Some updates from the south side...apologies if any of this has already been covered but it's been a while since I had the time to log on here.
Bronzeville
The buildings on the NE Corner of 35th & Michigan were torn down. This has been an abandoned strip of buildings for as long as I've been in the area (starting with my freshman year at IIT in 1999). DuSable finally finagled a structural condemnation out of the City and had it torn down. Right now it's some surface parking and lawn area with a decent wrought iron-type fence around it. DuSable has a PD on the books with the City for the property to expand the school at this spot.
Across the street to the south, the Church's Chicken at 35th & Michigan is finally no more. Urban Partnership Bank has a new branch location just finishing up. It's a hideously awful use of a corner lot with a tiny building sitting in the middle of a parking lot, but it's a hell of a lot better building and use than was the Church's. And at least now there will be landscaping.
Payless Shoes along the 35th St. corridor is also closing down. No idea if anything is going in in it's place, but here's hoping the monstrosity of a building just comes down for something else.
Pilgrim Baptist Church is beginning its reconstruction efforts. I am currently bidding on the first phase, which will put in superstructure steel, restore the masonry, put a roof on, add faux windows/doors to finish the enclosure, put in decorative uplighting to showcase the building, and an exhaust system to keep moisture out of the interior as much as possible. It's a first step to help get the donation money flowing for the rest of it, basically.
Further South
Related Midwest is
redeveloping Parkway Gardens at 63rd-66th & King Drive to the tune of $40 million. Masonry restoration, mechanical/electrical/plumbing work, and interior renovations are well underway. We have the site work contract. Tree Removal and Pruning is complete and Storm Sewer upgrades began this week. Aside from storm water detention going in through the winter months, the site work will mostly take place after it warms up a bit more in the spring. A major undertaking both for Related, renovating the buildings, and us on the site, as the buildings remain 95% occupied during the renovations.
The Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center is at about 75-80% and is on pace for a late spring finish.