CHICAGO | The Ritz-Carlton Residences | 495 FT / 151 M | 40 FLOORS | COM

[Rizzo]

So then it appears half of the Farwell building will be parking floors staggered throughout, including that double height space. Possibly a racking system? The floorplans show two banks of cars in tandem. Too bad the second floor is all parking. It would have been nice to have second story boutiques or salons similar to what you find on Oak Street....at least something else to look at besides fogged glass windows. Shoot, they should just automate the whole garage.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Too bad the second floor is all parking. It would have been nice to have second story boutiques or salons similar to what you find on Oak Street....at least something else to look at besides fogged glass windows. Shoot, they should just automate the whole garage.

Lucien's website is incorrect... Floor 2 will more closely resemble the plans for floors 3-5, except that it will be retail instead of office in the Farwell portion.

From a 2007 Trib article, right before the Landmarks Commission vote:

Unlike its first proposal, which the commission rejected in January by a narrow margin, Prism now proposes using four floors of the Farwell Building for parking, rather than six.

There would be retail space on the first and second floors, office space on floors three to five and residential parking on floors six through nine.

By raising parking from the third floor to the sixth floor, parked or moving vehicles would not be visible from the public way, said Maureen Mullady, spokeswoman for the development project.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by george

There will be vehicle elevators, refer to VivaLFuego's post #13. The website floor plans show it all.

Great find confirming the elevators, george. A valet is presumably involved at least to some extent because there is some double-parking in those floor plans.

Does anybody know whether car elevator buildings in Chicago are basically 100% valet, or can self-parkers (owners in the building, of course) use the elevators too?

[RobertWalpole]

Is this tower going to abut against the windows of the one just to the north?

It appears that it also will block the southern wall of the building next door which is a shame because that was its most attractive angle.

PS: That is one beautiful booty. It's appropriate that it's next to a sign that says "Powerful".

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Great find confirming the elevators, george. A valet is presumably involved at least to some extent because there is some double-parking in those floor plans.

Does anybody know whether car elevator buildings in Chicago are basically 100% valet, or can self-parkers (owners in the building, of course) use the elevators too?

I'm not really sure. I've seen alot of manually operated car elevators here in Chicago. Alot of building sit on tight footprints making the construction of ramps difficult because of space constraints. There's a really great automated parking garage on Woodward in Detroit that serves some high end condos. I wonder why they didn't go this route. Obviously more expensive, but you think it would pay itself off fairly quickly.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

Is this tower going to abut against the windows of the one just to the north?

It appears that it also will block the southern wall of the building next door which is a shame because that was its most attractive angle.

PS: That is one beautiful booty. It's appropriate that it's next to a sign that says "Powerful".

Do you mean the Omni? No, the southern view certainly will be blocked, but there will be quite a bit of air space between the two structures.

[RobertWalpole]

I meant the building with the reddish stone and the reflective glass and rounded top. I like that tower. The east-west view is nothing special, but the north-south view is. I'm concerned that that perspective will be blocked.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Yes that's the Omni. These buildings will not touch above the 5th floor or so, but the majority of the Southern view of the Omni will be blocked. Fortunately for you, buildings have two sides and you can walk two blocks North and get a relatively unobstructed view of the identical North Side of the Omni no problem.

[denizen467]

^ However, the southern side of City Place (the building's name at construction; not sure if the name is still used now) and its arched crown might still be visible from the southwest. I remember it being very visible from Wacker and (roughly) State recently, and presumably part of this would not be obscured by Ritz.

[RobertWalpole]

Thanks for the info, chaps.

[ChiTownCity]

Originally Posted by RobertWalpole

Is this tower going to abut against the windows of the one just to the north?

It appears that it also will block the southern wall of the building next door which is a shame because that was its most attractive angle.

PS: That is one beautiful booty. It's appropriate that it's next to a sign that says "Powerful".

Lol

[Bond007]

Any updates?

[Rizzo]

Just rode my bike past on my lunch break 10 minutes ago. The Farwell portion has been topped out. Mansard framing and all. Now we should start seeing the shape of the tower rise within the next couple of weeks.

[Bond007]

Thanks for the update Hayward. I will now enjoy watching the main portion rise.

[Rizzo]

No problem. I'll do my best to get a photo next time. It's nice finally seeing all the formwork removed.

With concrete being poured on the other side of the building now, I'm curious when we'll see the Farwell cladding go back up.

[the urban politician]

^ Yeah, saw this 2 days ago as well.

Can't wait to see the cladding on the Farwell. I hope it looks okay

[george]

11-8

[Bond007]

The mansard framing of Farwell looks good to me. Only time will tell how the cladding will complement it.

[Rizzo]

Nice pictures george. I've really forgotten how tall the Farwell used to be.

[george]

Thanks, Hayward. It'll be good to see the old limestone go back up.