CHICAGO | General Developments

[ardecila]

It's pretty sad that the Dan Ryan/State corridor was once the epitome of modernism... now they're putting up Park Boulevard schlock.

At least IIT gets it...

[denizen467]

^^^ Mr Downtown, thanks, I figured a way to get around the site registration wall, and the article I'm seeing now is from the day prior to the opening (Wed.), so it's better than nothing but it doesn't really report the event (like interviewing customers etc., or even Bo). I had searched initially for "Niketown" (that's the name the Racked article used repeatedly) and, what do you know, the Trib doesn't use that word in the article even once. That's a bit sloppy; they do imply the name Niketown has been jettisoned from Chicago, but it was a long-established name here and it's odd to not mention it. The fact that they ran their article prior to the event, and might be intentionally avoiding the purportedly discontinued name Niketown, makes me wonder whether Tribune was basically handed a press release and was otherwise influenced by Nike PR, rather than actually doing a real journalism job.

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by jboy560

I'm always pleasantly surprised when I take the green line past Park Boulevard. It looks like such a nice development and the Starbucks there at 35th is really nice.

YES! That Starbucks was my haunt of choice when I was in school for a year at IIT. One of the only cafes, Sbux or otherwise, that I frequented enough for them to know my "regular" drink when I walked in. It was a big deal when the Jimmy Johns opened over there too. Ah, the memories.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ardecila

It's pretty sad that the Dan Ryan/State corridor was once the epitome of modernism... now they're putting up Park Boulevard schlock.

At least IIT gets it...

^ Seriously?

IIT gets what, exactly? IIT's sexy glass cubes are nice and all, but they accomplish nothing in making that part of town a place that I would rather spend more time. If IIT had even a drop of urban planning sense, they would understand that vast parking lots next to L stations are an 'underutilization of land'. Apparently, they have a lot to learn from Loyola and even UIC. Heck, even Depaul has plans to redevelop their large lot on Fullerton.

It's time to fill in those acres and acres of vacant lots near 35th and State with brick and mortar buildings, stores, people.

Beggars can't be choosers, and the south side is begging away...

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by denizen467

[I] wonder whether Tribune was basically handed a press release and was otherwise influenced by Nike PR, rather than actually doing a real journalism job.

The Tribune ran a 100-inch feature story full of quotes and detailed description of the store, sprawling over two pages of the business section, on Thursday. The irony of complaining about the state of journalism in a post where you boast about defeating the paywall appears to be lost on you.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

It's time to fill in those acres and acres of vacant lots near 35th and State with brick and mortar buildings, stores, people.

So what's stopping you? Why are you shopping for investment property on Chicago Avenue instead of Pershing Road?

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by ardecila

It's pretty sad that the Dan Ryan/State corridor was once the epitome of modernism... now they're putting up Park Boulevard schlock.

At least IIT gets it...

Say what? IIT hasnt changed, the only thing that has is Stateway Gardens. So are you saying that Stateway Gardens was a integral part of the "epitome of modernism"?

Originally Posted by the urban politician

If IIT had even a drop of urban planning sense, they would understand that vast parking lots next to L stations are an 'underutilization of land'.

For what its worth, in IIT's long range campus plans they have a mixed use building planned for the NE corner of 35th and State and another for the SE corner of 31st and State.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ When will people get the idea that sports stadiums do not revitalize neighborhoods? Now if they were designed like the sports stadiums of old (Fenway, Wrigley) that would be different. Unfortunately, modern stadiums need 3,000 acres of parking, hence they do nothing but deaden the area around them

They're looking to build about a 10K seat arena. The convention center has 2 or 3 thousand spaces and more accessible in city lots via shuttles they run for big events. Presumably it would be relatively close to the forthcoming Cermak Green line stop, existing Red Line stop, and the Metra Electric station. Minimal to no additional parking should be required.

Seems like a reasonable way to inject more activity into the area and hopefully jump start the retail stretch on Michigan.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Seriously?

IIT gets what, exactly? IIT's sexy glass cubes are nice and all, but they accomplish nothing in making that part of town a place that I would rather spend more time. If IIT had even a drop of urban planning sense, they would understand that vast parking lots next to L stations are an 'underutilization of land'. Apparently, they have a lot to learn from Loyola and even UIC. Heck, even Depaul has plans to redevelop their large lot on Fullerton.

It's time to fill in those acres and acres of vacant lots near 35th and State with brick and mortar buildings, stores, people.

Beggars can't be choosers, and the south side is begging away...

Well I partially agree with what was said. IIT has slowly begun to fill in some of the areas with interesting architecture, but really that's about it. I think as far as the legacy of the area some of the Mies buildings are beautiful, but just the buildings. The campus design is hideous, but that's just my opinion and I'm spoiled by attending a university with a 150 y/o campus.

First thing that came to mind after that comment was Stateway Gardens as well. It's absolutely inexcusable those buildings were built, and will forever be an awful blemish on an era of modernist architecture. If anything the Park Boulevard schlock is over-compensation for a design we'd like to erase from our memories. If that's what it takes...so be it.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ When will people get the idea that sports stadiums do not revitalize neighborhoods? Now if they were designed like the sports stadiums of old (Fenway, Wrigley) that would be different. Unfortunately, modern stadiums need 3,000 acres of parking, hence they do nothing but deaden the area around them

Not college stadiums. They're parking demands are small....usually reserved for big donors and staff.

I tend to agree that the era of silver bullet projects is over, where arenas were built to encourage downtown investment and activity. Two stadiums did nothing for Detroit for example. But then you have the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn which fits perfectly into a tight urban footprint and already has alot commercial activity on all sides of it.

I guess if I were to select a spot for the stadium it would be at Medill and Ashland. I believe that industrial building is vacant and with Wendy's on a demo / renovation spree of their dated restaurants, vacating that location might be a sweet deal

[i_am_hydrogen]

Next up for the Art Institute: Picasso

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...titute-picasso

More than 250 paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings will be pulled from the museum's vault and borrowed from private collections in the city for the show.

It's the first major Picasso exhibition by the Art Institute in 30 years.

The show runs Feb. 20 through May 12 and the member preview is Feb. 16-19.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

Say what? IIT hasnt changed, the only thing that has is Stateway Gardens. So are you saying that Stateway Gardens was a integral part of the "epitome of modernism"?

Well, yes, actually. Not suggesting it should have been saved - the buildings were compromised from Day 1 by racially-motivated value engineering and a negligence by CHA maintenance staff that bordered on the criminal.

My point was that architects need to stop all the self-flagellation and learn what was good about modernist urban planning. Housing projects failed in America for a complex array of reasons, with architecture low on the list. On the South Side, it's a real shame that we're mindlessly aping century-old cities a stone's throw from the seat of the transplanted Bauhaus.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

The Tribune ran a 100-inch feature story full of quotes and detailed description of the store, sprawling over two pages of the business section, on Thursday. The irony of complaining about the state of journalism in a post where you boast about defeating the paywall appears to be lost on you.

Well maybe it appears ironic, but in this case money plays only a limited role. First, it wasn't a paywall, it was a free-registration wall (and I wasn't boasting; I was explaining why I didn't see it previously). Second, it's about judgment; they were already spending money on the reporter/writer/editor. Third, it's about competence; Tribune is replete with spelling, grammar, and cartographic mistakes all the time; it doesn't cost anything for an editor to scream at lazy staffers who, e.g., make a map that puts three countries' capital cities on the wrong coasts on a zoomed Scandinavian map (article graphic from early Dec 2009; I'd love to email it to you), avoidable by any chimpanzee with just 5 seconds on Google. Also, their website's search function is increasingly a joke, with the obviously latest example being a failure to bring up the feature story you allude to -- even Podunk, IA newspapers have advanced search functions. So, while money of course could help solve those things, it is mainly a culture of mediocrity further up the organization -- and not enough clamor by readers. Enough o/t, sorry.

=========

I would like to report about a project snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The big-box precast send-them-back-to-Bolingbrook monoliths at Kingsbury and Eastman have started to receive cladding on the precast. Holy crap, someone involved must have browsed a tourism brochure for Rotterdam or something, because not only are they using cladding rather than just paint on the precast, but the cladding is really sleek; it's approximating what we normally want in residential buildings these days. (It was too dark to photograph this time, sorry.) Stay tuned.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Next up for the Art Institute: Picasso

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...titute-picasso

Sweet.

While it won't be part of this show, I've taken up oil painting recently because I want to do a 1/2 scale reproduction of Guernica on my living room wall. I saw it in Madrid in 2006 and ever since I've felt like having it on my living room wall would be nice - plus, since it's mostly black and gray, it'd dramatically cut down on the glare on my TV across the room ...

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by denizen467

I would like to report about a project snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The big-box precast send-them-back-to-Bolingbrook monoliths at Kingsbury and Eastman have started to receive cladding on the precast. Holy crap, someone involved must have browsed a tourism brochure for Rotterdam or something, because not only are they using cladding rather than just paint on the precast, but the cladding is really sleek; it's approximating what we normally want in residential buildings these days. (It was too dark to photograph this time, sorry.) Stay tuned.

The leasing brochure shows some bronze-colored metal panels in a stacked bond pattern, with a few darker ones thrown in for variety.

The color should be kinda like the metal on Parkview West, right?

[Rizzo]

It's painted precast at the Kingsbury development. They're painted a color that resembles the building above

[Joe Zekas]

Buy Buy Baby on Kingsbury by YoChicago1, on Flickr

Shot taken last Tuesday, 9/25.

[the urban politician]

^ yay!

[Kippis]

^^ It...definitely looks less offensive than I thought it was going to be. I need to see the site in its entirety, though. Those renderings *were* pretty bad...

[Rizzo]

It's pretty bad. Lipstick on a pig. It's only refreshing in that you see a precast design that essentially replaces generic masonry you'd find anywhere USA....so it seems new and different. The only fenestration is facing the parking lot. All the rest of the streets are faced by precast and a truck dock.

I realize not every building will be perfect, but I'm surprised anyone would lend a shred of praise or acceptance for something the absolutely does not belong in a growing urban neighborhood, no matter what shade of earthy red paint is thrown on. Everyone is entiteled to their own opinion I guess, but I can't waive this one. I worry it's just going to set a precedent with "new and improved style strip mall in the city"

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Hayward

It's pretty bad. Lipstick on a pig. It's only refreshing in that you see a precast design that essentially replaces generic masonry you'd find anywhere USA....so it seems new and different. The only fenestration is facing the parking lot. All the rest of the streets are faced by precast and a truck dock.

I realize not every building will be perfect, but I'm surprised anyone would lend a shred of praise or acceptance for something the absolutely does not belong in a growing urban neighborhood, no matter what shade of earthy red paint is thrown on. Everyone is entiteled to their own opinion I guess, but I can't waive this one. I worry it's just going to set a precedent with "new and improved style strip mall in the city"

Well said.

Chicago needs to get out of the stone ages and do away with strip mall style development altogether, at least in its densest, core areas.