CHICAGO | General Developments

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Okay, so here's a tough question:

I was just driving north on the Kennedy, and just before I passed the sign for 'California Ave', on the right I saw a building under construction. A steel frame was up to what appeared to be the second or third level.

Anybody know what project that could be? It seemed kinda Logan Square-y, although I'm not certain..

Actually, come to think of it Logan Square does not extend east of the Kennedy, does it?

Interesting. Well I know El Centro is supposed to go up not far from there. Kennedy and Kimball. It's supposed to be 2-3 stories and is next to Novak construction which always has wacky lights on their building

[markh9]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Interesting. Well I know El Centro is supposed to go up not far from there. Kennedy and Kimball. It's supposed to be 2-3 stories and is next to Novak construction which always has wacky lights on their building

My first thought too, but last I checked, the site looked like it was in hibernation for winter. Definitely no steel up yet.

-----

Few more floors to go on Division & Ashland. This guy is turning out awesome so far - it has a fantastic presence already.









And a quick refresher:

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Interesting. Well I know El Centro is supposed to go up not far from there. Kennedy and Kimball. It's supposed to be 2-3 stories and is next to Novak construction which always has wacky lights on their building

Definitely not El Centro. It is a bit southeast of that site. This construction site was about 2-3 blocks east of the Kennedy.

My guess is that it's some sort of nondescript condo or apartment building

[the urban politician]

The Division/Ashland project has already given that intersection some of the enclosure that it needs. I hope to also see some of those lots on Division just west of that get filled in.

[george]

Good update, markh9.^ I pass this project every day and never seem to take pics. The developer had said there would be less % of glass used than shown in the rendering. The window openings are different but look pretty close at this point.

[PerryPendleton]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The Division/Ashland project has already given that intersection some of the enclosure that it needs. I hope to also see some of those lots on Division just west of that get filled in.

Fingers crossed

[jc5680]

godfrey, north side seeing some good progress.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Boooo! I wanted a plaza. I mean I appreciate the new staircase and all, but this just tells me there's no intention for a remarkable improvement.

Hopefully only for the time being ... maybe the City wants the plaza but would rather wait for an InterContinental tower rebuild - I can see some complications along Grand and Michigan in trying to construct a tower with a plaza hugging the site.

Meanwhile, a block west on the opposite side of Michigan, along the north side of Grand, the Nordstrom liner retail storefronts have all closed except for one small one, and they are fully enclosed in a temporary structure protruding beyond the building envelope. So it looks like some major facade change and possibly a new large single tenant. At first I was hoping that this would be Eataly, but then I realized that's on Ohio Street, and ... (see next post)

[denizen467]

... there is annoying news on the Eataly front, related to alleged chronic rent laggard Texas de Brazil (article from a couple weeks back). Eataly would be fantastic to have during the summer tourism season, but that doesn't look likely now.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...staurant-plans
Eviction suit complicates Eataly's River North restaurant plans
By: Micah Maidenberg February 25, 2013

The owner of the Shops at North Bridge is suing to evict the Texas de Brazil steakhouse to make room for Eataly, which plans a sprawling food emporium in the River North space.

But Texas de Brazil is fighting back, insisting it has the right to stay in the downtown mall for at least five more years.

...

The battle casts a shadow over Eataly's plan to spend some $20 million building out a two-story, 63,000-square-foot food hall with multiple restaurants on the Ohio Street side of North Bridge. Eatley [sic] has agreed to lease the former ESPN Zone restaurant, just west of Texas de Brazil at 43 E. Ohio St., which covers 35,000 square feet. But Eataly also wants the steakhouse space. ...

[Rizzo]

Well they can have the buca di beppo space or the mezzanine of block 120. What a mess. And what about that mall concourse expansion?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by denizen467

... there is annoying news on the Eataly front, related to alleged chronic rent laggard Texas de Brazil (article from a couple weeks back). Eataly would be fantastic to have during the summer tourism season, but that doesn't look likely now.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...staurant-plans
Eviction suit complicates Eataly's River North restaurant plans
By: Micah Maidenberg February 25, 2013

The owner of the Shops at North Bridge is suing to evict the Texas de Brazil steakhouse to make room for Eataly, which plans a sprawling food emporium in the River North space.

But Texas de Brazil is fighting back, insisting it has the right to stay in the downtown mall for at least five more years.

...

The battle casts a shadow over Eataly's plan to spend some $20 million building out a two-story, 63,000-square-foot food hall with multiple restaurants on the Ohio Street side of North Bridge. Eatley [sic] has agreed to lease the former ESPN Zone restaurant, just west of Texas de Brazil at 43 E. Ohio St., which covers 35,000 square feet. But Eataly also wants the steakhouse space. ...

This is outdated news. A judge already ruled in favor of the owner of the building, allowing him to evict Texas de Brazil

[ardecila]

Right, but Texas de Brazil is appealing. It ain't over yet.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Right, but Texas de Brazil is appealing. It ain't over yet.

Yes it is

[denizen467]

^ Apparently in the past day or so a lot has changed; this morning's news reports TdB did not open yesterday, announced they are giving up their appeal of the judge's ruling, and will be vacating by today (3/15) so that Eataly can work on moving in. It must be because of the pressure brought to bear by this forum.

[Mr Downtown]

weirdaaron can probably see just how much has been done, but I could hear pilings being driven all day for Amli's Clark & Polk project.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

weirdaaron can probably see just how much has been done, but I could hear pilings being driven all day for Amli's Clark & Polk project.

^ Just curious, are there any discussions or plans about introducing some traffic calming measures on Clark St south of Polk? The way it is designed right now, as pretty much a straight shot from Roosevelt, seems to encourage cars to speed.

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

weirdaaron can probably see just how much has been done, but I could hear pilings being driven all day for Amli's Clark & Polk project.

Is there a special Darwin Award category for people who die from leaning too far over their balcony to try to get a view of a construction site to report to a forum?

[Mr Downtown]

No need, I finally took a walk. I think maybe the pilings that went in today are only to support the construction crane, which hasn't yet arrived. The rig delivered this week is simply a crawler crane, which I assume they'll primarily use for driving sheet piling and to eventually erect the tower crane.

No discussions about Clark Street with this project. This was an as-of-right project, so we've never even seen renderings except for the photo I shot one night in a dark barroom (below). With no PD in play, there's no leverage.

We all hate Clark, but I'm not sure what can be done with no cross-streets. Perhaps the eventual completion of 9th, 13th, and (if I'm lucky) 15th will help somewhat. And there will be a new signal at 16th for the Mariano's.

[wierdaaron]

I'm looking forward to the retail frontage and the dynamic it'll bring to that corner, but as an architectural work that design is so... yeeeah.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Meanwhile, a block west on the opposite side of Michigan, along the north side of Grand, the Nordstrom liner retail storefronts have all closed except for one small one, and they are fully enclosed in a temporary structure protruding beyond the building envelope. So it looks like some major facade change and possibly a new large single tenant. At first I was hoping that this would be Eataly, but then I realized that's on Ohio Street, and ... (see next post)

I believe this is for the new Seasons 52 restaurant.

Other retail news:

Michigan Avenue
-Interesting that Cop. Copine is moving across the street to 900 N Michigan. I wonder if the new owners of the Palmolive Building's retail space want to attract a major flagship now - there were rumors that Louis Vuitton was also going to move to 900 North for a multi-level store with custom facade (see NY- 57th street store).
-Similarly, it seems like the owners of One Magnificent Mile (old Bank of America Branch and Dennis Basso store) are finally willing to let potential retailers change the building's exterior to fit their needs. Goodbye pink granite?

State Street
-The Gap/baby Gap/Gap Kids/Gap body store seems like it will be massive.
-The Office Depot/Charlotte Russe stores are for lease, so there's a possibility they could be combined or at least the building design could change.
-The horrible Beef 'n Brandy restaurant space is being shopped around. That building really needs a makeover, and hopefully a restoration.