CHICAGO | Wolf Point - West Tower | 493 FT | 48 FLOORS

[Ryanrule]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

This is why I'm afraid to buy downtown instead of rent. I don't want to have to try to justify it to myself and others for the rest of my life, and working myself into an existential crisis deciding if I'm still happy when any aspect of the building or location changes.

have you seen the mortgage+hoa+tax vs rent figures for downtown chicago?

[harryc]

4/2




4/3

[pilsenarch]

^thanks for the updates, harry... but what's with that horrible, dark, hole at the bottom of the building adjacent to the river?!

[bcp]

Originally Posted by Pilton

Actually, you are very perseverative and quite wrong. Here's two pictures of the cement-paved riverwalk which was on the top of the natural bluff at WP for years. It ran along the top of the bluff from Orleans to the Apparel Mart. But, the paved riverwalk and the bluff were both destroyed. As I said, I'll miss them.

http://friendsofwolfpoint.com/wolfpoint1.JPG
http://media.chicagomag.com//whet/wo...ver=1359670357 (Hope one of the links work.)

But, nobody's going to move the West Tower now. It is rather permanently affixed. And, I want to make this perfectly clear: The West Tower is a stylish and rather pretty building. BKl did a good job with the site they were forced to use. BVictor's right. Life is a series of compromises. Again, isn't it time to move on?

those fotos are interesting..thank you for sharing....while there might be a trail there, it's an awful environment for walking and lounging...next to parking lots? no thanks.

i'm very VERY wary of anything named "friends of X"...usually means that they are trying to restrict the owners land rights and control something that they do not own.

[Notyrview]

^^^I can't believe how good this tower looks as shot from the east. It's not like it's a skinny building, yet it seems to float. Mazel tov.

[harryc]

Earlier

[rlw777]

^ Great shots as usual Harry. Those new towers are really starting to have an impact on the confluence.

[Kngkyle]

4/13/15



Shot with not iPhone 6.

[Pilton]

http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-...zie-bike-lanes

Oh! Oh! Reilly at odds with Ciy's Tranportation Commissioner.

[Zapatan]

So glad these buildings will block that hideous Chicago Sun Times/Holiday inn tower behind it...

Can't wait to see this area by decades end it's gonna be totally transformed.

[munchymunch]

All I can think of is this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezlEEp4mgII

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Pilton

http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-...zie-bike-lanes

Oh! Oh! Reilly at odds with Ciy's Tranportation Commissioner.

I hope she defies him and keeps the lanes in place by using her authority. As if there aren't other routes westward.

[Pilton]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

I hope she defies him and keeps the lanes in place by using her authority. As if there aren't other routes westward.

What the actual ordinance says - temporary removal during construction of phase II (East and South Towers). Quote from Par. 22 of the Developer's Statement attached to and made part of the amended PD ordinance:

"Sub-Area B Applicant commits to provide and fully-fund the following infrastructure improvements prior to issuance of the final occupancy certificate for Phase I:

• Temporary removal ofthe barrier protected bike lanes on Kinzie Street, extending from Milwaukee Avenue to Dearborn Street, and the temporary provision of a barrier protected bike lane system on Grand Avenue, Well Street and Illinois Street, as follows:

o An eastbound and westbound barrier protected bike lane on Grand Avenue from Milwaukee Avenue to Wells Street,

o A westbound-only barrier protected bike lane on Grand Avenue from Dearbom to Wells Streets,

o An eastbound-only barrier protected bike lane on Illinois Street fi'om Wells to Dearbom Streets, b An improved bicycle accommodation on Wells Street for cyclists travelling between Grand Avenue and Illinois Street,

o The temporary provision of this barrier protected bike lane system on Grand Avenue, Wells Street and Illinois Street must be complete prior to the temporary removal of the barrier protected bike lanes on Kinzie Street, extending from Milwaukee Avenue to Dearbom Street and all such bike lane provision and removal work will be the responsibility of the Sub-Area B Applicant."

Sub-Area B Applicant is the Wolf Point Development team who agreed to temporary removal in discussions with the stakeholders. Reilly is taking liberties when he implies permanent removal to Grand because of density of the next 2 towers.

[Rizzo]

I'd prefer having both Kinzie and Grand routes for bicycles, even if the grand alignment ends up being more functional.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

I hope she defies him and keeps the lanes in place by using her authority. As if there aren't other routes westward.

Completely agree.


So here's a question: What can't an alderman have slipped into a PD (that was 'negotiated' with the 'community') that isn't really about the PD specifically, and then try to have the city make it happen........what if he had slipped in: As part of xyz PD, developer $$$, LLC is to pay for converting LaSalle Street into a pedestrian mall. $$$, LLC will not be granted an occupancy permit for their structures covered under xyz PD, until LaSalle Street is a working pedestrian mall and closed to vehicular traffic. Then of course the city will not allow this. And then what?

I mean, wtf!?! This is what aldermanic prerogative does......not pretty.......

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Hayward

I'd prefer having both Kinzie and Grand routes for bicycles, even if the grand alignment ends up being more functional.

Ditto.

If traffic is snarled on Kinzie it's due to the awkward three-way stop at East Bank Club and the shitty way the lights were recently re-timed at Canal to accommodate the pain-in-the-ass residents of the Kinzie Park townhomes.

As both a cyclist and motorist who uses Kinzie regularly, it's really not that bad -- even during rush hour ...unless the bridge is up, then forget it!

[Skyguy_7]

More on the bike lane closure-

From Twitter:
Brendan Reilly @AldReilly
@DearbornBikeLn it is a temporary move (3 blocks north) during heavy construction of a couple million square feet of new buildings.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150...nzie-bike-lane

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

4/13/15



Shot with not iPhone 6.

Amazing shot.

That quote made me giggle.

[ardecila]

My concern with the Grand Ave bike lanes is that it requires many cyclists to make a confusing and complicated left turn at the Grand/Milwaukee/Halsted intersection.

That intersection works best with no left turns at all, now you're going to throw hundreds of cyclists making a left turn with no protected signal phase? How is that result any more chaotic than having cyclists on Kinzie with the construction traffic?

[goyk]