CHICAGO | 108 North State (Block 37)

[Steely Dan]

i deleted some off-topic posts from this thread.

if you want to talk about B37 or any of the businesses going into it, please proceed, if you want to personally insult each other and involve yourself in other stupidities, please go find a new forum to join.

this thread will remain as it is; there is no use in further discussion on that topic.

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...e-studied.html

Push renewed for premium rail service to O'Hare
Jon Hilkevitch August 18, 2010 10:33 AM

Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday relaunched a stalled proposal to lure private investors to build and operate a premium express train service between downtown and O'Hare International Airport.

...He said no city funding would be used, except possibly to complete the mothballed CTA "super station" under Block 37 downtown.

[spyguy]

It looks like Eileen Fisher is opening a store in Block 37 after all; they've already posted job openings for the store on their website.

Last time I went in I noticed that a new store (Alternative Shoes) opened on the first floor. Anyone know what's up with the Swarovski store? The interior build out looks complete but it has been sitting in mall purgatory for several months now.

[Chicagoguy]

Does anyone know the complete rundown of the stores in Block37 that are already open or now intend to? I was also wondering when is the Disney Store is slated to open? Would be nice if they could get the food court up by Black Friday...although I dont see that happening...along with the movie theater, which is something that area of downtown would much benefit from!

[ethereal_reality]

Why walking through Block 37 feels like stepping into The Twilight Zone.


http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articl...ing-thr,45016/

[Chicagoguy]

Its really sad that they are able to come to some kind of an agreement to fill this mall up. I think with the movie theater, and the LettuceEntertainYou restaurant the foot traffic would really pick up in there. Not to mention actually finishing the superstation that is incomplete underneath! NYC has so much great projects that include their public transit systems so well, unfortunately Chicago just can't pull it together....

[cbotnyse]

reading that is really sad! This is at the very heart of our city and its a ghost town. (not to mention the beautiful shell of the Sullivan Center a block down).

I have an idea. The managers of B37 should fill up the walls with local artists photography. (like mine ) but honestly there are tons of talented photographers in the city. Fill up the walls in there with it and give it some life!

[eaguir3]

they should actually turn it into a gallery in the meantime

[spyguy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

BofA Gets Tough. PNC Doesn't. Why?
By MARSHALL ECKBLAD

Two large commercial real-estate projects here share the same developer, street and uphill battle to overcome the sluggish economy.

But Bank of America Corp. is trying to foreclose on the development known as Block 37 because developer Larry Freed refused to meet the bank's demands to put more money into the project, financed with a $173 million loan from a group of lenders led by the big U.S. bank. One block away, the 47-year-old Mr. Freed recently won a reprieve from PNC Financial Services Group Inc. on his company's $170 million mortgage for the Sullivan Center.

[pottebaum]

^Maybe it has something to do with the Sullivan Center (reportedly) getting Target as a tenant?

[Loopy]

....

[wrab]

Ethereal_Reality, that is a very depressing article, and I wholeheartedly agree with it.

[jew4life4948]

Is it me, or is globalization turning State Street & Mag Mile into a shopping mall of mid to high price national retailers? I know that's why Van Cleef is moving a few blocks over into Gold Coast, they don't need to please the tourists of Mid-America. Anyways, I pitched this idea for a vacant space I was marketing in Wicker Park (Old WaMu), based on this idea.



http://storefrontartist.org/

[Rizzo]

A storefront project would be nice in the perpetual vacancy and clothing liquidator generator called the Mather building on Michigan Ave. This 3 story structure has to be the most annoying building between the gold coast on Roosevelt Ave.

[spyguy]

I thought a popup art gallery was planned for the Randolph side.

Originally Posted by wrabbit

Ethereal_Reality, that is a very depressing article, and I wholeheartedly agree with it.

The article is funny, but I don't think it's really right when it comes to the food situation in Block 37. The thai restaurant in the pedway is planning to open in November and I think the sandwich shop (Which Wich) is also supposed to open pretty soon. There's a pretty big vacant space in the pedway for other restaurants and I believe Freshii is still considering opening a store. Then there's restaurant space on the corner of Randolph and Dearborn where Rosa Mexicano was supposed to go. Then the huge Lettuce food court. There was even going to be a bakery until the BOA drama messed things up. And I'm sure there will be at least one cafe in the mall at some point.

Edit: the Disney store's grand opening is next Tuesday.

[patriotizzy]

Originally Posted by Loopy

Bank of America, Fuck Yeah!

The black heart of Capitalism™

That's a really cool sculpture (If that's what it is, not sure).

[Busy Bee]

they don't need to please the tourists of Mid-America.

You're really just making yourself sound silly here. According to you SS and the Mag Mile are nothing but chain stores that cater to hokey midwesterners. That is the definition of ignorance. As far as whether the chain store age of these streets is accelerating, I would say that is inevitable no matter what. We live in the chain store age, especially so in most cities in this country, and with the high rent costs and relatively well rounded nature of both streets, yes most stores are not mom and pop independents but rather recognizable national and international brands. And the concern over this is nothing new either. I've got paper clippings from the early mid-90's dishing out outrage and nasty predictions for street character over the "invasion" of the national retailers. What exactly is the option?

[spyguy]

Disney store opening

DisneyStore/ Facebook

DisneyStore/ Facebook

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...ms-on-block-37

Judge dismisses Freed's defenses and counterclaims on Block 37
By: Eddie Baeb September 29, 2010

The foreclosure battle over Block 37 seems to be winding down as the judge recently threw out the defenses and counter-claims waged by developer Joseph Freed & Associates LLC against Bank of America Corp.

The bank, in turn, earlier this month filed a motion for summary judgment seeking $177.85 million that it says is now due on the construction loan for the four-level mall at 108 N. State St. that opened last November – just a month after Charlotte-based B of A filed its foreclosure lawsuit.

[chicubs111]

One grip i have about chicago is that with a project like this you expect something big and bold and it seems like Chicago always comes up short when it needs something special...We have the best architects and are supposed innovators in modern architecture but we cant come up wtih something more dynamic than this...its really ticks me off...they turn down the helmut jahn design for this ...

[Tom In Chicago]

Are you thinking about Helmut Jahn's design from the 1980s? I wasn't aware he designed anything for the current iteration of this project. . .

. . .