CHICAGO | General Developments

[markh9]

Was walking in the area, snapped a few pics on my cell. Wish I had time to check out what was going on at the E+W site, but I was pushing the time as it is.

Roosevelt University Goodman Center (Field House)











And, as a quick refresher (not sure if we had this exact picture before):



Jones College Prep









The scale of this one threw me a bit - much larger than I had expected. I'll need my 11-16mm if I shoot there again!

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

What's it going to be?

Another restaurant I think.

[Rizzo]

Who owns the elevated sidewalk next door? It needs replacement.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Who owns the elevated sidewalk next door? It needs replacement.

Complicated issue. There is all sorts of entanglement with the city and 535 N Michigan. I'm not sure exactly who is responsible for it, but the Intercontinental was going to pay for a plaza to be built there when they rebuild their annex if that ever happens. I have a friend who lives in 535 and the situation with the condo board is a clusterfuck.

I think it might be one of those situations where it is a public easement and is owned by 535, but neither party is legally obligated to maintain it so 535 just does just enough to keep it from becoming a liability hazard.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by aic4ever

Renovation/New Construction at what used to be Blackies

^ Where is this located again?

[Swicago Swi Sox]

Grand and St. Clair

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by Young & Egotistic

Even though its a sad situation that a parking area is being taken away , this is worth it the area needs more development.

Its never sad when parking is taken away. Never.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Young & Egotistic

Even though its a sad situation that a parking area is being taken away , this is worth it the area needs more development.

Seriously consider leaving Chicago. Your priorities align better with the suburbs.

The Boston Blackie project is nice in that it not only eliminates ugly surface parking, but it ads street-level texture to Streeterville, a neighborhood that badly needs more of it (and less monolithic podiums)

[J_M_Tungsten]

Boy, Roosevelt is really establishing some nice facilities. Apparently they plan to be around for a while!

On a similar topic, what is going on with UIC's campus? I remember a lot of chatter about a year ago talking about demolishing and replacing certain buildings and building something on "every" university owned surface lot. Was there ever a time line for that, or was it just grand talk?

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by Young & Egotistic

I just dislike when parking areas are taken away for something that's worthless.

Trolling ain't easy.

[denizen467]

^ It's not even necessary - if someone's avatar is a photo of a parking lot, they're pretty much a car-lifestyle maniac from the get-go.

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

I don't know how conducive that Blackie's corner really is to outdoor dining ... the catercorner Volare patio seems ok but this is even closer to the tunnel-like portion of Grand and the unsightly views of several nearby structures.

[denizen467]

In other educational (for-profit) institution facility news, there is a large plot fenced off for construction on the DeVry campus on Campbell near Belmont. Anyone know what they're doing?

[BorisMolotov]

On a similar topic, what is going on with UIC's campus? I remember a lot of chatter about a year ago talking about demolishing and replacing certain buildings and building something on "every" university owned surface lot. Was there ever a time line for that, or was it just grand talk?

I believe that was just taken from their Master Plan but I think its a pretty long term plan with projects expected to be completed by 2020 or something along those lines.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by denizen467

I don't know how conducive that Blackie's corner really is to outdoor dining ... the catercorner Volare patio seems ok but this is even closer to the tunnel-like portion of Grand and the unsightly views of several nearby structures.

I dunno, it shouldn't be a problem considering there is a sizable amount of foot traffic on lower Grand despite the fact that the sidewalk above is practically collapsing (held up only by temporary bracing) and infested with panhandlers looking to shake down anyone who passes among the supports.

I think this area has a lot of potential especially if Optima is going to have St. Clair level retail as well.

Just glad to see that nasty mini lot and it's massive curb cut bite the dust. I know we are being trolled, but Young and Egotistic should be thrilled that the removal of that wasteful lot will probably create just as many available spots on the street by eliminating the half block long curb cut that currently serves the lot.

[aic4ever]

Walked by east-west today on my way to check in on an interior project I'm working on. They are out there breaking up foundations right now. One of the excavators is running a breaker and the other is scooping up what he breaks. It seems like they're going to try to re-use the south foundation wall, maybe in lieu of sheeting, but need to remove old footings to make way for new.

From a sequencing standpoint, if caissons are going in they might not even remove any of the material they've got piled up on that site right now, as the caisson guys will want level ground to drill from anyway. They'd just re-spread it and take away whatever was leftover from expansion.

[Nowhereman1280]

FYI, just found more extensive pictures of the new ASPIRA High School that will be going up at Milwaukee and Central Park. Looks pretty fucking sweet and will be built on the monster vacant lot that resulted after MB took it upon themselves to suburban up the area.

Can't wait for this to drive my property values through the roof. Nothing like a completely brand new intersection (5/3, ASPIRA, MB (even though it sucks), the old Fire Station, etc) to spruce up an area.

http://www.modearchitectspc.com/Aspi...ancial-HS.html

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

FYI, just found more extensive pictures of the new ASPIRA High School that will be going up at Milwaukee and Central Park. Looks pretty fucking sweet and will be built on the monster vacant lot that resulted after MB took it upon themselves to suburban up the area.

Good find... just a total shame that MB chose to keep their prominent corner as a parking lot when they rebuilt. I really like this area of Avondale and think it could be poised to be the next step in the Milwaukee Ave gentrification route.

[Mikemak27]

Great news. Some of the Cabrini-Green Francis rowhouses are being knocked down. Does anyone know if the city is going to sell the land to developers so they can build apartments, condos, and townhouses so that this area will actually contribute to the tax base rather than take from it.

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....-of-metro.html

[J_M_Tungsten]

Does anyone know which ones are slated for demolition? Units towards the north, south, east, or west?

[harryc]

Feb 1
After pouring a layer of gravel on top of the foundation, plastic.


Feb 2
A bit of reinforcing wire, and the concrete floor.


waiting


Thick


The steel is going up fast now, third floor today.