CHICAGO | General Developments

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Near North Resident

as to the above, are those metal shingles? Those are not going to age well...

That all depends on the kind of metal that was used. I don't see you complaining about the titanium shingles on the Pritzker Pavilion which are looking great after 12 years.

I assume this shingles are some kind of clear anodized aluminum - which is fine. Aluminum doesn't rust and it's fairly easy to clean. Shingles like this just aren't super common in Chicago. I doubt they are zinc because of the cost, but that is also a durable and beautiful material.

I'm reasonably sure this is not some kind of raw/"bright" or galvanized product.

[Randomguy34]

All three of these ideas sound interesting, especially having a 100% increase of upzone for downtown. Pedestrian Michigan Ave, and a recreational neighborhood with no cars reminds me a lot of Barcelona's superblocks. Not sure how much political will there is for any of these 3 ideas to happen.

3 bold ideas Chicago should swipe from great cities
By: NOAH GOTTLIEB
Chicago's political leaders need creative alternatives to budget cuts and tax increases for addressing our mounting financial crisis. By seeking inspiration from other great cities that took bold approaches to increasing quality of life while tackling difficult financial realities, we can improve city planning and fiscal order.

Here are three ideas that could be a starting point.

Idea 1: Convert the Magnificent Mile to a pedestrian street.

Idea 2: Double the potential size of future buildings in downtown zoning districts instead of doubling the size of the zones themselves.

Idea 3: Create an urban activity loop for bikers and runners.
...

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...m-great-cities

[Mikemak27]

Rahm and the department of buildings say a new streamlined process that puts home renovations and remodels towards the front of the line means they won't wait for more than 30 days for permits. Hopefully this helps LVW and TUP with their building acquisitions and upgrades.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...g-to-go-faster

[the urban politician]

^ A great step forward. How much will it help me? Can't say. The article says this is for homeowners. I don't know if that means it won't apply to investors. I also don't know how the city would know the difference anyhow. I'm happy to know that Rahm is at least responding and acknowledging this problem.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Near North Resident

Late and over budget - the Chicago way

I remember thinking the same thing about the bloomingdale trail "opening" its not 100% done, its just usable by the public

Speaking of this, I wonder if the Navy Pier Flyover will end up taking longer than its already bizarrely long 3+ (?) year timeframe.

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

a recreational neighborhood with no cars reminds me a lot of Barcelona's superblocks.


http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...m-great-cities

The existing boulevard system is a perfect place to test this. Could be a truly unique system much in the way the system was when first created.

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by ardecila

That all depends on the kind of metal that was used. I don't see you complaining about the titanium shingles on the Pritzker Pavilion which are looking great after 12 years.

I assume this shingles are some kind of clear anodized aluminum - which is fine. Aluminum doesn't rust and it's fairly easy to clean. Shingles like this just aren't super common in Chicago. I doubt they are zinc because of the cost, but that is also a durable and beautiful material.

I'm reasonably sure this is not some kind of raw/"bright" or galvanized product.

I guarantee they are using the most affordable kind of siding that looks like that... they aren't using titanium LOL! But yeah they look like aluminum shingles which oxidizes in an extremely ugly fashion

[F1 Tommy]

Only thing, Barcelona is a lot warmer than Chicago. This will be good for foot traffic during the holidays and April-October.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mikemak27

Rahm and the department of buildings say a new streamlined process that puts home renovations and remodels towards the front of the line means they won't wait for more than 30 days for permits. Hopefully this helps LVW and TUP with their building acquisitions and upgrades.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...g-to-go-faster

The first one, converting Michigan Ave to a pedestrian street, I would fully support with one condition - continue Lower Michigan north all the way to LSD and make it bus-only, plus make a Lower Chicago from Orleans to Fairbanks, with dedicated bus lanes and limited through-traffic for cars (no trucks). With those two things, the North Michigan Ave area would become even more of a fantastic place than it already is. That's about 1.6 miles of cut-and-cover, with probably 10-11 "stations" for access to the underground busway. The biggest issue with the Chicago Ave one would be dealing with the Red Line station at State Street - I honestly don't know how that would be dealt with - but I think the advantages of having transit be actually fast through those areas would be immense. The other big challenge would be finding a way to get Michigan Ave buses onto Lower Michigan with a portal that didn't detract from the otherwise beautiful area. Maybe it would just be as straight-forward as converting some lanes on Lower Lake and Lower Stetson to bus-only and giving buses priority at intersections.

Heck, in the long run, the City could even make a Lower Chicago all the way to LSD to connect up if they ever make Chicago/LSD an expressway-style interchange as has been suggested in at least one proposal for bumping out the shoreline along that stretch of LSD. If there are any decent hybrid buses that can run fuel/electric, the buses using the lower Michigan busway could even be run electric for that ~mile or so, dramatically improving air quality across the board in that corridor.

Guestimate cost - $1 billions, but also guessing a higher ridership impact than the Red Line south extension so good bang for the buck.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Speaking of this, I wonder if the Navy Pier Flyover will end up taking longer than its already bizarrely long 3+ (?) year timeframe.

4 years. the timeline of this project is a complete embarrassment, and so is the fact that one of the main entry ways for the vast majority of tourists and locals to the lakefront from Navy Pier looks like an absolute clusterfuck (not to mention a legitimate safety hazard).

[rlw777]

Apparently the Yoko Ono sculpture in Jackson park was unveiled a few days ago.
Yoko Sculpture from dnaInfo

Anyone know if or when the jackson park pheonix pavilion might start?

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by moorhosj

The existing boulevard system is a perfect place to test this. Could be a truly unique system much in the way the system was when first created.

havent we already "tested" this with state street?

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

havent we already "tested" this with state street?

I believe that was more of a test comparable to proposal #1. I am talking about proposal #3 of an urban activity loop that encourages biking/running/walking. The boulevard system has huge right of way and in most parts has 8 lanes across (2 on either side of the trees and 4 in the middle).

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

havent we already "tested" this with state street?

Might have not been the appropriate time then. Of course I wasn't around but when that kind of urban design became popular, cities and their downtown districts were dying. Maybe it would work on Michigan Ave in this day and age. When I walked every day to work, all I ever saw was buses and cabs. Private cars were mostly on cross streets. You could shift buses underground and have cab stands at all the crossing points

[Lakeviewguy]

I believe that the Hoover Dam was built in less time than the Navy Pier Flyover. I ride
by the "Flyover" every day, and they are years away from completing it.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

havent we already "tested" this with state street?

You can't really use that as an example. State Street in the 1980s and early 90s would have been a shithole regardless of whether it was pedestrianized or not. Actually, it had already turned into a shithole because all the middle-class shoppers who used to go to State had moved out to the burbs. Jane Byrne closed it off in the first place to try and revive it. The problem is, pedestrianization doesn't solve greater urban problems. It works best in areas that are already successful by providing more room for pedestrians to mill about. Ultimately the crime and sleazy businesses on State didn't go away with merely an aesthetic facelift.

Later, the restoration of State by Daley happened to coincide with better policing downtown and huge investment in new developments (Theater District, Block 37, etc) plus an influx of yuppies with disposable income that did the trick of reviving the shopping district. Grubby Red Line stations were renovated. Scuzzy businesses (porno stores, flophouses, etc) were deliberately driven out and replaced by chain retail and office, etc. The idea that the streetscaping of State was the key to the revival is a myth spread by Blair Kamin and a few others.

Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Portland, all built successful downtown transit malls that greatly improved conditions for bus riders and downtown workers/residents, especially people changing buses who have to wait. (Chicago has a big rail system so this is less of a problem, but many South Siders still rely on buses to get downtown.) The one in Denver is even a retail destination on par with State. Those malls are just better designed than the drab gray carpet that SOM rolled out in Chicago.

Internationally, too, many cities in Europe and Asia have slowly been pedestrianizing greater and greater portions of their core. Usually it's a slow process of building consensus and coordinating with residents and businesses to minimize the impact, not the overnight mandate of a all-powerful mayor. And those pedestrian zones are often extremely successful...

[Rizzo]

I'm not one to complain about construction times because of complicated situations but holy crap I agree that thing is taking eternity. The river walk took far less time

[J_M_Tungsten]

Within the week
Clark and Belmont


Children's Memorial Demo




Soon to be Rush Outpatient Ambulatory Center (as well as various other highrises)

[J_M_Tungsten]

Today
Children's Demo and Webster Square

[aaron38]

A church collapsed in Wicker park overnight. All over the local news on TV right now.

Looks like a bullet was dodged. Developer was in talks to purchase and convert into residences. Luckily it was empty.