CHICAGO | General Developments

[harryc]

Can't keep em straight without a program
#8 Curbed guide to the West Loop

Sept 22

[SammisAran]

Has anyone heard anything about the former Mandarin Oriental Hotel lot located at Lake and Stetson? I heard a rumor that it was going to be developed in the near future, but haven't be able to confirm it with anything concrete.

[maru2501]

hasn't been noted on the forum that I'm aware of. I walk by it now and again and it's still just storing road construction junk

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by SammisAran

Has anyone heard anything about the former Mandarin Oriental Hotel lot located at Lake and Stetson? I heard a rumor that it was going to be developed in the near future, but haven't be able to confirm it with anything concrete.

It went up for sale late last year with entitlements in place, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some plans in development at this point.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...es-up-for-sale

[ithakas]

Nearby, I wonder if anyone's heard anything about the sliver apartment tower that was to go in place at the Conti site on Randolph/Michigan? Also not sure on the planned timeframe for 300 N. Michigan, and dying to hear anything about the Tribune Tower parking lot...

[the urban politician]

Curbed is reporting that the NIMBY Butthole Brigade and their at-service Alderman Fuckface have blocked redevelopment of the Father and Son Plaza strip mall on North Avenue. So now we get to look at the most hideous and inappropriate use of land near transit for another 30 goddamn years.

The TOD ordinance needs more teeth.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Curbed is reporting that the NIMBY Butthole Brigade and their at-service Alderman Fuckface have blocked redevelopment of the Father and Son Plaza strip mall on North Avenue. So now we get to look at the most hideous and inappropriate use of land near transit for another 30 goddamn years.

The TOD ordinance needs more teeth.

The TOD ordinance should state that if the alderman won't support zoning changes for TOD-eligible properties that the City will give a developer $25,000 per unit to help subsidize as many legally-allowed Section 8 units on the land as can be fit within existing zoning. That way if we can't have real, market-rate TOD, the City will gain affordable housing and NIMBY groups will have to think long and hard about whether they'd rather have market-rate density, or a cluster of Section 8 units nearby. It would balance the playing field of the interests of the City versus the interests of a few selfish jackalopes blocking transit-appropriate developments. The money would come from the 10% affordable set-aside fund from developers that preferred to pay rather than build affordable units in developments that fall under that requirement.

Edit: Considering how gerrymandered his district is, it wouldn't surprise me at all if his district didn't include that property after the next redistricting anyway. It's *barely* in his district anyway. The redistricting is, what, five years away? Eight years away? A lot less than 30 anyway.

[ithakas]

Question for developers/investors, etc:

With the new affordable housing mandate zoned to very specific parts of the city, isn't the city effectively filtering out these neighborhoods from some investment and encouraging more development in areas in earlier stages of gentrification?

It struck me from a quick look that none of the areas zoned are particularly at risk of more gentrification – the West Loop, Near North, Milwaukee Ave up to Logan/Avondale – specifically because they're all relatively gentrified as it is.

Seems like a crafty way to actually enable more gentrification in a broader area of the city, rather than put the brakes on it.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ithakas

Question for developers/investors, etc:

With the new affordable housing mandate zoned to very specific parts of the city, isn't the city effectively filtering out these neighborhoods from some investment and encouraging more development in areas in earlier stages of gentrification?

It struck me from a quick look that none of the areas zoned are particularly at risk of more gentrification – the West Loop, Near North, Milwaukee Ave up to Logan/Avondale – specifically because they're all relatively gentrified as it is.

Seems like a crafty way to actually enable more gentrification in a broader area of the city, rather than put the brakes on it.

What the Aldermen don't realize is that the yuppies are going to keep coming.

So if you restrict larger developments, you are actually accelerating the loss of affordable housing because people will simply buy up shabby and cheap small buildings and convert them to higher rent units (or expensive SFH's), thus displacing more families.

If the city instead allowed large, market rate development as-of-right, then much of the luxury housing would be served by these newer buildings while the older, shabbier housing might get left alone. But this isn't happening.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by ithakas

Question for developers/investors, etc:

With the new affordable housing mandate zoned to very specific parts of the city, isn't the city effectively filtering out these neighborhoods from some investment and encouraging more development in areas in earlier stages of gentrification?

It struck me from a quick look that none of the areas zoned are particularly at risk of more gentrification – the West Loop, Near North, Milwaukee Ave up to Logan/Avondale – specifically because they're all relatively gentrified as it is.

Seems like a crafty way to actually enable more gentrification in a broader area of the city, rather than put the brakes on it.

Oh don't worry, the alderbeasts are busy trying to fuck up the development of these areas as best they can. I just found out that Rosa (35th) is trying to downzone all of Milwaukee Ave from the square to Central Park to B1-1. There isn't a single B1-1 zone on all of Milwaukee Ave south of the Kennedy. This is quite possibly the most egregious downzoning abuse yet proposed for a commercial corridor.

Not only are the aldermen not willing to upzone these TOD areas, but Rosa is specifically trying to circumvent the process. I kid you not, his justification is to "prevent towers like we've seen further south on Milwaukee ave under TOD laws". Of course he also wants a stranglehold on every single business and smaller development along that strip so he can bring out the affordable housing brigade and make every building 40% affordable housing. Also he has the local artists and property owners (some of whom just bought in the last 6 months, what a joke. And they want to tell people who have been living here 5, 10 or 30 years that Milwaukee ave needs to be downzoned now that we are FINALLY seeing storefronts fill up) supporting it because we need a "community input driven process for all new developments" and that it will "lower their taxes".

I shit you not, I had one person tell me that I shouldn't have a right to give input on this since I live a block off Milwaukee ave and they own property on Milwaukee Ave. They literally just bought that property and don't even live there. Of course they tried to sneak this change in without a community meeting to discuss it as well. We apparently only need community meetings when it's upzoning, not when it's a mass stripping of landowner's property rights. I will let you all know if they end up scheduling a meeting along these lines and please please please come and back me up on dressing down this alderclown before he destroys this section of Milwaukee Avenue for a generation.

[the urban politician]

Luckily, the subway's last stop under Milwaukee is at Logan Square. So Alderman Rosa the Posa isn't really stopping TOD here.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Luckily, the subway's last stop under Milwaukee is at Logan Square. So Alderman Rosa the Posa isn't really stopping TOD here.

If it's everything North of the square then it hurts those blocks between the square and Kimball, which are great candidates for TOD since there is an entrance to the Logan Square station halfway up them, and they are a pretty vibrant section.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Luckily, the subway's last stop under Milwaukee is at Logan Square. So Alderman Rosa the Posa isn't really stopping TOD here.

The last stop is actually Belmont and Rosa controls everything from Kedzie to Central Park throughout this entire corridor... Much of the section of Milwaukee from Kimball to Kedzie is -3 prime TOD zoning.

[aaron38]

That's how politicians earn a reputation for being bought. Far too many of them make policy contrary to market forces, because they know that creates market pressure and hence, value.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by ithakas

Question for developers/investors, etc:

With the new affordable housing mandate zoned to very specific parts of the city, isn't the city effectively filtering out these neighborhoods from some investment and encouraging more development in areas in earlier stages of gentrification?

It struck me from a quick look that none of the areas zoned are particularly at risk of more gentrification – the West Loop, Near North, Milwaukee Ave up to Logan/Avondale – specifically because they're all relatively gentrified as it is.

Seems like a crafty way to actually enable more gentrification in a broader area of the city, rather than put the brakes on it.

Doubtful. The maps associated with this ordinance cover a comically large swath of the West and Northwest Side, including virtually all the desirable areas plus many adjacent areas with no hope of gentrification anytime soon. If the city's trying to spread the wealth, it's not clear where they want the wealth to go.

Seriously, these zones are enormous and cover almost every neighborhood that could conceivably attract development, and then some. The Near West zone is a joke, it contains all of East and West Garfield Park. Real danger of gentrification by Lake and Pulaski...

What this ordinance is, is a blatant pander to NW Side Latinos (e.g. Moreno) and West Side blacks (e.g. Burnett). At the same time, it's intended to be a kinder, gentler alternative to the radical plans being pushed by Maldonado, Rosa, Guzzardi etc. It's notable that Pilsen, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Woodlawn, and other areas undergoing gentrification are not addressed at all by this new ordinance.

[emathias]

The project (Ardhaus?) By Cedar Street on the SW corner of LaSalle and Huron has a loud alarm that kept going off after midnight tonight waking me up three times, after which I called 311, which transferred me to 911. Officers came out and I told them why I'd called and that I wanted them ticketed. They said they would. I've been surrounded by construction for 2-3 years and this is the first time I've called to complain about anything, but man I hate being woken up repeatedly after midnight by loud alarms.

[Mr Downtown]

^Why do you hate new development?

If I've learned anything from this forum, it's that nothing must stand in the way of a new building.

Unless the building is "fugly." Then it's somehow the alderman's fault.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^Why do you hate new development?

If I've learned anything from this forum, it's that nothing must stand in the way of a new building.

Unless the building is "fugly." Then it's somehow the alderman's fault.

I kept petitioning Reilly to zone that whole block for affordable 1/4 acre ranch-style homes. I mean, really, we need architectural diversity in River North, and there simply aren't enough ranch-style homes in this neighborhood. I grew up in a ranch-style home and how am I supposed to feel welcome in this neighborhood if it thumbs its nose my childhood memories?

I also tried to get a petition going among my neighbors for the alderman to force that 1-story building on the SW corner of Huron and Wells where a CVS is going in, to tear it down and replace it with lots for single-width mobile homes. They're so affordable that I know they're the best solution for our city's affordable housing crisis. The lot across the street from my childhood ranch home in the rural Oregon town of 560 people I grew up in had a mobile home on it so I know what I'm talking about. Plus, they're MOBILE!! How rad is that! A house ... that has WHEELS! It's the wave of the future.

I wrote a 54 page letter to Elon Musk about how he needs to add a new MH model to his line of electric vehicles because that is really the only thing wrong with mobile homes, that the have wheels but no motor. Toss a couple batteries under one, wire them to the wheels, and BAM! revolutionary new carbon-friendly transportation and housing all in one.

Of course I know there is really just one last problem, that there isn't enough street parking for them, so I made a Power Point and sent it to Chicago Parking Meters, LLC, illustrating how they need to accommodate housing with their meter plans, and that it should be cheap because otherwise the rent is too damn high! I think once they see that, they'll realize the important role they play in eliminating homelessness in this city by accommodating all of the new Tesla MH models that Elon and I are going to build a factory in Pullman to manufacture. I'm so excited to get this going just as soon as Elon responds with his final tweaks to the business plan I sent him. I know he's busy, but I expect he'll get back to my by tomorrow so if any of you need a job we'll be hiring on Friday to staff up!

[LouisVanDerWright]

They aren't called mobile homes anymore, they are called "tiny houses".

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Doubtful. The maps associated with this ordinance cover a comically large swath of the West and Northwest Side, including virtually all the desirable areas plus many adjacent areas with no hope of gentrification anytime soon. If the city's trying to spread the wealth, it's not clear where they want the wealth to go.

Seriously, these zones are enormous and cover almost every neighborhood that could conceivably attract development, and then some. The Near West zone is a joke, it contains all of East and West Garfield Park. Real danger of gentrification by Lake and Pulaski...

What this ordinance is, is a blatant pander to NW Side Latinos (e.g. Moreno) and West Side blacks (e.g. Burnett). At the same time, it's intended to be a kinder, gentler alternative to the radical plans being pushed by Maldonado, Rosa, Guzzardi etc. It's notable that Pilsen, Bridgeport, Bronzeville, Woodlawn, and other areas undergoing gentrification are not addressed at all by this new ordinance.

The only thing comical is how these efforts to curb gentrification will fail.

You don't need upzonings to gentrify. You don't need to build a single highrise.

Wicker Park, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Lakeview--all gentrified largely without any highrise development.