CHICAGO: What sites need to be redeveloped?

jpIllInoIs · #1 Posted: **Nov 21, 2006, 3:44 PM**

Post Office is a biggie for redevelopment. They may have to use it for McCormick Place over flow. Also some Hotel space would work well there. It is too important geopraphically to let it stand empty.

My nomination is the North East corner of Lake/Franklin in the N. Loop. Currently a 1 story Walgreens stand there and looks hideous. There is a trailer type hot dog stand and then on the North West corner of Lake/Wells there is a very ugly old parking garage.

The walgreens site for sure could be redone with very little site prep. If done in combo with the garage it would be a bigger job. Maybe just retrofit the garage with pedestrian friendly retail on the 1st level.

Neuman · #2 Posted: **Dec 5, 2006, 12:16 PM**

"My nomination is the North East corner of Lake/Franklin in the N. Loop. Currently a 1 story Walgreens stand there and looks hideous. There is a trailer type hot dog stand and then on the North West corner of Lake/Wells there is a very ugly old parking garage. "

The Walgreen is on the NE corner of Franklin and Randolph, not Franklin and Lake. The parking garage is on the Noth West corner of Wells and Randolph, not Lake st.

Marcu · #3 Posted: **Dec 6, 2006, 5:24 AM**

The General Growth building along the river in the loop. Some like it but I think it's too short and not very interesting.

nomarandlee · #4 Posted: **Dec 8, 2006, 2:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukecuj

Old Main Post Office
Great art deco building with no apparent usefullness. I would demolish the non art deco add on portion. Just like New York Penn Station redevelopment, I think Chicago should redesignate and modify this into its main train terminal.
It sits above the Blue Line, An expressway, Amtrak and Metra lines so just tie it all together. You could even also make it a bus terminal with all the old freight docks on Canal.

I think thats an intreasting proposal. Though last year I think there are preliminary plans to make the post office offices/condos/hotel complex I am not sure where those plans are going.
Using the old post office may be a cheaper alternative then a West Loop Transportation Center. The new infrastructure needed to make it an intermodal tranist center would be considerable less I would think. I am not sure what the track set up is under the post office or how much rail traffic could be diverted from the other commuter rail stations. But you have the blue line running right by it which easily could be given a connecting station to the complex and could be easily connected to ORDXpress, you have the freight docks which could be used for express commuter buses or even a new Greyhound complex, eventually you could have high speel rail terminate at the station if space at Union is too constricted. CTA express buses and a future downtown circulator could still easily be put in the complex. Plus you have the Eisenhower leading into the station which makes for easy accesss for buses and car pick ups. And you have ready made hotel/condo/office complex on the upper floors. You could even put some sort of river transit from the station as well?

The only negatives is that it is a bit more removed from the condo/office complexes that have grown up around the other two west side stations but it is still reasonably close and it would have better access to the rest of the loop with a blue line stop and better road access.

Larry booth had a plan for such a complex though even more grandiose and complext (perhaps unrealistic) then mentioned.........

http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/post/intermodal.html

trvlr70 · #5 Posted: **Dec 8, 2006, 9:38 PM**

Personally, I love it if some of the dated late 50s and early 60 apartment buildings along LSD in Gold Coast and north would be redeveloped. Unfortuneately, because the buildings are residential, one cannot even pray for a recladding. The sites are very visible and very ugly.

Busy Bee · #6 Posted: **Dec 11, 2006, 2:59 AM**

Whatever gets developed on Wolf Point, I hope takes this miserable POS with it:

Ditto on East Bank Club.

the urban politician · #7 Posted: **Dec 22, 2006, 4:33 AM**

^ Everybody hates that building, but somehow to me it looks kind of good with the "Chicago SunTimes" sign on it

Hayward · #8 Posted: **Dec 22, 2006, 4:59 AM**

I hate stacked buildings, although I'll admit the Sun Times building isn't the worst of them.

Xing · #9 Posted: **Dec 22, 2006, 6:07 AM**

The Lots in the West Loop.

jpIllInoIs · #10 Posted: **Dec 22, 2006, 8:10 PM**

I think it says something when the only sites we can think of are the Aparrel mart, old pst office, 300 block of west randolph (which is part of Buck's tower plan), General growth property at 100 north wacker and the East bank club.

Is the entire Loop Business district that built out? I can think of a surface lot on the east side franklin just south of washington. Brent's Books and a Billy Goat's replica are one the retail floor of an old 14 storey class C building, I think 325 W.Washington.

LA21st · #11 Posted: **Dec 22, 2006, 11:35 PM**

The Sun-Times/Holiday Inn is ugly from the outside, but it actually nice inside.

spyguy · #12 Posted: **Jan 2, 2007, 11:56 PM**

Wolf Point, Levy site, Prime Group site

Lots around NBC Tower, especially the one facing the river

South Loop areas near River City

Riverside Park

CGII · #13 Posted: **Jan 3, 2007, 12:21 AM**

The cool thing about Chicago is that it's got plenty of room to grow the CBD. New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, etc. can hardly boast that.

ColDayMan · #14 Posted: **Jan 3, 2007, 3:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGII

The cool thing about Chicago is that it's got plenty of room to grow the CBD. New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, etc. can hardly boast that.

Well hell, Atlanta will turn to a Dubaish Paris if that is the way things are being played!

CGII · #15 Posted: **Jan 3, 2007, 5:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

Well hell, Atlanta will turn to a Dubaish Paris if that is the way things are being played!

And then Dubai will build a replica of that.

Tom Servo · #16 Posted: **Jan 9, 2007, 7:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Whatever gets developed on Wolf Point, I hope takes this miserable POS with it:

Ditto on East Bank Club.

I like this building, but the base really needs to go. I hate big bases and parking lots. But the building is simple enough; it's fairly alright. No? A tall simple, shinny, and glass tower should put in front of it. Something similar to Park Michigan.

Steely Dan · #17 Posted: **Jan 30, 2007, 12:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukecuj

Now that they are planning to erect a tower on the small footprint in front of the Doral Plaza, would anyone mind if this Harry Weese structure bit the dust for a condo tower at this prominent but underutilzed location ?

a developer already proposed such a scenario for that site, but apparently the church had no interest in selling, at least that's how i remember it. all i know is that the proposal went nowhere and quickly died. all the nitty-gritty details are buried in on of the incarnations of the boom rundown thread.

svs · #18 Posted: **Jan 30, 2007, 6:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukecuj

Now that they are planning to erect a tower on the small footprint in front of the Doral Plaza, would anyone mind if this Harry Weese structure bit the dust for a condo tower at this prominent but underutilzed location ?

I would, this is a little gem of a building. People in this forum are way to much in love with talls. Chicago has a very rich architectual heritage that it should be careful to preserve.

spyguy · #19 Posted: **Jan 30, 2007, 9:35 PM**

^I think a lot of people on this forum would be against the church's demolition.

CGII · #20 Posted: **Jan 30, 2007, 10:04 PM**

Myself included.