CHICAGO | General Developments

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

A question/reminder....Anyone here going to Wrigley/Addison St. Hyatt Hotel development community meeting tonight? Its at 6:30 tonight at the Wrigley Field Stadium club. Even though its not an official high rise it is going for LEED certification and it should be interesting to see how the design fits to contrast Wrigley.

I am preparing for the worst in that I think the design may try to be safe and lame in order to comply with probable critics who would decry something that doesn't "fit" with Wrigley or the neighborhood but maybe a surprise is in order.

I'm more worried about idiot neighbors claiming the highest and best use of the land is as parking or at most, a 2-3 story shitbox. And worse, the aldermen heeding their uninformed, foolish opinions.

[Chicago2020]

here's a video from ABC 7 which includes renderings

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...cal&id=5910258

1000th POST

and it only took about 6 years

[the urban politician]

^ Congrats. Nice find, btw. I sort of figured we'd be getting a brick ye olde Chicago kind of thing.

Question 1: Did anybody go to the meeting?

Question 2: The video was very brief. What will be replaced by this project?

[honte]

^ Not too much of note, surprisingly. The Starbucks building is a nice Classical Revival with an octagonal bay; there also is a rather large cold storage building with a somewhat uninspired facade. Overall, I don't think it's too much of a loss.

[aaron38]

Regarding Wrigley, they couldn't get the souvenir shop to sell? That sucks, because that's a crappy one story on the corner, where you need the streetwall the most.

And what was that tower behind the developer in the ABC news piece? Was that the old design they mentioned was scrapped?
Also, I loved the guy at the end who said if he hated congestion, he wouldn't live a block from Wrigley!

[ardecila]

Fuzzy rendering for interested parties (I hope this doesn't violate any rules).

[wrab]

From this AM's Trib:

By Joshua Boak and Robert Manor | Tribune reporters
January 24, 2008

A Chicago developer unveiled plans in the city's Wrigleyville neighborhood Wednesday night for a nine-story, mixed-use development with a hotel that would stand virtually eye-to-eye with Wrigley Field.....





http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...0,715363.story

[OhioGuy]

I like the development!

[Nowhereman1280]

Wow, major improvement for that area!

[trvlr70]

Wrigley Field already has the most "upscale" location of any major league park. I'm not overly enthusiastic about having a hotel...especially a mid-range property like Hyatt Place. If a hotel is needed, then something more unique and special would be in order.

However, I am excited about finally get rid of those hideous parking lots.

But I would not complain about well designed, historical looking 4-story infill there as well.

[spyguy]

Might as well post one of the older designs/schemes for this project now

[GregBear24]

^ that's awesome. I would like to see somthing there that isn't almost the same height as wrigley. Either have 4-5 flats with retail on bottom, or have something much taller than wrigley- which of course is what I would like to see more of in lakeview.

[honte]

@spyguy: Bummer. Seems to have had the NIMBY treatment.

[alex1]

the only way i see this failing (besides bland architecture) is if they provide too much parking. Because if the community is concerned about traffic and 500 parking spots are added, then you might as well get NIMBY-esque on this thing.

[ardecila]

Congestion in this immediate area is not just a vehicular problem, it's also a pedestrian problem. The sidewalks are really quite narrow to handle the huge pedestrian volumes that the area gets for home games and the occasional concert. Also, the dense concentration of bars makes the area a year-round destination, so some sidewalk expansion and better crosswalks/traffic calming would be very helpful.

[GregBear24]

Originally Posted by alex1

the only way i see this failing (besides bland architecture) is if they provide too much parking. Because if the community is concerned about traffic and 500 parking spots are added, then you might as well get NIMBY-esque on this thing.

I hope that if this happens there isn't too much parking (esp since it's a block away from the red line). However, as we know, there could very well be no way to please the nimbys regardless. They can come up with endless excuses such as it doesnt fit the neighborhood to too many people living in wrigleyville. I, personally, have a problem with the possibility of not being able to see the city from the top concourse and upper deck. I always enjoy looking at the skyline at any time. That's why I prefer the taller structure, which wouldn't block the spectacular city views as much as this bulky, 9 story building. If wrigley was a residential structure, I'd say block all the views if possible, but it's a place open to the public for games, tours, and some other events. Just an opinion of mine that I'm sure people will disagree with me about. Just don't call me a nimby, because I'm certainly not.

[brian_b]

If the development does include significant parking, the problems could be alleviated somewhat if the entrances and exits were on Clark and Sheffield only. On game days, traffic control can make it so there is no entry or egress to the north, IE - everything comes from the south before the game, and heads south after the game.

[Marcu]

Originally Posted by honte

@spyguy: Bummer. Seems to have had the NIMBY treatment.

Disagree. Not everything in the city needs a glass curtain. Clean looking brick is a lot more appropriate for the area. Especially if done well.

[trvlr70]

Originally Posted by Marcu

Disagree. Not everything in the city needs a glass curtain. Clean looking brick is a lot more appropriate for the area. Especially if done well.

I agree. Huge expanses of glass would look terrible in that vicinity.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Congestion in this immediate area is not just a vehicular problem, it's also a pedestrian problem. The sidewalks are really quite narrow to handle the huge pedestrian volumes that the area gets for home games and the occasional concert. Also, the dense concentration of bars makes the area a year-round destination, so some sidewalk expansion and better crosswalks/traffic calming would be very helpful.

I believe the developer talked about adding 4 ft. to the sidewalk at least on the Clark St. if I remember correctly so that would help.

They can come up with endless excuses such as it doesnt fit the neighborhood to too many people living in wrigleyville. I, personally, have a problem with the possibility of not being able to see the city from the top concourse and upper deck. I always enjoy looking at the skyline at any time. That's why I prefer the taller structure, which wouldn't block the spectacular city views as much as this bulky, 9 story building. If wrigley was a residential structure, I'd say block all the views if possible, but it's a place open to the public for games, tours, and some other events. Just an opinion of mine that I'm sure people will disagree with me about. Just don't call me a nimby, because I'm certainly not.

I agree I would like it taller and thinner as well precisely for those reasons and I think the building would look less squat but if there are height restrictions I think its a fair trade. It would be nice if Hyatt at least had a bar patio deck for the public that would keep open the same views but I couldn't tell if that is in the plans or not.