mixed-income agenda. Boring-ass buildings built like shit (such North Park Village or whatever they call that thing) is not going to support this notion for very long, especially if the overall building program in Chicago improves.

Last, on Sam's note, there is a distinction between bold architecture and thinking that radically changes the way people live. I do think some of the Gropius / Corbusier planning was over the top in that area, but I don't see anything about this new SOM plan that would fit into that category. Really, public park, cultural space, underground parking, community feeling... what's wrong with that picture that wouldn't meet any of the criteria of today's upper-end "traditional" neighborhoods?

[Chicago Shawn]

^ Poor management and cheap budgets are what killed those buildings, IMO. Yes, there were numerous planning problems in the actual architecture, but if you look at the ones that didn't have piss-poor budgets (such as Hilliard), they were much more successful. Segregating poverty is what killed the communities.

Meanwhile, the type of bold vision that was used on the original projects has been perfectly successful when applied correctly. Lake Meadows and Prairie Shores, while not admired by some on this board, are undeniably as good today as they were when they were built.

You must also remember that these mixed-income buildings must attract market-rate people to support their mixed-income agenda. Boring-ass buildings built like shit (such North Park Village or whatever they call that thing) is not going to support this notion for very long, especially if the overall building program in Chicago improves.

Last, on Sam's note, there is a distinction between bold architecture and thinking that radically changes the way people live. I do think some of the Gropius / Corbusier planning was over the top in that area, but I don't see anything about this new SOM plan that would fit into that category. Really, public park, cultural space, underground parking, community feeling... what's wrong with that picture that wouldn't meet any of the criteria of today's upper-end "traditional" neighborhoods?

Agreed 100%. I would also like to note that mixed uses is vital to creating a community. I noticed this is partly why Public Housing in Manhattan is more successful, aside from the high cost of living there. Many of the public housing complexes have retail spaces provided in the bases, which serve a function of the neighborhood and tie the super blocks together with the established neighborhood. Now, the public housing is a part of the community, rather than being a walled off warehouse for the poor as most CHA high-rises were and still are.

I suspect this new development's mixed programming will serve as a kniting factor for the community at large, and it will be sucsessful because of that well thought-out planning.

[Mr Roboto]

^ Poor management and cheap budgets are what killed those buildings, IMO. Yes, there were numerous planning problems in the actual architecture, but if you look at the ones that didn't have piss-poor budgets (such as Hilliard), they were much more successful. Segregating poverty is what killed the communities.

Meanwhile, the type of bold vision that was used on the original projects has been perfectly successful when applied correctly. Lake Meadows and Prairie Shores, while not admired by some on this board, are undeniably as good today as they were when they were built.

You must also remember that these mixed-income buildings must attract market-rate people to support their mixed-income agenda. Boring-ass buildings built like shit (such North Park Village or whatever they call that thing) is not going to support this notion for very long, especially if the overall building program in Chicago improves.


I agree.

While I am skeptical about the new CHA developments, and whether management will truly improve, I do think having more innovative developments will help spur the average buyer to want to be a part of mixed-income projects. I really do like this project in particular, of course, I would like to see some more information on the project & renderings though. I think we can all agree its a definite improvement over the projects what was there before.

In the long run though, I cant help but wonder if it will diminish into a place like Alex's futuristic apartments in "A clockwork orange". But I suppose that could happen to any modern village not manage well.

[VivaLFuego]

Agreed 100%. I would also like to note that mixed uses is vital to creating a community. I noticed this is partly why Public Housing in Manhattan is more successful, aside from the high cost of living there. Many of the public housing complexes have retail spaces provided in the bases, which serve a function of the neighborhood and tie the super blocks together with the established neighborhood. Now, the public housing is a part of the community, rather than being a walled off warehouse for the poor as most CHA high-rises were and still are.

I suspect this new development's mixed programming will serve as a kniting factor for the community at large, and it will be sucsessful because of that well thought-out planning.

Good point. Right near me, one of the older larger housing projects in Chicago, the 1000+ resident Marshall Field Homes on Sedgwick, survive and thrive to this day with some street level retail like convenience stores, laundromat, barbershop, etc.

[schwerve]

the real killer for the southside projects such as stateway was actually in urban planning. If you look at the population projections that the cha was going on at that its almost laughable. I don't have the numbers on hand but they were projecting the population of chicago to be something like 4 million by 1985. If that had happened stateway gardens etc. would likely have been fine places to live but without the predicted demand for liveable space in the city those areas became a complete vacuum for any development or population growth. Not to say the other points made regarding these failures aren't valid, but this has to be mentioned.

[wrabbit]

PBS ran a fantastic documentary many years ago on Robert Taylor Homes, which I have not since been able to locate anywhere. Scary place. I cannot think of a worse "solution" to indigency than to segregate the poor into isolated highrises. Not just a matter of large v small-scale, but of concentration & isolation - low-scale projects that maintained the isolation have encountered the same issues of concentrated crime as any tower. IMHO, the trick to successful public housing is to scatter it throughout the community.

Let us not forget either that Daley Sr. used both RTH & CG as racial firewalls.`

[LA21st]

Not the best rendering, but here is a 7 story complex for Cottage Grove and 45th St. 7 Stories.

http://cbrbprojects.com/clients/builtforu/i/Cot-Grove-rend_lg.jpg

[LA21st]

Good point. Right near me, one of the older larger housing projects in Chicago, the 1000+ resident Marshall Field Homes on Sedgwick, survive and thrive to this day with some street level retail like convenience stores, laundromat, barbershop, etc.

I hope the Marshall Fields homes are here to stay. Arent the Lathrop Homes silimar? I dont hear alot of people complaining about crime or anything.

[Mr Downtown]

Town & Garden Apartments were built before World War II as a private philanthropic venture, by the estate of Marshall Field. Rosenwald Apartments on the South Side were a similar private venture. Today I believe Town & Garden is owned by some sort of nonprofit corporation, and benefits from HUD loans but has no connection to CHA.

CHA sees Lathrop Homes as outmoded and would like to replace them. Both Rosenwald Apartments and Lathrop Homes are on Preservation Chicago's list of "Chicago 7 Most Endangered Buildings."
http://preservationchicago.org/chicago7.html

[honte]

:haha: Funny double-post - an earlier version of the one below that I thought had been lost. I like the version below better, so goodbye to this one...

[honte]

Town & Garden Apartments were built before World War II as a private philanthropic venture, by the estate of Marshall Field. Rosenwald Apartments on the South Side were a similar private venture. Today I believe Town & Garden is owned by some sort of nonprofit corporation, and benefits from HUD loans but has no connection to CHA.

CHA sees Lathrop Homes as outmoded and would like to replace them. Both Rosenwald Apartments and Lathrop Homes are on Preservation Chicago's list of "Chicago 7 Most Endangered Buildings."
http://preservationchicago.org/chicago7.html

Yep.

Frankly, I am not quite sure why Lathrop is in the limelight. I like it, so it's fine with me that it's getting some attention, but I tend to think it's drawing interest partly because it's close to most preservationists' homes...

From an architectural and historic point of view, Trumbull Park or the now-vanished Addams Homes would have made better candidates. Both are as old as Trumbull, but have richer histories. Even Ida B Wells would have made a better preservation candidate in my mind.

Trumbull, by the way, I think can be added to the list of fairly successful CHA developments. I don't believe they plan to replace it either, thank goodness. Last time I was there, I was alarmed to see that most of the (surprisingly) lovely landscaping had been removed, and it appeared that some alteration to the buildings was going on. I hope the CHA improves the property and doesn't do too much to mess with it.

[nomarandlee]

Not the best rendering, but here is a 7 story complex for Cottage Grove and 45th St. 7 Stories.

http://cbrbprojects.com/clients/builtforu/i/Cot-Grove-rend_lg.jpg

I am intrigued, it looks good from what I can tell. I would like to see a bigger render though.

[Busy Bee]

^This is exactly the height and density of developments in outlying neighborhoods we should see more of.

[the urban politician]

Not the best rendering, but here is a 7 story complex for Cottage Grove and 45th St. 7 Stories.

http://cbrbprojects.com/clients/builtforu/i/Cot-Grove-rend_lg.jpg

^ I agree with needing to see a larger rendering, but I like the density.

If PoMo is what's going to dominate in Bronzeville/Kenwood, then I think we may appreciate that cool new proposal for State & Pershing even more simply for the fact that it will contrast everything around it.

[honte]

^ I'm no apologist for PoMo, but some of the new infill development in in the Kenwood Landmark District is so good, it might not even be classified as PoMo. A number of greystone rowhouses have been built that really put to shame the developers who claim they cannot do better given today's economics.

Not sure if this project will meet those standards, but it's nice to see the density. It is very close to the Drexel Blvd district, so I presume that might be part of why there are leaning PoMo. I suspect the areas further from the district will see a larger quantity of modernism, although not at the quality of the SOM proposal.

[the urban politician]

Posted by Spyguy at SSC. This is the Imperial Court Plaza as well as other projects by the same developer:

Imperial Court Hotel Plaza - 150 rooms + 20000 s.f. retail
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4827/imperialctdayag8.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1690/imperialctnightho8.jpg

Millennium East Plaza - 18th and Canal - 200000 s.f. retail
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3782/millenniumeastqj3.jpg

Canal Crossing - 2328 S Canal - 60 units + retail
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6938/canalcrossingbo0.jpg

24th and Canal - office/retail/condo
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/976/24canalwb0.jpg

[wrabbit]

Millennium East Plaza - 18th and Canal - 200000 s.f. retail
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3782/millenniumeastqj3.jpg


I'd like this project alot more if the parking lot didn't front the street so. However, at least they've made the lot white (reflective) rather than standard-issue black; also, the lot looks as though it is water-permeable? (note the circular, grassy holes on some of the parking spots towards the edges.)

[LoyolaBeachView]

LOS ANGELES An advocacy group for environmentally sustainable construction is moving its convention to Chicago.

The U-S Green Building Council says it had wanted to hold its annual meeting at the Los Angeles Convention Center. But the council couldn't book the dates in November because they conflicted with the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The council's Greenbuild conference now will be held November seventh to ninth at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center.

The conference is expected to draw about 20-thousand developers, city planners and other construction industry members.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Chicago2020]

This is Pretty COOL!!!

http://www.chicagoarchitecturalclub.org/events/2007/01/2007_january.php

[aaron38]

Wait, I'm confused. What am I looking at in that rendering of Millenium East Plaza? Why is there a parking lot in the middle of an apple orchard in the middle of downtown Chicago?
And what El line is that supposed to be when the Orange is on the other side of the river?
And is that project good or bad, cause to me it just looks like a suburban strip mall out on Randall road in Algonquin.

[spyguy]

What am I looking at in that rendering of Millenium East Plaza?

Buildings...

Why is there a parking lot in the middle of an apple orchard in the middle of downtown Chicago?

I don't know. It might not actually be part of the project.

And is that project good or bad, cause to me it just looks like a suburban strip mall out on Randall road in Algonquin.

It has a little bit of both. A supermarket, office, and other retail is certainly an improvement over this:
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7531/mapdf4.jpg

While I'm no fan of surface parking, it seems like the parking spots are indicated with little dots, meaning that a lot of the space will be an open plaza. The designs seem decent enough, and again, it serves a better function than what is currently on the site.

[aaron38]

Buildings...
:rolleyes: LOL! Thanks Spyguy...

[Eventually...Chicago]

This most curious thing about this project is its location. 18th & canal is still pretty close to the heart of the south loop (sort of). It seems like this area would support more retail and more street frontage than is currently shown. Although, it is an improvement over what is there now. Concerning the orchard that seems to appear by the parking lot. Developers never let images leak that show something they don't want to provide. Especially when it comes to possible public amenities. They know that once someone sees it, they will continue to ask for it. So i think there may be some sort of park-like area planned for around the secondary parking lot and to the west of the EL tracks.

Does anyone else think this render looks a bit simcity-ish?

Oh yea, and how about grabbing GreenBuild from LA!?
Now lets finish it and get the USOC olympic bid!

[honte]

Yeah, I agree that it's unfortunately suburban. Isn't that the corner (18th and Canal) where there is a cute little Art Deco warehouse? I think it's constructed of glazed tile or something like that. I don't see it in the overhead though, so I might be wrong.

EDIT, OK, here it is unless it's torn down already. It's actually kind of neat in real life, but probably not neat enough to save.

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/6360/1800canaltx6.jpg

[honte]

See that parcel underneath the letters "860" in the 860 W. Blackhawk box? That's the site of a Louis Sullivan-designed factory. It's literally surrounded by new development, and, I'd say, hanging on by the skin of its teeth.

The City ought to move forward to protect this complex before we lose yet another Sullivan building.

Generally, good news all around for this area though. Now, just imagine something like Capri's SOM development where Cabrini Green is now!

[VivaLFuego]

In terms of traffic in that area, I think it can be managed with several improvements:
1) North Ave Bridge (underway)
2) Division Bridges, there's 2 of them, both need the same widening/modernization as North Ave bridge
3) Halsted bridge just south of division
4) Rebuild Kingsbury, and signalize it (I think they're already adding a signal at North)
5) the obvious: going forward, make new developments more ped-friendly! and consider eventual redevelopment of the strip mall developments into something more ped-friendly
6) tying into #5, leveage the excellent public transit access: the subway station in the heart of the district, plus the frequent Halsted and North Ave bus service. This would involve the city, CTA, and a new chamber of commerce to develop a unified approach to encourage transit/pedestrian use, such as maps of the district, advertising to promote transit, etc.

I don't know for sure, but I think CHA is only planning about 700 units on the site of the Green Homes (the highrises), which is also a wasted opportunity.

[budman]

Damn, what is going to happen to that strip bar on Kingsbury, just south of North Avenue?;)

[honte]

In terms of traffic in that area, I think it can be managed with several improvements:
1) North Ave Bridge (underway)
2) Division Bridges, there's 2 of them, both need the same widening/modernization as North Ave bridge
3) Halsted bridge just south of division


Is there any way that the Halsted and Division Street bridges can be saved? I have heard conflicting reports about their eventual demise...

The eastern Division Street bridge dates from 1903 and certainly qualifies as one of the first Bascule Bridges in the world. I love the symbols of Chicago that are punched in its plate girders.

The other bridges you mention aren't much later either. I think they are incredibly beautiful.

[VivaLFuego]

Is there any way that the Halsted and Division Street bridges can be saved? I have heard conflicting reports about their eventual demise...

The eastern Division Street bridge dates from 1903 and certainly qualifies as one of the first Bascule Bridges in the world. I love the symbols of Chicago that are punched in its plate girders.

The other bridges you mention aren't much later either. I think they are incredibly beautiful.

Oh, I like them all too, and I liked North ave. bridge which is meeting it's demise.....but they are all chokepoints on 4-lane streets narrowing to 2, makes for horrible backups during rush hour and on saturdays. Best case, there would be a way to large save them intact and refurbish them for use elsewhere, i.e. Taylor st. etc.

[honte]

^ Thanks for the reply. That's a nice idea. Here's my pipe dream idea: There is a vacant lot south of Division / Halsted along the river, and underutilized land to the west of the first bridge. The city could widen Division somewhat, and then transport the pieces of the Halsted bridge to that location. Then the existing Division Bridge could become a westbound bridge, while the Halsted could serve for eastbound traffic.

There are 1000s of reasons why this would probably never happen, but it doesn't hurt to dream...

[Taft]

In terms of traffic in that area, I think it can be managed with several improvements:
1) North Ave Bridge (underway)
2) Division Bridges, there's 2 of them, both need the same widening/modernization as North Ave bridge
3) Halsted bridge just south of division
4) Rebuild Kingsbury, and signalize it (I think they're already adding a signal at North)
5) the obvious: going forward, make new developments more ped-friendly! and consider eventual redevelopment of the strip mall developments into something more ped-friendly
6) tying into #5, leveage the excellent public transit access: the subway station in the heart of the district, plus the frequent Halsted and North Ave bus service. This would involve the city, CTA, and a new chamber of commerce to develop a unified approach to encourage transit/pedestrian use, such as maps of the district, advertising to promote transit, etc.

I don't know for sure, but I think CHA is only planning about 700 units on the site of the Green Homes (the highrises), which is also a wasted opportunity.

Do you know if a North/River stop would be built if the Circle line goes through? I know they haven't been very specific in terms of station locations, but this would seem like a good place to put one (roughly 3-4 blocks from the existing red line, in the heart of a crazy retail area, etc.).

Taft

[VivaLFuego]

Do you know if a North/River stop would be built if the Circle line goes through? I know they haven't been very specific in terms of station locations, but this would seem like a good place to put one (roughly 3-4 blocks from the existing red line, in the heart of a crazy retail area, etc.).

Taft


Potentially, North/Elston/Ashland would be on the Circle line (connected to the UP Metra Lines), Division/Larabee on the West loop subway, if either project happens...

As it is, the North/Clybourn stop is pretty convenient to all the retail centered around North/Sheffield and extending to the north along Clybourn, but the busy streets don't make for very friendly pedestrian crossings. Some sort of coordinated effort to improve the friendliness of sidewalks is definitely in order.

[wrabbit]

^ I know this may sound off the wall, but I really hate to see these old bridges sold for scrap, and if there is no longer a use for them as functioning bridges, how about reusing them as public art and sculpture in parks and open spaces. I think the iron structure on these bridges is akin to Eifel Tower in some respects.

I was reading (in the Trib? - can't remember) that the city did initially try to adopt the N. Ave bridge out to another city, but that there were no takers.

[pottebaum]

So, has anyone else heard that Whole Foods and Target (along with other retailers) are going into the Carson's building?

Urbanpln at SSC says it'll be officially announced within the next couple weeks.

[VivaLFuego]

Target? That is awesome. the only thing that would make it better is if it were a 24-hour Target.

[Mr Downtown]

So, has anyone else heard that Whole Foods and Target (along with other retailers) are going into the Carson's building?

Yes. Can't disclose where.

[sentinel]

Yes. Can't disclose where.

That's unnecessary - thanks for nothing :rolleyes:

[spyguy]

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=14085

48TH WARD INCUMBENT: MARY ANN SMITH
2007-02-21

By Andrew Davis

Windy City Times: What accomplishment during this current term are you proudest of?

Mary Ann Smith: I would have to say that a premier developer has signed a contract with the Uptown Theatre (whose name I can’t reveal right now) is pretty important. This is very significant not just because it’s an important structure historically and architecturally but, also, because people have been giving up because property values have gone up. People needed to be reassured that this [area] is viable. It’s also symbolic because so much of what we do is community restoration—revitalizing the community and also historic buildings.

[sentinel]

Center on Halsted building progress from webcab - almost complete and looking beautiful:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7184/centerlc0.jpg

[SamInTheLoop]

So, has anyone else heard that Whole Foods and Target (along with other retailers) are going into the Carson's building?

Urbanpln at SSC says it'll be officially announced within the next couple weeks.

Both of those tenants would be great for Loop residents and workers - and themselves because business would be gangbusters...

[pottebaum]

This article says they're planning a Whole Foods and a Treasure Island for the location.
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/22/business/business/doc8b38aa7ab31d284886257289008030b1.txt

^at the very end of the article.

[BVictor1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-0702250032feb25,1,4499957.story?coll=chi-leisurearts-hed

ARCHITECTURE

Carson building about to enter new plane of existence
Its function, not form, will change

By Blair Kamin
Tribune architecture critic
Published February 25, 2007


We are used to seeing our landmarks as living works of art, not as desolate stage sets, so it is something of a shock to come upon the newly shuttered Carson Pirie Scott & Co. store on State Street. Peer through the big display windows, wrapped in Louis Sullivan's extraordinary naturalistic ornament, and you see discarded IBM cash registers, 80 percent to 90 percent off signs, and not a sales clerk in sight.

The contrast between the architecture's soaring timelessness and the all-too-transitory remains of the store it housed until Wednesday's closing has a knifing poignancy, as if you were filing past a body at a wake. Yet that does not mean that this fabled work of American architecture is dead or about to die, a morbid state of affairs also implied by Thursday's Chicago Sun-Times headline -- "Shoppers Give Last Rites To A Loop Landmark." In reality, Sullivan's retail masterpiece is about to enter a new phase of life.

How that phase will turn out -- and the degree of its fidelity to Sullivan's design -- remains to be seen.

Comfortingly, the building's owner, Wheeling-based developer Joseph Freed and Associates, has signaled its intent to lease the first and second floors of the 12-story building to specialty retailers, perhaps a grocer, while floors three to seven would become offices. Floors eight through 12 already have been turned into offices. They provide drop-dead views of Sullivan's life-affirming decoration, such as the column capitals that resemble giant acorns or seed pods about to burst in a rite of spring.

The bigger point of all this is to put a new and more sophisticated spin on Sullivan's legendary dictum "form follows function," a phrase that has become so popular that it verges on cliche.

As Robert Venturi, the Pritzker Prize-winning Philadelphia architect, said in an illuminating lecture two years ago in Chicago, there are buildings designed to fit their uses like a glove (think high-tech hospitals). And there are buildings that are more like a mitten -- simple, loftlike structures that loosely fit their original uses and are eminently adaptable to new ones.

By virtue of its fireproofed steel frame and the open, modular interior spaces the frame creates, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. clearly belongs in architecture's mitten bin.

It seems serendipitous that Sullivan designed the 104-year-old building with a revolutionary application of the very same steel-frame technology he borrowed from his earlier, poetic essays in the tall office building. Now, in a strange but satisfying twist of fate, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. seems destined to become (at least by today's standards) a short office building.

Short, I hasten to add, but not squat.

The curving corner tower at the intersection of State and Madison Streets still will endow the building and the dominant horizontals of its white terra cotta grid with a pleasing jolt of verticality. So, while the function will change, the form can be expected to remain a pinnacle of the building art.

I wonder, though, about a grocery store occupying the building's ground-floor retail space -- even if, as city officials say, such a store promises to be perfect fit for all the Loop's new high-rise condos and apartments. It might not be easy to glimpse giant graphics of lettuce and tomatoes in the elegant display windows that Sullivan wrapped with ornamental-iron versions of vines, berries and flowers. Ditto signs that would say, "Pork Center Cut Loin Chops -- $5.49 a pound."

But both the building's exterior and interior are covered by Chicago's landmark ordinance, which means that city officials would have a strong hand in regulating possible changes. And Chicago's leading Sullivan authority, Tim Samuelson, while saying that the grocery idea struck him as a "curveball," added in an e-mail: "If it maintains the openness of the interiors, this may not be such a bad idea."

Let's wait and see what the developer proposes. For now -- especially in light of the fires that gutted or destroyed three Sullivan buildings in Chicago last year, the 150th anniversary of his birth -- it should be satisfying enough that the architect's masterful mitten remains very much alive.

----------

kamin@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[the urban politician]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0702250428feb25,0,311630.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
Lake Street project tilts toward transit

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published February 25, 2007

A transit-oriented, mixed-use, mixed-income project with 30 condominiums is planned for a long-vacant parcel in the 3100 block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park.

After issuing a request for development proposals in 2005, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development has selected Kedzie-GreenLife, a joint venture of Chicago-based non-profit developer Bethel New Life Inc. and local developer Terra Firma Co.

Bethel New Life has built affordable, often-green housing and community-oriented projects on the West Side for more than a decade. Terra Firma is a mixed-use developer whose work includes the Fountain View in Ravenswood and Station Square at Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.

Two other developers responded, a Planning Department manager told the Community Development Commission this month.

One proposed a 38-rental-unit and the other 40 condos, both in a mixed-use project. Neither included a green roof, a priority for the Planning Department, though other criteria contributed to the city selecting Kedzie-GreenLife.

The developer will come before the commission later to get approval for its plans.

The city wants to see a focus on the site's proximity to the CTA's Green Line Kedzie Avenue station. Another goal is day-care or service-oriented uses with apartments, condos or artists' live-and-work units above ground-level retailing. Kedzie GreenLife's project will have 7,800 square feet of such retail and community support space.

Kedzie-GreenLife will build on a half-acre of city-owned land at 3148-3156 W. Lake St. The developer has agreed to pay $203,500, or $9.99 per square foot, according to Ben Ranney, a principal of Terra Firma.

Thirty condos to be built in the project will likely be 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, Ranney said.

Sixteen will be sold as affordable housing to families earning up to 80 percent of the Chicago-area median income.

"We will likely ask for TIF [tax increment financing] assistance, but the details remain to be finalized," Ranney said.

Green elements include a 10,000-square-foot green roof, wind turbines, passive heating and cooling systems, solar panels and sunshades.

Chicago-based Worn Jerabek Architects is designing the project. "Our architect and Bethel New Life are leaders in terms of environmentally friendly housing," Ranney said.

[LA21st]

Ren Lofts. 1791 W. Howard. 6 Stories.

http://1791lofts.com/i/fl/fl_building.gif

[SevenSevenThree]

Ren Lofts. 1791 W. Howard. 6 Stories.

http://1791lofts.com/i/fl/fl_building.gif

Hasnt this been going under conversion for awhile now? This building sits at Howard and Clark, right? They stopped for a period of time that made me think they were having financial or permit problems. I was thinking last week that the high-rise under construction across the street will be done before they finish this conversion.

Im hoping that this project, the high-rise across the street (dont know the name) and a new Howard St station serve as some type of catalyst to turn Howard St into something nice. Oh yeah, someone other than Moore would prob help too. This corridor is begging for redevelopment.

[Marcu]

Hasnt this been going under conversion for awhile now? This building sits at Howard and Clark, right? They stopped for a period of time that made me think they were having financial or permit problems. I was thinking last week that the high-rise under construction across the street will be done before they finish this conversion.



Is this the high-rise you're talking about?
http://www.forum49.org/images/news/2004-june/Bristol.jpg

After these projects are done, we are all really gonna regret the surface lot at Gateway. Especially since they could have just made the garage a little bigger. Without that lot, the kind of density these projects would bring to the edge of the city would have been more dense than many American city centers. Let's just hope all the problems with the red line will not stall Howard street's redevelopment. I sure's hell wouldn't want to commute to the loop from howard with all the slo zones and brown line recon.

[Chicago Shawn]

A transit-oriented, mixed-use, mixed-income project with 30 condominiums is planned for a long-vacant parcel in the 3100 block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park.

Green elements include a 10,000-square-foot green roof, wind turbines, passive heating and cooling systems, solar panels and sunshades.

Chicago-based Worn Jerabek Architects is designing the project. "Our architect and Bethel New Life are leaders in terms of environmentally friendly housing," Ranney said.

Cool. William Worn is a proffessor within UIC's architecture program and instructs building science and sustainable design classes. His firm is serroius about green building design.

[Marcu]

Not sure this belongs on this thread but here are the top "real estate" and "developer" contributors to Daley's campaign.

http://daleycontributions.dyndns.org/occupation/real-estate/

Real Estate

Contributor Total Contributions
Golub, Eugene $51,500
Judelson, Robert A. $10,000
Moody, William L. $10,000
Ruttenberg, David W. $6,500
Beaver, Charles R. $6,000
Malkin, Barry A. $4,500
Siff, John F. $3,500
Swanson, Kent A. $3,000
Bluhm, Andrew G. $3,000
Ault, Suedelle C. $3,000
Persky, Seymour H. $3,000
Wolf, William E. $3,000
Rolander Jr., William R. $2,750
Barber, H. Rigel $2,500
Hyatt, Henry $2,500
Jenkins, Daniel B. $2,500
Patel, Babu K. $2,000
Richman, Jay $2,000
Datkuliak, Jeff J. $2,000
Amerikan, Ellen $2,000
Mariano, Robert A. $2,000
Casper, Joseph J. $1,500
Supera, Michael $1,500
Zappacosta, Susan N. $1,500
Butler, Cecil C. $1,500
Loukas, Anthony G. $1,500
Barnett, Gary $1,500
Deitcher, Menahem $1,500
Loukas, George G. $1,500
Barnett, G. $1,500
Baskin, Sheldon $1,500
Stokes, Betty $1,000
Bachmann, Bruce R. $1,000
Blaney, Janice C. $1,000
Lasky, Jerry $1,000


http://daleycontributions.dyndns.org/occupation/developer/

Developer:

Latsko, Fred S. $29,000
Hanson, Richard A. $6,500
Sedgwick Properties Development Company $5,000
Mirro, Joseph $5,000
Mirro, Joseph $5,000
Hartz, Donald L. $5,000
Drew, J. Michael $2,500
Rosenbloom, Michael Howard $2,500
Lukas, Daniel $2,500
McCarthy, Mary $2,500
Gouletas, Nicholas S. $2,000
Kaplan, William B. $1,500
Robinson, Howard M. $1,500
Gamsjaeger, Thomas J. $1,000
Mendes, Steven B. $1,000

[Chicago2020]

BRING BACK THE FIELD :cheers:

[SamInTheLoop]

To me, those consultants are engaging in a lot of conjecture, as they don't have hard sales data to work with. I certainly have to disagree with the point about decreased traffic - every time I have been in there since the name change, customer traffic seemed to be at similar levels (if not slightly higher) than before.....I realize this isn't the type of observation that is going to be emotionally satisfying to a lot of people....I would be interested in reading what these 2 consultants were forecasting for the state street store before the change took affect......it's very easy to make a claim to something when sufficient data isn't available...

[ardecila]

:banana: :banana: :banana:

That's GREAT news about Macy's.

[Chicago2020]

BREAKING NEWS

DALEY IS ELECTED TO A SIXTH TERM AS MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO

[honte]

^ Can we have the Olympics now? ;)

I have a close friend who works in the State Street store, and he claims the situation there is dire... a precipitous drop-off in sales, layoff pending, defection of partner retailers, and very low employee morale. He is looking for another job as quickly as he can.

[budman]

I would have preferred that Macy's retain the Marshall Field's name too, but I don't think it is in anyone's best interest for that Macy's location to fail. Our hope is a rejuvinated loop, and that location needs to thrive in order for that part of the loop to thrive.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ Precisely. The fact is that the Marshall Field's name is NOT coming back, so we have to advocate for what's best for State St. and the loop from this point forward...

[Eventually...Chicago]

I continue to go back and forth on the whole Macy's thing. I think it is good that they are struggling very much in the beginning. I hope that macy's continues to work hard to become "chicago". I ultimately want them to be successful as i do any shopping anywhere in the city, but i will be much more open to wishing them on their merry way when they start to act as a chicago business, not simply another corporate branch. If they enjoyed early success, i think they may have taken us for granted.

I think the best way to start to win people (at least me) over is to go above and beyond the fields traditions. How about donating a striking piece of public art or helping renovate/run a theater or gallery (i.e. MCA & target)? Anyone with half a chicago brain could have told you that there is going to be backlash against something so entrenched in our identity. However, i think our city really appreciates sincere gestures of civic pride. I do like how they have increased their use of local designers and the possibility of frango mints moving back is good but they still need to convince me and apparently, the city, that we have Macy's Chicago. Not Macy's New York in the midwest.

[denizen467]

I say let 'em suffer. Maybe they will finally rethink things a little bit and turn the store into something more unique than just a large Macy's. Maybe call it "Macy's at Marshall Field's Plaza", work the Field's name into products or branding a little bit, and bring back some of the green corporate image - dump all the red and make it all green - even if just for this one store. The Macy's corporate image is crap; all I can think of when I see their logo is a cheap version of JC Penney (both are a meaningless thin Arial-like font, with red). They could turn this into a win-win situation if they felt like being creative and actually paying attention to local culture. For crying out loud the store exits were mis-labelled "Randolph Avenue" or something like that when they first opened. Friggin' Starbucks does a better job of localizing to neighborhoods than they did to their third-largest store in the country. They killed a goose that laid golden eggs and they're seeing that they have to pay the price. It should not be rocket science to engineer a mix of nostalgia & tradition with the need to move forward. It's shocking they didn't appreciate this, so until then, let 'em suffer.

(For the sake of the local employees, I also hope this would happen sooner rather than later.)

[Frankie]

This was the easy part, Mr. Mayor
The election's over -- now it's time to tackle everything from CTA woes to a scandal-plagued City Hall to the 2016 Olympic bid

February 28, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN CITY HALL REPORTER

Now that Mayor Daley has staked his claim to Chicago history -- by winning the sixth term he needs to become the city's longest-serving mayor -- it should be time for a victory lap.

On second thought, never mind.

Daley, 64, doesn't have time to bask in the glow of Tuesday's landslide victory. There's way too much on his plate.
The mayor has to avert a teachers strike, negotiate with union leaders who turned their backs on him and straighten out a CTA plagued by service disruptions and mired in red ink. He also has to nail down a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games that remains an international long shot, even if Chicago wins the American sweepstakes.

Daley has to navigate all of those political landmines while dodging the biggest one of all: a Hired Truck investigation that has branched out into city hiring and has already resulted in the conviction of the mayor's former patronage chief and three others.

Following is a map of the minefield ahead:

THE CTA

Daley defended CTA President Frank Kruesi after a pair of aldermen called Chicago a world-class city with a "third-world transit system." But the mayor knows better than anybody that the time has come to remove his longest-serving adviser. Kruesi has made so many enemies in Springfield -- including powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan -- state lawmakers won't even think about helping the CTA until he's gone. Look for Kruesi to make the long-rumored move to the O'Hare Modernization Program and Aviation Commissioner Nuria Fernandez to replace Kruesi at CTA, where she got her start. Kruesi's first job at O'Hare would be to persuade major airlines to finance Phase 2 of Daley's massive runway expansion plan.

TEACHERS STRIKE

Maybe it's just saber-rattling tied to an upcoming union election. But the Chicago Teachers Union is talking about a possible strike, the first in 20 years. Teachers are genuinely angry about job cuts and school closings tied to Daley's Renaissance 2010 plan. The last contract raised teacher salaries by 16 percent over four years but reduced health benefits. Now teachers are out to recoup those losses. They also want more control over class size and better job security for non-tenured teachers. While working to avert a strike, the mayor must decide whether to stick with Schools CEO Arne Duncan or make a change after nearly six years. City Hall sources said Duncan fell out of favor for a while last year, but he may have worked his way out of the doghouse.

SCHOOL FUNDING

For nearly 18 years under four different governors, Daley has been pushing for a tax swap that would trade lower property taxes for increased sales or income taxes. The revolutionary change has gone nowhere in the General Assembly. Gov. Blagojevich got elected in 2002 on a promise to hold the line on sales and income taxes and won a second term after a four-year renewal of that promise. With the election out of the way, Daley must find a way to get his warring fellow Democrats in Springfield to confront the issue they love to avoid. Without more help, Chicago Public Schools face another painful round of cuts -- and a teachers strike is even more likely.

LABOR NEGOTIATIONS

Contracts with city unions expire June 30 and a showdown looms. Last time around, the police contract was handed down by an arbitrator, and it took 28 months to nail down an agreement with the building trades that ended up denying retirees back paychecks. This time, the stage is set for even more tension after most major unions denied Daley their endorsements and worked to elect a more independent City Council. Daley also must confront a pension underfunding problem that threatens to saddle future generations with a debt they can't handle. Painful solutions include benefit reductions and increased employee contributions.

OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

OPS Director Tisa Morris was forced out in the wake of the alleged cops-as-burglars scandal in the elite Special Operations Sections. But Daley has yet to name a permanent replacement or do anything else to improve the image of the office, which investigates police wrongdoing and has been a lightning rod for criticism in the black community. The Police Executive Research Forum is conducting a $67,999 national search. But the group has yet to forward a list of candidates to a review panel that includes former Police Supt. Terry Hillard and a pair of longtime police critics: activist-priest Michael Pfleger and attorney Andre Grant. Daley must decide whether to follow Pfleger's recommendation to create a "perception of independence" by replacing the agency with a review board separate from the Police Department.

POLICE SUPERINTENDENT

On or before Police Supt. Phil Cline celebrates his four-year anniversary in October, he is expected to announce his retirement from the pressure-cooker job. That will force the Police Board to conduct its usual nationwide search -- and Daley to choose a replacement, either from the Chicago Police Department's thin bench or from outside Chicago, which he hates to do. Former Deputy Police Supt. Charles Ramsey, a runner-up in past police searches, is available again after a stint as police chief in Washington, D.C. In-house candidates include: Chief of Patrol Charles Williams, Deputy Supt. Hiram Graue, assistant deputy superintendents Eugene Williams and Matt Tobias and Frank Limon, chief of organized crime. Two women are also possibilities: Chief of Detectives Maria Maher and Assistant Deputy Supt. Anne Egan.

CITY HIRING

City Hall is putting the final touches on an out-of-court settlement that would establish a $12 million fund to compensate job applicants passed over in favor of political hires. The fund would be administered by federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan, who would become a permanent fixture at City Hall, at least for the next two years. Those terms are expected to go over like a lead balloon with Chicago aldermen, who have accused Brennan of invading their turf. Despite that resistance, it's high time for Daley to wrap up negotiations without increasing the 1,200 policy-making jobs exempt from Shakman. The biggest roadblock may be finding a way to overhaul a promotion system used to achieve racial balance in the Police and Fire departments.

OLYMPIC BID

A technical team from the U.S. Olympic Committee is due here March 5-7 to ask questions about Chicago's 458-page bid book and tour proposed sites. Chicago appears to be the frontrunner to advance to the international competition. But it won't happen unless the USOC gets some straight answers during the visit about Chicago's ability to deliver on its zoning and financing promises. Los Angeles has been there and done that. Most of its sporting venues are already in place.

MIDWAY PRIVATIZATION

After privatizing the Chicago Skyway and downtown parking garages for a combined $2.4 billion, Daley hopes to ride an even bigger gravy train by leasing Midway Airport. But there are hurdles. Democrats in Congress are making noises about the potential security risk posed by foreign ownership of airports, knowing most likely bidders are overseas.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[VivaLFuego]

So Natarus is toast. I am very worried about the new 42nd Ward Alderman, Brendan Reilly. All his mailings suggest he is a NIMBY extraordinaire, from his emphasis on increasing the availability of parking to not-so-veiled disdain for large, high-density construction projects.

[VivaLFuego]

I think the best way to start to win people (at least me) over is to go above and beyond the fields traditions. How about donating a striking piece of public art or helping renovate/run a theater or gallery (i.e. MCA & target)?

Cool idea. Of course, the Field name is plastered throughout the city; the name was more than a store, it was a part of Chicago's fabric. Hopefully Federated/Macy's realize that and follow suit in some meaningful way.

[headcase]

So Natarus is toast. I am very worried about the new 42nd Ward Alderman, Brendan Reilly. All his mailings suggest he is a NIMBY extraordinaire, from his emphasis on increasing the availability of parking to not-so-veiled disdain for large, high-density construction projects.

When we spoke to him, I really couldn't get a good read on him, I guess that will make him a good politician.

The parking thing he spoke about using the parking in the area more effectively, especially the valet parking, more so than creating more. Again with high desity he spoke more about the bad projects and getting everyone together earlier in the process so it wouldn't be, oppsss you didn't hear about the 500ft tower going up next door?

SSDD

[Marcu]

At the end of the day, Daley still has enough power to strongarm through good projects in the 42nd.

[VivaLFuego]

When we spoke to him, I really couldn't get a good read on him, I guess that will make him a good politician.

The parking thing he spoke about using the parking in the area more effectively, especially the valet parking, more so than creating more. Again with high desity he spoke more about the bad projects and getting everyone together earlier in the process so it wouldn't be, oppsss you didn't hear about the 500ft tower going up next door?

SSDD

Here's hoping. Some of his campaign mailing had him standing in front of Lakeshore East under construction, looking pissed off. And it wasn't about the architecture.

Is the 1350 Lake Shore Drive parking lot fiasco in the 43rd or 42nd? Maybe with new leadership some justice will prevail on that one....

[honte]

Speaking of the Gold Coast, the existing Victorian rowhouses and mansions in that neighborhood need to be protected. I'm sick of things getting screwed up in what's left of the Gold Coast.

Natarus never could muster the (political) will to get this done.

[VivaLFuego]

Speaking of the Gold Coast, the existing Victorian rowhouses and mansions in that neighborhood need to be protected. I'm sick of things getting screwed up in what's left of the Gold Coast.

Natarus never could muster the (political) will to get this done.

They are fairly effectively protected, the same way the parking lot on lake shore drive is protected.....Natarus caved and downzoned most the area, so in most places nothing taller than 4-6 stories can be built, which removes most of the incentive for potential teardowns. But I agree, some more selective landmarking outside of just Astor street is probably in order.

[honte]

^ Yeah, the real risk there isn't demolition for high-rises, but demolition / bad alterations by stupid owners who either want newer mansions or something with their own "personal touch." A significant house on State was torn down within the last year, and there have been many other insensitive alterations in the area recently that one would think were too "low-class" for the high-end owners around there...

The downzoning thing was a way politically of saying, "These houses are worth saving, but it would be too much work actually protecting them. So, we'll just slow things down and hopefully we'll all be dead before anyone realizes the area's been ruined. And, oh yeah, it will protect your views too."

[Patel]

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/

'Freaking Awesome' City
Tops All U.S. Metro Areas

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg195a.jpg

JUST HANGIN' OUT: Kudo Tsunado may be the vice president and general manager of EA Sports' regional headquarters in Chicago, but he's just like everyone else when it comes to enjoying all the amenities that downtown Chicago has to offer. Tsunado said the Windy City's vibrant pace and abundance of young talent led him and the other members of his executive team to select Chicago over such competing locations as Austin, Texas.


by RON STARNER
ron.starner bounce@conway.com



Chicago lures young, high- tech talent on the way to becoming the No. 1 metro in America in 2006.

Ask Kudo Tsunoda to explain why EA Sports selected Chicago for a new regional headquarters, and the executive at the global video game giant speaks in frank business terms: "The city is freaking awesome. It has such a vibe and pace to it."

At Electronic Arts, the world leader in electronic sports games, talk like that is part of everyday life in the business world – and Chicago's economic developers hope to hear a lot more of it.
By landing EA Sports' US$6 million, 200- job regional headquarters at 215 West Ohio in Chicago's River North neighborhood, the Windy City capped a remarkable year that saw the metro area secure 165 corporate facility projects totaling more than $5 billion in capital investment, according to the criteria established by the Conway Data New Plant database.

The Chicago- Naperville- Joliet area (including suburbs in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) easily outdistanced No. 2 Washington, D.C.- Northern Virginia, which had 110 projects, and No. 3 Atlanta, which had 107.

Chicago's victory made it two years in a row and five of the last six for the MSA with more than 9.5 million residents and a work force of over 4.5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 metros of 2006 were No. 4 Dallas- Fort Worth, followed by the metro areas of Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Nashville.
While Phoenix did not make the top 10 in projects, the Arizona MSA placed second in capital investment, at $3.365 billion. St. Louis came in third with $2.315 billion.
Governor's Cup victor Ohio claimed the most Top Metros in 2006, with nine, followed by Virginia and Florida with eight each; New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas with seven each; and Indiana with six.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg196a.gif

Tsunoda, vice president and general manager of the Chicago office of EA Sports and producer of the new Def Jam: Icon video game, tells Site Selection that his executive team selected Chicago because the city stimulates creative minds and enables EA to effectively recruit top young talent.
"Chicago is filled with cool neighborhoods," says Tsunoda, who grew up in New York City. "There's something for any kind of lifestyle you're looking to live."
Tsunoda says the selection of the seven- story, loft- like headquarters between the freeway and Michigan Avenue was the result of a collaborative process. Tsunoda and his team scoured the central U.S. looking for a vibrant, high- tech city that provides the quality of life EA needs to recruit top- end software designers, game developers, graphic artists and computer engineers.
These are the people who make the popular Madden NFL, NBA Live, Fight Night, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, NCAA March Madness and other sports video games that rank among the top- selling games in the world.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg198c.jpg

The recently renovated 600 West anchors Chicago's thriving new business hub in River North, located just minutes from traditional business centers in Chicago's downtown and Loop.

EA also owns the licensing rights to make games for NASCAR, the National Hockey League and FIFA, the international governing body for soccer.
"We looked at Austin, Texas, but it is hard to find a city that stacks up with Chicago," Tsunoda says. "I can walk from my office and see something cool just about anywhere I go. Chicago has a really good video game community already here. It is active, thriving and growing."
The new EA complex, which opened in late October 2006, is designed as a "pure game development studio," adds Tsunoda. "Eventually, we will add other publishing functions, marketing and public relations support for getting the games to market. This building will hold around 300 people, so we have plenty of room to grow."
Staubach Realty represented EA, "and they were extremely helpful in finding the locations and working through things with the city and the building," Tsunoda says. "Chicago is cutting- edge and has been very supportive of our relocation from Hoffman Estates. Both the city and the state of Illinois were very helpful in bringing us here. The hope is to make Chicago a long- term home and make it one of the premier studios within the EA world."
Paul O'Connor, executive director of World Business Chicago, calls EA Sports "a critical piece. Chicago historically has been a town of radical economic change. We had been manufacturing based, but the shift in our economy had been toward white- collar jobs and professional business services. The lagging piece was the engagement of the technology sector. To see that piece kicking in strongly, combined with our professional talent pool, means the Chicago economy can play with anybody and adapt in the global economy."
The Chicago building boom won't subside anytime soon, O'Connor says. "This city is really on fire. It is rocking and rolling. Mayor Richard Daley's transformation of the neighborhoods is making these areas a great place to live and raise a family, and that in turn has created the highest- end talent pool that is clustered within three or four miles of downtown."

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg205a.jpg

Corporate Attraction a
Full Contact Sport

Other major projects of the past year include United Airlines and The Big Ten Network. United invested $72 million to establish its new corporate headquarters at 77 West Wacker Drive.
Stating that "it's time to fly," United Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton in July ended months of speculation by declaring downtown Chicago as the permanent world headquarters of "our hometown airline."
United had been headquartered in Elk Grove Township since 1961, but competing offers had come in from Denver and San Francisco. In the end, United decided to stay home and become part of Chicago's central city renaissance. United will consolidate several of its suburban facilities and create an operations center on its campus in Elk Grove Township. Those who support day- to- day operations now will be together in one location.
"Chicago has everything a world- class corporate headquarters could ever want – the best and the brightest people, the ability to travel virtually anywhere and a great quality of life,"
said Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
United will receive $5.25 million in tax increment financing from the city of Chicago and $1.35 million in grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for infrastructure improvements and job training. Additionally, both the city and the state will propose legislation to cap the jet fuel tax for the next five years.
The chase for The Big Ten Network, ironically, was a preview of the Super Bowl, pitting Chicago against Indianapolis for the right to win a $23.5- million capital investment and 136 jobs.
After intense competition worthy of Roman numerals, the network announced it would locate its studios and offices in a 44,000- sq.- ft. (4,088- sq.- m.) complex at 600 West Chicago, formerly the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House. The site was designated a national landmark in 2000.
"It is fitting that The Big Ten Network, a channel dedicated exclusively to collegiate athletics and university life, will make its home in Chicago, a city that is so passionate about college sports and education," said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delaney.
O'Connor said it didn't hurt that a "very dense population of Ohio State graduates lives right here in Chicago."

Fresh off that sports win, Chicago has its sights set on landing an even bigger prize: hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. By mid- April, the United States Olympic Committee will decide which of two American cities – Chicago or Los Angeles – will be submitted to the International Olympic Committee for the IOC's final decision in 2009.

"You have to guarantee $25 million from local businesses just to cover the cost of bidding to the IOC," says O'Connor. "But if you believe in yourselves and your city, you do it."


Conway Data, Inc. Global Headquarters
6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200
Norcross, GA 30092-2901 USA
Tel. 770-446-6996
Fax 770-263-8825





see also

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070301005129&newsLang=en

[spyguy]

VUE Flats (3505 N Ashland)
22 units
2500 sq. ft. retail
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/2430/22a66c7a210f4eed8e2d400en2.jpg

Kimball Station (http://www.kimballstation.com) (4720 N Kimball)
59 units
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8586/kimballob7.jpg

[honte]

^ Those don't look half-bad. I'm so glad to see modernism go beyond downtown, even if it's pretty timid.

Chicago's victory made it two years in a row and five of the last six for the MSA with more than 9.5 million residents and a work force of over 4.5 million.


You know, I have to concur: Freaking Awesome!

[VivaLFuego]

^ I'm liking that Kimball Station...Albany Park is a great, dense hood. Are these projects U/C? Proposed? in sales?

[Tom In Chicago]

I haven't noticed anyone talking about the British School of Chicago which is currently under construction on Halsted Street. . . the steel is getting up there as I drove by it yesterday. . . starting to make an impression on that deserted strip. . .

http://www.britishschoolchicago.org/site/files/469/35741/138846/192506/may_4th_parent_meeting_rev050306.pdf

[Alliance]

I haven't noticed anyone talking about the British School of Chicago which is currently under construction on Halsted Street. . . the steel is getting up there as I drove by it yesterday. . . starting to make an impression on that deserted strip. . .

http://www.britishschoolchicago.org/site/files/469/35741/138846/192506/may_4th_parent_meeting_rev050306.pdf

Thats quite an interesting building. I fear a lot of its success will hinge on the material used for that siding. I like the front half better than the balk half though.