CHICAGO | General Developments

[Rizzo]

A few random pieces of construction I saw on an afternoon bike ride today

Halsted at Chicago bridge rehabilitation






Halsted at Division bridge replacement




Kingsbury / Scott alignment


Kingsbury Reconstruction


Kingsbury Eastman Mall




SoNo 2

[ardecila]

So they are aligning Kingsbury with Scott. That was called for in the Halsted Triangle plan but I thought the current project was just a basic resurfacing.

It begs the question of whether the city will vacate the former ROW of Kingsbury south of Scott (I'm guessing they will whenever a development proposal surfaces for that huge riverfront parking lot).

[aic4ever]

Walmart Express is going in where Pearl used to be, next to the Brown Line Chicago stop.

[spyguy]

^Nice update. It's too bad that the first shot with Sono I and II and the British School will be ruined by that suburban strip mall.

Some news you'll probably be interested in Hayward:

The buildings (Sarah's Pastries, etc.) next to the Esquire are coming down for more bland two story retail spaces.

Past

Dipity

Present

Future



Sure the storefronts have been modified over the years, but what's currently there is so much more charming than what's being proposed. Shame to lose more of Oak Street's history for this.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by spyguy

^Nice update. It's too bad that the first shot with Sono I and II and the British School will be ruined by that suburban strip mall.

Some news you'll probably be interested in Hayward:

The buildings (Sarah's Pastries, etc.) next to the Esquire are coming down for more bland two story retail spaces.

Past

Dipity

Present

Future



Sure the storefronts have been modified over the years, but what's currently there is so much more charming than what's being proposed. Shame to lose more of Oak Street's history for this.

spyguy, thank you for sharing this and I agree that it is a shame. I'm not entirely surprised though. The area has been doing everything they can to be sure the building meet the modern demands of high end retailers. I believe these buildings are adaptable, though it would be very costly. Highrise building and condo owners are probably now relieved their views are preserved for another 50-60 years. I tend to agree...since the human scale nature of this street is important.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Looks like a plan to restore the Uptown Theater is more than just talk:

http://www.uptownupdate.com/2012/03/...enovation.html

I've been hoping for this for a long time. I hope it comes together. I think I had read in the past that a true restoration would cost about $70M, so this $63M figure seems to be in line with that. Good news.

[Buckman821]

Originally Posted by OrdoSeclorum

Looks like a plan to restore the Uptown Theater is more than just talk:

http://www.uptownupdate.com/2012/03/...enovation.html

I've been hoping for this for a long time. I hope it comes together. I think I had read in the past that a true restoration would cost about $70M, so this $63M figure seems to be in line with that. Good news.

I was going to post this as well but I couldn't figure out exactly what had happened. How is "we should have financing in place by the end of next year" any different from what we've been hearing for years? Just curious, I really hope there is something to it.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Buckman821

I was going to post this as well but I couldn't figure out exactly what had happened. How is "we should have financing in place by the end of next year" any different from what we've been hearing for years? Just curious, I really hope there is something to it.

Rahm and Osterman/Cappleman would be my guess as to what has changed. All three are motivated to improve the area and Rahm wants his 'music district'. I'm sure it involves tapping the TIF district along with private investment.

In related news the Menetti family portfolio of vertical slums/deathtraps is now for sale. Hopefully they can be turned over to reputable developer.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by k1052

In related news the Menetti family portfolio of vertical slums/deathtraps is now for sale. Hopefully they can be turned over to reputable developer.

I want Lawrence House and I want it BAD. It's priced reasonably as well at $10,000,000. One could probably purchase it for 8 or 9 million and dump 10 million into it renovating it to top notch finishes and flip the thing in 5 to 10 years for $30,000,000...

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I want Lawrence House and I want it BAD. It's priced reasonably as well at $10,000,000. One could probably purchase it for 8 or 9 million and dump 10 million into it renovating it to top notch finishes and flip the thing in 5 to 10 years for $30,000,000...

Agree. With the right amount of work, it could be an exceptionally nice property.

[Andrew|W]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Hmmm...NO. Where's the other design? I want the other design. It created a more successful space. It had a huge self supported glass canopy that helped to shelter that area against wind.

I cut through there frequently. I don't believe new pavers, removal of the breezeway, and that modern facade replacement are together a silver bullet solution. I'm not convinced this will assist in attracting new tenants.

Step 1. Restore the building exterior as was
Step 2. Construction the glass canopy I saw originally proposed
Step 3. Install impressive architectural lighting and plants in that space to make it an attractive sheltered plaza.

Sorry for pulling up an older topic, but I wanted to point out that the reason that the concepts for the Wrigley Building have completely changed, is that the new owners have hired a new architect. The one interior rendering of an elevator lobby is also completely different from the new proposed design.

I just started on this project, and I don't feel free to comment more on this project until more info is publicly released, but since we also explored various canopy designs, it may have been the client, not the architect that axed the canopy. There are still models of the canopy in the office, so maybe there is a chance it will come back into the design.

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I want Lawrence House and I want it BAD. It's priced reasonably as well at $10,000,000. One could probably purchase it for 8 or 9 million and dump 10 million into it renovating it to top notch finishes and flip the thing in 5 to 10 years for $30,000,000...

From the general size of it and reviews online about the plumbing and mold, I'd bet you're at least 100% off in terms of how much would need to be put into the place to fix it up.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by k1052

Rahm and Osterman/Cappleman would be my guess as to what has changed. All three are motivated to improve the area and Rahm wants his 'music district'. I'm sure it involves tapping the TIF district along with private investment.

Im not holding my breath (63 million is a big number any way you slice it) but any news is good news. I'd still like to know what they envision using the building for. If theyre going to fix it up nice, theyre not going to have Congress-esque techno and punk shows, plus those ticket prices arent going to recoup costs anytime soon. Its too big for films. If its downtown-esque Broadway stuff (which makes the most logical sense), theres a lot of obvious challenges with that kind of plan too. Plus, parking in the neighborhood is more or less non-existent. Its nice and all to say "make the suburbanites and tourists take the train in", but the truth of the matter is a lot of people simply won't come if they cant park within a few blocks. Also, where does JAM (current owners) factor into all of this?

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

Im not holding my breath (63 million is a big number any way you slice it) but any news is good news. I'd still like to know what they envision using the building for. If theyre going to fix it up nice, theyre not going to have Congress-esque techno and punk shows, plus those ticket prices arent going to recoup costs anytime soon. Its too big for films. If its downtown-esque Broadway stuff (which makes the most logical sense), theres a lot of obvious challenges with that kind of plan too. Plus, parking in the neighborhood is more or less non-existent. Its nice and all to say "make the suburbanites and tourists take the train in", but the truth of the matter is a lot of people simply won't come if they cant park within a few blocks.

Tourists staying downtown will certainly be willing to take the train (or a cab). And plenty of city residents would also be willing too. Between those two, you have a pretty big source for audiences. Suburbanites would certainly be a bonus, but I think it'd work without too much extra parking. Additionally, if it were a successful district, it would just be one more reason to push the Brown Line to the Blue Line, to make it easier for all those NW and N suburbanites to get into the city (added to the benefit for city residents to get to jobs near O'Hare).

Keep in mind too, that while older patrons might come as couples in cars, there are also often groups of four and with younger audiences I'd imagine the groups of four in one car are even more common. It's not as if a 4,000-seat theatre needs 4,000 parking spots.

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

Im not holding my breath (63 million is a big number any way you slice it) but any news is good news. I'd still like to know what they envision using the building for. If theyre going to fix it up nice, theyre not going to have Congress-esque techno and punk shows, plus those ticket prices arent going to recoup costs anytime soon. Its too big for films. If its downtown-esque Broadway stuff (which makes the most logical sense), theres a lot of obvious challenges with that kind of plan too. Plus, parking in the neighborhood is more or less non-existent. Its nice and all to say "make the suburbanites and tourists take the train in", but the truth of the matter is a lot of people simply won't come if they cant park within a few blocks. Also, where does JAM (current owners) factor into all of this?

I just went to Flogging Molly at the Aragon not too long ago. That was sold out. There was some other show sold out at the Riv at the same time. And the bars were packed. Meter parking was not an issue. I wound up less than a five minute walk away.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by emathias

Tourists staying downtown will certainly be willing to take the train (or a cab). And plenty of city residents would also be willing too. Between those two, you have a pretty big source for audiences. Suburbanites would certainly be a bonus, but I think it'd work without too much extra parking. Additionally, if it were a successful district, it would just be one more reason to push the Brown Line to the Blue Line, to make it easier for all those NW and N suburbanites to get into the city (added to the benefit for city residents to get to jobs near O'Hare).

Keep in mind too, that while older patrons might come as couples in cars, there are also often groups of four and with younger audiences I'd imagine the groups of four in one car are even more common. It's not as if a 4,000-seat theatre needs 4,000 parking spots.

Theres another issue in that the stage is really not big enough for Broadway type theatre productions. I think this is why Jam had wanted to remove the seats and turn it into a Riv type thing. If they were to keep the seats and book comedy/music acts, theyd be basically be competing directly with/cannibalizing the Chicago Theater (their stage isnt big enough for theater, either).

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

Im not holding my breath (63 million is a big number any way you slice it) but any news is good news. I'd still like to know what they envision using the building for. If theyre going to fix it up nice, theyre not going to have Congress-esque techno and punk shows, plus those ticket prices arent going to recoup costs anytime soon. Its too big for films. If its downtown-esque Broadway stuff (which makes the most logical sense), theres a lot of obvious challenges with that kind of plan too. Plus, parking in the neighborhood is more or less non-existent. Its nice and all to say "make the suburbanites and tourists take the train in", but the truth of the matter is a lot of people simply won't come if they cant park within a few blocks. Also, where does JAM (current owners) factor into all of this?

As I recall the main sticking point with Mary Ann Smith was that JAM wanted to loose all the floor seating, which would increase the venue capacity dramatically. I'm thinking that some deal has been struck to overcome that.

Uptown doesn't work as anything except a live music and small scale live theatre area. Nobody would want to go to broadway shows in Uptown even if the theater could support them (it can't even in restored condition).

I'm not overly concerned about parking. The Red Line is literally across the street. Turn streets permit that the community doesn't want concert goers parking on. The Riv and Aragon manage to attract big acts without having 1000 stall parking decks tucked away behind them.

[BWChicago]

Everything I've heard suggests a big garage with retail and restaurants at the base to be built across the street.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Perhaps they could strike a deal with the owners of the old Aon offices down the street to use that massive garage to additional capacity (valet or whatever), it's only like 3 blocks away.

Though I would prefer a garage on one of the huge parking lots to the east of there to the parking lots that are there now. It would really knock down the pressures that make the other lots in the area so appealing to their owners. Make parking cheaper and less profitable and you'll see some of those parking lots redevelop.

Originally Posted by aic4ever

From the general size of it and reviews online about the plumbing and mold, I'd bet you're at least 100% off in terms of how much would need to be put into the place to fix it up.

Yeah, I just threw that number out there without really thinking about it. However, it is definitely a gut job. The spec sheet I have on the property shows the average unit size is about 300 SF which is insane. Guess how many units are in the building? 376, now that's density.

You'd have to blast out AT LEAST every other wall though it would probably be easier just to take it down to the structure and start over from the concrete. However, even if we were to assume a high end renovation at like $75/SF I'm only getting around $10,000,000 in renovation costs:

The total square footage of the building is 112,423 SF so if we multiply that by $75/SF we get just under $8,500,000 and if we estimate $100/SF its still only $11,250,000...

I could be completely off in my estimates, but I doubt a reasonably high end residential build out is going to venture much beyond $100/SF unless you start getting into slathering the interior in stone and ultra high end finishes (Viking Appliances and the likes)...

[emathias]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

Everything I've heard suggests a big garage with retail and restaurants at the base to be built across the street.

I recognize the necessity of some parking (look how much Midtown in New York has - a lot) but I wish it would be situated as far from the Red Line as possible. It's just so moronic to allow big parking garages literally next door to a station on the city's busiest line.

Edit: Unless you mean across Magnolia on that surface lot - that would actually be perfectly fine with me. You could probably put a 350-400 car garage on that site without building taller than the Uptown, which would at least take a good dent out of the parking demand, if not actually fill it.