Quote:
Originally Posted by Kngkyle
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I always thought the current proposal did a rather poor job at maximizing the sites potential. The tower itself only takes up 1/2 the space. The rest is wasted on a podium and some park space.
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I agree. The building itself is nice enough, but the use of the space is very poor. I would much rather see the site used in halves, with the Court Place alleyway maintained. I'm surprised the City is willing to let that alley go. Alley's are important spaces and, IMHO, their use should be enhanced instead of removed. A more clever treatment of the entire site might create four buildings on the site, with the southernmost one addressing Washington or the Franklin/Washington corner, and similarly with the Randolph-facing side, but then the two center ones "facing" Court place, which could be converted to shared street style plaza with potential seating and sculptures. It could be all different uses, too. Maybe residential on Washington to synergize with the 200 W Washington condo building, commercial office space for the two buildings oriented to Court, and hotel on Randolph which could serve both business needs and the Randolph theatre and food scenes to the east and west, respectively. If they really wanted to be able to span the block, they could create a building with a tall arch-space over Court (I'm thinking 10+ stories high), which would look cool, enable large floorplates on upper floors, but preserve Court.
Improved landscaping of Court at the Wacker end could create a pleasant pedestrian passthrough and result in the kind of interesting, human-scaled public space that keep cities interesting. I'm thinking something comparable to Paternoster Square and pedestrian feeder alleys in London, or a
mini version of the way Madrid's Calle de la Montera connects Gran Via with Puerta del Sol. During holiday seasons the space could have themed events or markets to liven up what is really one of the most boring parts of the Loop. With the General Growth building going away, the proximity of the cool public space associated with its replacement could end up turning the NW corner of the Loop area into one of the best parts, giving people something to walk over to from the west end of the Riverwalk.