CHICAGO | General Developments - Page 687

bnk · #**13721** Posted: **Oct 24, 2011, 8:23 PM**

IMO you can never have enough hotels in downtown.

I just hope they can all survive and the convention business picks up from where it is at now.

In the news the unions are close to an agreement to make McCormick Place a place to be in the future if everything works out correctly. The thing about conventions is that they schedule many years in advance so it is not unheard of of an unheard of convention going for Chicago for the first time. Most importantly is keeping the large shows dedicated to Chicago. The monies pumped in can be debated and argued but if one sees 50-100K of conventioneers and partial families and roadies... Than one can see why the tourist industry is one of the major players in the economic scene in Chicago.

Just ask the theaters and restaurants. Ask them if they find the tourists and suburbanites annoying.... Anyone smart enough already knows the answer to that.

So the number of rooms is more of a limiting factor than the square feet of the available convention space in the Chicagoland region.

EarlyBuyer · #**13722** Posted: **Oct 25, 2011, 2:30 AM**

Thanks for the Burberry photo update harry. Nice work!

george · #**13723** Posted: **Oct 26, 2011, 3:05 AM**

Dig it

Tom In Chicago · #**13724** Posted: **Oct 26, 2011, 5:44 PM**

The Jones College Prep on south State is moving along nicely. . .

. . .

ardecila · #**13725** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 12:15 AM**

Doesn't seem nearly as cool as the leaked renderings we saw 18 months ago.

J_M_Tungsten · #**13726** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 12:22 AM**

^^^Yea what happened to the bridge connecting to the lake front?

woodrow · #**13727** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 2:32 PM**

^^bummer. According to Blair Kamin's article, the bridge, the redo of the cancer park, etc, all cut due to budget issues - $100 million cut to $30 million.

untitledreality · #**13728** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 6:46 PM**

Don't know if anyone caught this, but the final 11 teams have been announced for the Navy Pier competition.

More information via Blair Kamin: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....r-search-.html

SpireGuy · #**13729** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 7:07 PM**

I walked by this building at the corner of Irving Park and Sheridan Rd. last night and it's half way torn down.

It was such a beautiful building that should have been preserved. I looked at the demolition permit and the Thorek Memorial Hospital directly to the East owns the parcel of land. Just because the building didn't have a notable architect didn't mean it should bite the dust. Btw, the hospital already has a large surface lot just east of the demolition.

Also, Walgreens is building a store at the southeast corner of Irving Park and Sheridan. It has a parking lot and is a single story - all right near to the Sheridan L stop.

I feel like the city does little to preserve its identity and instead opts for constructing cheap, banal structures from Anyplace, USA. Do you all think cities like New York and San Francisco have better historic preservation cultures than Chicago? I feel like they still build while retaining their historical structures while Chicago sheds its identity.

pyropius · #**13730** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 8:03 PM**

I hope Thorek isn't putting in more parking there. That whole strip of Irving east of Sheridan is desolate as it is.

harryc · #**13731** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 8:20 PM**

Which corner of Irv/Sheridan is being torn down ??? I know the Gas station on the SE was being redeveloped (walmart ??? kinda small lot) but which other building?? SW was a series of clothing stores, with a great dive of a bar next door (Sheridan L Lounge), NW was a greasy spoon, then a nuevo greasy spoon, NE was already "rehabbed" beyound hope.

untitledreality · #**13732** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 10:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

Which corner of Irv/Sheridan is being torn down ???

The six flat at 4009 North Sheridan

Remy_Bork · #**13733** Posted: **Oct 27, 2011, 11:30 PM**

That is an absurd amount of parking for being right next to a transit stop.

lawfin · #**13734** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 1:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by untitledreality

The six flat at 4009 North Sheridan

That all corner / area east of there is a clusterfcuk aided and abetted by Thorek and most recently Walgreens (hate Walgreens). It's a real shame because it shoud be a dense great area & could be if planning was appropriate

harryc · #**13735** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 1:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by untitledreality

The six flat at 4009 North Sheridan

F_____! the building I was talking about is gone - this is a nice one. And where is the old terracotta movie house ? that new 6 flr apt building ? and all the surface lots ?

the urban politician · #**13736** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 2:19 AM**

^ That is absolutely shameful.

What a joke

brian_b · #**13737** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 3:17 AM**

Anyone know what's going on with 333 N Wacker? Right now there is a big "V" on the top of the building. I suppose a few more letters are to follow?

untitledreality · #**13738** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 4:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawfin

and most recently Walgreens (hate Walgreens). It's a real shame because it shoud be a dense great area & could be if planning was appropriate

In 2007 this is what Loukas had proposed for the site on the SE corner of Irving and Sheridan (now Walgreens)

courtesy PappageorgeHaymes

Talk about a swift kick to the nuts... and thats coming from someone who HATES PappageorgeHaymes designs

Hayward · #**13739** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 5:07 AM**

I think it goes without saying that hospitals make lousy neighbors. In every city, EVERY CITY I have ever lived in I've witnessed some spectacular buildings fall victim to not a hospital building but hospital parking. It's the reasons why hospitals are best in a fringe area that has easy access to freeways and major roads. (like Rush for example)

Chicago, Grand Rapids feels your pain. They lost these to hospital surfacing parking very recently
http://blog.mlive.com/knapescorner/2...th_saving.html

Notice the person quoted "Yes, I guess those buildings are out of place." Yes, out of place after the neighborhood was destroyed around it...... Heck can you even call it a place?

denizen467 · #**13740** Posted: **Oct 28, 2011, 6:49 AM**

Brief update from a spin down Chicago Avenue:

* The former Pearl art supply store space has window posters referring to the planned mini Walmart; don't think they were there before.

* The gas station on Wells has finally completed its World's Longest Gas Station Construction Project. It looks kind of the same as before, except very spiffy instead of very shabby.

* Some kind of refurbishment or upgrades at Dearborn could be in the works:

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roe...son-house.html

YMCA picks preferred buyer for Lawson House
David Roeder
Last Modified: Oct 26, 2011 02:16AM

The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago has a likely buyer for its Lawson House at 30 W. Chicago, an important link in the city’s network of single-room occupancy, or SRO, housing. The Y said Tuesday it is negotiating a sale with Holsten Real Estate Development Corp., which is known for integrating low-income housing with services for the residents.

... “This is not a sale, it’s the beginning of a process with a potential partner. A final deal is not expected for at least a year,” he said.

Sources said the Y insisted that Lawson House be preserved for affordable housing and that commitment to the social mission, and not price, was the priority in its selection process.