CHICAGO | General Developments

[i_am_hydrogen]

This looks like a great read:

Obsolescence: An Architectural History by Daniel M. Abramson
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago...t?oid=22324753

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by MultiModal

It's true. The class C office market in the central loop is shrinking significantly due to conversions. That's why rates for class C office's have skyrocketed in the past 2-3 years. Also, I know of one more class C office building that will be converted to apartments that is under contract right now in the loop.

Yeah, the future of Class C is not in the Loop but in former industrial corridors. Pilsen's Lacuna "Artist Lofts" is basically just a Class C office building with a funky art theme. Very few actual artists working there, but tons of marketing firms, hairdressers, even a trucking company. Green Exchange in Avondale is similar, and the Fulton Corridor and Ravenswood Corridor have tons.

That's unfortunate for anybody who needs to access those businesses, including employees and customers, and doesn't want to drive - industrial corridors tend to be far from L stations. Bus service isn't what it used to be the last time these corridors were employment hubs, and despite the city's investment in bike lanes and Divvy, biking will always be a problem in wintertime and for people who are less able-bodied. That means driving and parking will continue to be a fact of life unless your company can afford the increasingly expensive space in the Loop.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by marothisu

The article states that they're in advanced talks with Sterling Bay. It's not a done deal yet - they could still pull what they did last year. At least according to Google Maps, that lot is around or a little over 100K sq ft. The article mentions "well over 300,000 sq ft" meaning that the site would be at least 3 stories. Let's hope more like 6-8.

Don't know if the information is up to date, but we did see this plan for Harpo last yr:
http://chicago.curbed.com/2015/6/1/9...ent-renderings

[ardecila]

^ I would expect the plan to change. McDonald's will demand significant parking for their suburban workforce, and probably a design that that more closely reflects their corporate culture rather than a generic West Loopy faux-warehouse.

This site is surprisingly closer to Metra than the Prudential Plaza site McD's was looking at before, but there is much less off-street parking available.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ I would expect the plan to change. McDonald's will demand significant parking for their suburban workforce, and probably a design that that more closely reflects their corporate culture rather than a generic West Loopy faux-warehouse.

I'm guessing the neighborhood would have to have buy-in for their design? I would hope the design, if they change it, won't suck...that would really be terrible. I think that the West Loop is a great area and shouldn't ruin it a little bit with a big boring building.

[ardecila]

I don't think the result will be boring. I expect McDonalds would want to make a statement, actually. Whether it will be good architecture is anybody's guess. The Rock'n'Roll McDonalds is anything but boring...

If this deal is for real, the neighborhood won't hold it up. The mayor will get personally involved to bring McDonalds downtown, regardless of what the NIMBYs push for. Plus the alderman is Burnett, who's generally been pro-development.

[marothisu]

I was also thinking - I think that the "300,000 sq ft" is probably a big underestimation. My office in NYC moved into a space that's about 125K sq ft on one floor. It's a high performance work space, so almost nobody has actual offices. Almost everyone is at long tables - enough for personal stuff but not a lot. There's a number of meeting rooms, game room, some pool tables, etc.

And there's a max of 600-700 people there for something where the average desk space is probably half of that at a normal space. If McDonald's wants this for 2000 people, then I'm guessing they're going to be needing around, or over, 500K sq ft of space.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ I would expect the plan to change. McDonald's will demand significant parking for their suburban workforce, and probably a design that that more closely reflects their corporate culture rather than a generic West Loopy faux-warehouse.

Then why move here in the first place. It would seem the whole point would be to change their culture.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by marothisu

...
And there's a max of 600-700 people there for something where the average desk space is probably half of that at a normal space. If McDonald's wants this for 2000 people, then I'm guessing they're going to be needing around, or over, 500K sq ft of space.

I am guessing the number will be less than 2000. An old article about the Prudential location suggested something around 1000.

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ I would expect the plan to change. McDonald's will demand significant parking for their suburban workforce, and probably a design that that more closely reflects their corporate culture rather than a generic West Loopy faux-warehouse.

This site is surprisingly closer to Metra than the Prudential Plaza site McD's was looking at before, but there is much less off-street parking available.

Why do you think a central location would be parking oriented?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by VKChaz

I am guessing the number will be less than 2000. An old article about the Prudential location suggested something around 1000.



Why do you think a central location would be parking oriented?

Because most people working west of the Kennedy commute by car unless they live in the neighborhood already, work for Google or are in lower-end service jobs.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by emathias

Because most people west of the Kennedy commute by car unless they work for Google or are in lower-end service jobs.

Fair enough, but strikes me as counterproductive for a company to move large numbers of employees to the city, where it is common to commute by train from the suburbs, and then expect those workers to drive. I can envision an allowance for parking nearby, but at first blush I would have expected Sterling Bay or McD to employ shuttles to/from the train stations. And, as this area adds employers, I would expect usage of shuttles to increase

[the urban politician]

^ They will have to figure something out, because it would be extremely difficult and costly to have that much parking on site.

Frankly I'm surprised they aren't going with a Loop location

[munchymunch]

Imagine if Sterling got the post office.

[streetline]

Originally Posted by emathias

Because most people west of the Kennedy commute by car unless they work for Google or are in lower-end service jobs.

Care to back that up with a source?

Anecdotally, I work in the west loop, and while some of my coworkers drive, I don't think it's a majority.

Remember, the new McDonalds headquarters is on Carpenter St, which is about as far to the west of Union & Ogilvie as State St is to the east (a 10-15 min walk). And it's also 2 blocks from the Morgan St Pink & Green Line station, and 5 or 6 blocks from the Blue Line. The west loop is not a transit desert by any stretch; people can, do, and should take transit there.

[Randomguy34]

Originally Posted by streetline

Care to back that up with a source?

Anecdotally, I work in the west loop, and while some of my coworkers drive, I don't think it's a majority.

Remember, the new McDonalds headquarters is on Carpenter St, which is about as far to the west of Union & Ogilvie as State St is to the east (a 10-15 min walk). And it's also 2 blocks from the Morgan St Pink & Green Line station, and 5 or 6 blocks from the Blue Line. The west loop is not a transit desert by any stretch; people can, do, and should take transit there.

Transitized made a map of Chicago's commute patterns in different census tracts: http://www.transitized.com/commute/#12/41.8928/-87.6491

It definitely looks like about 40 percent of people west of the Kennedy drive to work, but that number should be expected to go down as more people live and work in West Loop.

[rlw777]

All the speculation of building size and nobody caught this in the article

Sterling Bay has been planning an eight-story, 550,000-square-foot building at 1045 W. Randolph St., branded as Randolph West, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group. But Sterling Bay is believed to be seeking zoning to build a larger structure on the site.

[rlw777]

Good news but sort of wish they were going to 130 N Franklin. That Krueck Sexton design needs to be built.

[r18tdi]

I also was thinking the Micky D's would end up in the loop or Goose Island or something.

In other news, 833 N. Clark is looking pretty T/O.

[Notyrview]

What a harrible building to move to. Cheap bastards.

[mattshoe]

Originally Posted by Notyrview

What a harrible building to move to. Cheap bastards.

They're demoing the existing building and building this:

http://chicago.curbed.com/2015/6/1/9...ent-renderings