Well there's already a northside and southside development thread! It would be unwise to not include the west side, but this time I also will include the suburbs directly west of the city limits.

Condo Project Slated Near City Limits
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: January 9, 2005 07:59am

CHICAGO-With some condominium buyers being priced out of neighboring Oak Park, GenOne Group thinks it will have a hot property in its 27-unit Corcoran Condos, spread over three sites in the 5800 and 5900 blocks of W. Corcoran Avenue. The properties are on the first two blocks east of Austin Avenue, the city limit.

“This represents one of the first new condominium developments in Austin,” says Marty McCarthy, project manager for GenOne Group, which will pay the city $370,000 for lots at 5843, 5907-09 and 5937-45 W. Corcoran Ave. The land sale, at fair market value, was recently endorsed by the community development commission.

“I’m very pleased to have a developer willing to risk its own money on a project of this sort,” says 29th Ward Alderman Isaac Carothers. GenOne Group, a partnership that includes Brad Anthony and David Doig, is seeking no financial assistance from the city for its $4.2-million project.

GenOne Group will build four six-unit buildings on each of the two larger lots and a three-unit building on the lot furthest east. The two- and three-bedroom units will be priced from $200,000 to $230,000, average 1,350 sf and include one parking space.

Condos have sold very well in Oak Park, Doig notes, where price appreciation of 88% over the last five years makes it one of the hottest areas in the Chicago market. “A lot of people are being priced out,” he adds.

GenOne Group, which aims to do residential and redevelopment projects in “up-and-coming” areas, hopes to begin construction this spring.

Awesome! Austin definatly has been getting better and better, and this is definatly a sign to anyone who doubts that fact. It still has a long way to go, but its such a great neighborhood with such great location, this is gonna be one hell of a hot market in 5 or 10 years.

I hope those are vacant lots... i dont want them tearing anything down, since the housing stock in that hood is fantastic.

Metra station anchors plans for Round Lake's downtown renewal
By Jason King Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Sunday, January 16, 2005
Downtown Round Lake would see a dramatic facelift and have a mix of higher-density housing, retail space and open spaces, according to a draft development plan unveiled Saturday.

The core area of downtown would be expanded to the west, and the focus would shift from north-south running Cedar Lake Road, to east-west running Avilon Avenue. Avilon would feature a historic-looking downtown with storefronts butting up to the sidewalks, driving more pedestrian use but still providing on-street parking.

The downtown would use the existing Metra station, or a possible newer station in the future, to drive high-density housing in adjacent areas. That would allow residents to walk not only to the downtown shops, but also to the Metra station to commute to and from work.

The village's land planner, John Houseal, said the Metra station is an invaluable resource in terms of the downtown plan.

"Round Lake has a Metra station, and for a downtown, that's a real gem," Houseal said, during a presentation to village residents. "There's a desire to have residential there with a slightly higher density. If you want to have a viable pedestrian-oriented downtown, you've got to have the density to drive it."

The plan is the result of months of planning, meetings with residents and input from downtown business owners, and it will drive future efforts in developing the downtown area.

It covers the traditional downtown area and six other sub-areas that extend out along Route 134 to the east and west, Cedar Lake Road to the north out to the village boundary and a small portion of Washington to the east.

The core area would include a new, extended Cedar Lake Road, west of Goodnow, that would be anchored at its intersection with Route 134 by a civic center, possibly with an outdoor amphitheater, or other public open space use.

To the west of that road, Avilon would be extended slightly, and a new circular road would be built on vacant land that is targeted for townhouses or rowhouses, high-density housing within walking distance to the downtown retail area and the Metra station.

Behind the Metra station to the north, a large triangular parcel also is targeted for higher-density housing. And north of that, where Magee Middle School now sits unused, Houseal envisions a senior housing facility, if the Round Lake school district vacated the building and sold it.

Houseal noted, however, that the plan was simply a plan, and should not be construed as the village's intent to run current owners out of the area the plan covers.

"This plan, although recommending some land uses that are currently there, we're not saying the village is going to buy those homes and force those people to leave," he said. "The plan doesn't do that. Current single-family homes can stay, because this plan can be implemented over time."

The village plans to host public hearings on the plan, gathering input from residents and business owners, before the village board considers it for final approval.

Round Lake: Core area would include new Cedar Lake Road
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^It seems as if all the "good" urban and transit-oriented development is occurring in the north and northwest side suburbs. I wish we would hear more about this stuff in the southern burbs. Tinley Park is the only example that comes to mind

Study describes train station plans

Patricia Trebe
Published January 16, 2005

NEW LENOX -- The Plan Commission has heard the results of a yearlong study on land surrounding a proposed new Metra station near Laraway and Cedar Roads.

The station would sit on 236 acres owned by Silver Cross Hospital.

The village recently sealed an annexation agreement with the hospital and has received confirmation that Silver Cross doesn't plan to develop the land.

"Basically this study looks at opportunities at the Laraway Cedar intersection," said Village Planner Jeff Smith.

The village paid for the study with a grant from the Regional Transportation Authority.

After the study, completed by HNTB Corp., a Chicago consulting firm, the land will be designated for mixed use, including town homes, commercial and some single-family.

"This is a transit-oriented development and density would be higher but with compatible mixed uses," Smith said.

The village has learned that Metra will have at least a warming shelter constructed by December, Smith said.

The study will go before the Village Board on Jan. 25.

Oak Park project reduced to 14-story job

By Maria Kantzavelos
Special to the Tribune
Published January 16, 2005

A developer that scrapped its initial plans for a 17-story residential-retail project after protests from Oak Park residents came back to the Village Board with revised plans.

The developer, Whiteco Residential, hopes to build a mix of apartments, retail space and town homes on a village-owned, downtown site. Kicking off a fresh round of public hearings on the project, Whiteco presented its case this month before the Plan Commission.

Proposed for the site, which is a parking lot on the southeast corner of Harlem Avenue and Ontario Street, are 200 apartments mostly housed in a 14-story building, approximately 14,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space anchored by a Trader Joe's specialty grocery and six town homes along Ontario. An expansion of an existing parking garage also is proposed.

Whiteco's plans for the site, which is in a tax increment financing district, have undergone several revisions since the Merrillville, Ind.-based developer first presented its proposal to the commission in 2003. Whiteco eventually scrapped the proposal after a series of contentious public hearings.

Neighbors in the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District and Holley Court Terrace senior housing argued that the project, then 17 stories, would be too dense, create an unsightly gateway to the neighborhood, block their views and worsen traffic conditions.

After changing the proposal and hosting a series of neighborhood meetings last summer, Whiteco returned Jan. 6 to the Plan Commission seeking variances from the village zoning ordinance that would allow the scaled-back project to proceed.

"A lot of what you see today is a result of those meetings, great insights from the residents and the rest of our team," said Timothy Connelly, president of Whiteco Residential.

Developers contend they have an innovative site plan and design that reduces the project's height and mass, alleviates the impact on traffic and lessens the impact on neighboring views. They came to the meeting with a model and results of traffic and parking studies.

He said the project also addresses a need for more housing choices in Oak Park by drawing renters to the area.

Residents can offer testimony on the project at a hearing set for Jan. 22.

Roosevelt Square opens doors for variety of buyers





(1/7/05) - After years of planning and close collaboration with the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and community stakeholders, construction of the first buildings in Phase I of Roosevelt Square is underway. Since last summer, bulldozers have been excavating the land where the CHA’s ABLA Homes once stood, and work crews have been laying pipes and infrastructure. The new community will bring a variety of attractive housing options to the area, with nearly 30 different floor plans in Phase I alone.
For families and individuals seeking the energy of urban life in high-quality houses set in beautiful surroundings, Roosevelt Square offers seasonal landscaping and decorative flowerbeds, tree-lined streets, and no fewer than three parks within its 135 acres. The entire development, consisting of six phases, should be finished by 2015. Officials from master developer LR Development Company and its partners Quest Development and Heartland Alliance predict Phase I will be completed in 18–24 months.
Dedicated to revitalizing and transforming the community, the developers have conceived Roose-velt Square, part of the CHA’s pioneering $1.6 billion Plan for Transformation, with its own style while preserving traditional characteristics of authentic Chicago architecture and neighborhoods.
The buildings are designed to fit a broad spectrum of lifestyles and household budgets. Phase I will feature condominiums in three- and six-unit walk-ups and elevator buildings; rental and mixed-use buildings, some with retail on the ground floor; and three- and four-story townhouses. Many will include outdoor living spaces with open balconies, brick porches, and terraces. Red, gray, and brown bricks will lend color and texture to the new buildings, which will feature flat roofs, classic ornamentation, and decorative iron fencing on many of the lots.
Every unit will feature either a private backyard, garden courtyard, or outdoor deck or balcony. Excellent street lighting throughout the neighborhood, including newly repaved streets to fill out the City’s original grid, will add visual unity and security to the community.
Since opening on November 19, the Roosevelt Square Sales Center has seen a steady and high volume of interested purchasers, so much so that some housing options are already fully reserved. Phase I will include 159 market-rate houses, consisting of all of the 38 townhouses and 121 of the condominiums. Market-rate condominiums are priced from the $230,000s for one-bedrooms, from the $240,000s for two bedrooms, and from the $360,000s for three bedrooms. Market-rate townhouses will be priced from the $430,000s for two bedrooms and from the $500,000s for three bedrooms.
The first phase of Roosevelt Square will add to Chicago’s pool of affordable housing by creating a total of 74 homes for qualifying households. Sixty-seven of Phase I’s affordable for-sale houses range in price from $141,000 to $284,467. The remaining seven will be available for purchase by qualified CHA families who will become new homeowners.
That, however, is not all that sets Roosevelt Square apart from other similar new communities going up around Chicago to replace the former CHA housing. Roosevelt Square is the only one rising in an already thriving commercial and residential community—the Taylor Street/Near West Side area—where people who come to live in Roosevelt Square will be able to take advantage of its bakeries, coffee houses, and restaurants. Residents also will be moments away from the exciting art, restaurant, and shopping scene centered around west 18th Street in the Pilsen community.
Following is a description of the condominiums and townhouses for sale and the buildings that will bring the 13 acres of Roosevelt Square’s Phase I to life.
The Franklin and the Delano: These 45- and 27-unit apartment buildings will be located on Roosevelt Road between Racine and Blue Island Avenues. Consisting of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, these four- and five-story buildings feature elevators and heated indoor parking.
The DuSable, the Monroe, the Burnham, and the Jackson: These two- and three-bedroom, 21/2- bath townhouses will be built on Arthington Street, Grenshaw Street, and Washburne Avenue. Four models ranging from 1,800 to 2,900 square feet incorporate garage parking, private balconies, and rooftop decks.
The Goodman, the Shubert, the Riviera, the Lincoln, and the Grant: With names honoring Chicago’s historic theaters and public parks, these condominium buildings reflect the best of Chicago’s traditional brick architecture. They will be built on Taylor, Lytle, Washburne and 13th Streets and on Blue Island Avenue. Each two- and three-bedroom, one- or two-bath unit in these buildings includes a designated garage space.
The Eleanor: Located on the north side of Taylor Street, this building will feature three residential condominium apartments—two with two bedrooms and two baths, and one with three bedrooms and 21/2 baths—above ground-level retail space. Mixed-use buildings like this one are planned for Taylor Street and Ashland Avenue to help rebuild and reinforce the existing neighborhood streetscape.
New playground space designed specifically for families with young children will dot the entire development. People who live in Roosevelt Square will be within walking distance of the Duncan YMCA and the green spaces of Arrigo Park, Sheridan Park, and the newly expanded Fosco Park. Set to open in early 2005, Fosco Park features a 57,000-square-foot community center offering a variety of classes and enrichment programs and featuring a fully equipped gymnasium, day-care center, indoor swimming pool, and outdoor water park.
The development team is driven by the vision for a solid community that is further enhanced by caring neighbors and people who continue to strengthen and build upon its foundation.
Established in 1988, LR Development Company is a progressive, customer-oriented company whose employees are dedicated to building a legacy of landmarks. Roosevelt Square combines LR’s qualifications with the expertise of Quest Development Group, known for delivering houses with the kind of high quality and value that help transform communities.
For more information, call LR Development Co.’s Roosevelt Square office at (312) 836-1200 or visit www.rooseveltsquare.com.

From the Chicago Sun-Times

City, developer to share profits in W. Side accord

January 21, 2005

BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters



City officials have struck an unusual bargain with developers by agreeing to provide land for new homes on the Near West Side in exchange for a share of the sales proceeds.

The agreement with New West Realty owners Ted Mazola and Gus Mauro in effect makes City Hall a financial partner in an initiative to bring new housing stock to a onetime depressed neighborhood.

John Markowski, Mayor Daley's housing commissioner, said the program benefits both the city and developers and will be adapted for use in other neighborhoods. Officials project that the 43 vacant lots provided to New West's venture could produce aggregate sales revenue to the city of at least $4.17 million.

The amount could be greater, depending on sales prices. All the properties are city-owned and fall within an area bounded by Maplewood, Damen, Warren and Flournoy that is just west of the United Center.

Markowski emphasized that the project carries little risk to taxpayers because the city is laying out no cash. New West is securing private financing for construction and will bear all those costs.

Mazola said his agreement calls for the city to be paid once all home sales close on a particular parcel. His company has agreed to build 110 homes on the 43 lots, mostly as three-flats or two-flats.

The program differs from other housing efforts involving city-owned land, which typically call for the city to be paid upfront through bond proceeds. In other instances, the city will donate land to developers that put up affordable housing.

Mazola, a former alderman, said he suggested the new arrangement because developers typically face red tape when the city issues bonds. "It's much more easy for me to get my own financing," he said. "I'm willing to share the profits down the line."

Ground was broken Wednesday at 2112 W. Madison for the first building to be constructed under the program. Some of the parcels require zoning changes from classifications that require retail space on the ground floor. What's planned is exclusively residential.

The agreement takes advantage of acute demand for housing on the Near West Side, with development activity pressing westward beyond the United Center and Western Avenue. The property involved is among some 10,000 city-owned lots, often acquired through foreclosure to satisfy the city's demolition costs. The city also gains title to properties with delinquent property taxes.

"Let's get these properties back on the tax rolls," said Peter Skosey, vice president at the Metropolitan Planning Council. He praised the new program as an example of "good creative thinking."

For what's been dubbed the West Village Homes project, 22 of the units will be designated as affordable units for middle-income families. Those prices currently start at $190,000.

The rest will be sold for what the market bears. New West said pre-construction prices start at $238,900 for condominiums and $332,900 for each of the five planned single-family homes.

Markowski said the city will use the venture as a model and already plans a similar arrangement with developer Brenda Vance for a 44-home development near 68th and Dorchester in South Shore.

His department calls the idea HomeStart II. The developers are chosen from responses to city requests for proposals for the land.

Developers interested in particular city-owned sites can notify Brian O'Donnell, the Housing Department's development officer, by calling (312) 742-0632.

BAM!

More development :)

Schaumburg's New Convention Center and Hotel Will Put Village in the Spotlight; $225 Million Project Kicked off in July

Business Editors/Travel Writers

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2005--Construction is well underway on the new Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, a mixed-use project that includes a convention center with 100,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space and a 500-room Renaissance Hotel.
Slated for completion in 2006, the Schaumburg Convention Center and Renaissance Hotel will put the Village of Schaumburg on the map for many meeting planners. The convention center will be large enough to host groups of up to 4000 people and will be managed by Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, offering the same savvy service, distinctive design elements and high quality food and beverage for which the brand is known.
In 2000, the Village of Schaumburg purchased 45 acres of land in the northeast corner of Interstate 90 and commissioned a feasibility study to propel the project forward. The study determined that the hotel and convention center would generate $6.4 billion in economic activity over 30 years, including $387 million in tax revenues for state and local government. It will employ 1,600 at the peak of construction and once the project is open for business, 400 jobs will be created with annual wages of $15 million. In addition, a 2003 feasibility study predicted that the convention center would draw 380,000 attendees and over 70,000 hotel stays to Schaumburg each year.
"Schaumburg's time has come. Finally we have the opportunity to be a venue for larger groups and conventions, something the area's existing hotels just didn't have the capacity or facilities to handle," comments Randy Griffin, Director of Marketing for the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center.
The Convention Center will offer a full array of services to ensure successful meetings and conventions. By installing state-of-the art technology, attendees will have the tools to communicate their message clearly while still managing business back home. Services offered at the convention center range from comprehensive audio/visual capabilities to wireless Internet access to webcasting.
Located just 26 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, the Village of Schaumburg has emerged as the pre-eminent community in the Chicago area's thriving suburbs. It has grown from a small farming town of 130 residents to a bustling community of more than 75,000. The Convention Center/Hotel is a core component of Schaumburg's master plan to create a community where people live, work and enjoy a quality of life that is not available in larger cities.
The Renaissance Hotels & Resorts brand is designed for quality-tier travelers who prize individuality and prefer distinctive hotels that enhance their enjoyment of travel. Guests can expect sophisticated design, professional and welcoming service, and Street Restaurants serving creative food with traditional flavors. Each hotel is designed with a sense of place that reflects their surroundings.
Renaissance Hotels & Resorts is an upscale brand providing full-service accommodations with local flair to discriminating business and leisure travelers at over 130 properties in 28 countries. The brand's presence is strong in the U.S. and worldwide, with more than 70 properties in North America and more than 60 properties throughout Europe, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia.

CITY REPORT
Affordable flats, commercial space to rise
Humboldt Park project is slated for Division

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published January 23, 2005

The city will provide more than $4.3 million in assistance to a non-profit developer who will build a $17 million mixed-use project in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Chicago-based developer Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. will build the project, called La Estancia, on 11 lots along Division, between California and Spaulding Avenues.

Bickerdike already owns two of the lots, 2749 and 2753 W. Division, and is acquiring 3254 W. Division from a private owner.

The city will sell the other eight vacant, standard-sized lots to Bickerdike in two parcels: five lots at 3220-32 W. Division, and three at 3244-50 W. Division.

The city lots are appraised at $2.8 million, but Bickerdike will pay the city $1 per lot, according to Colleen Stone of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, who won approval from the Community Development Commission last month to sell the land. City Council must approve the land sale. The sale will be presented to City Council for final approval by April, said Pete Scales, spokesman for the Planning Department.

Most of those city-owned lots are west of the local commercial district that is marked by two giant metal Puerto Rican flags, at Western Avenue on the east California on the west.

The project will provide affordable housing, which is increasingly scarce in the neighborhood, and affordable retail space, according to Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th), who spoke to commissioners. Neighborhood residents and leaders have been planning the project since 1999.

"This project goes back a long ways," Ocasio told commissioners, adding that the city spent $2 million acquiring the land from a private owner, who had held the vacant property for years. The city intervened, using its power of eminent domain.

"That owner had no plans to develop anything there, had purchased them a long time ago, some even for $1, and had been sitting on them . . . . What it has done for all those years is to create a very big eyesore along Division Street," Ocasio told commissioners.

La Estancia will consist of three four-story buildings with a total of 57 affordable apartments and 12,585 square feet of commercial space, Planning Department officials told commissioners.

The one- to four-bedroom apartments will have 618 to 1,400 square feet of space with rents projected to range from $455 to $605 a month, according to Michael Burton, development supervisor at Bickerdike.

"The median income in the neighborhood is $28,350 for a family of four, according to the 2000 census, and we geared the rent structure to be affordable for current area residents," Burton said an in interview last week. "With more expensive developments occurring in the neighborhood, this project will allow some current area residents to remain in the community."

Bickerdike has agreed to keep the commercial and residential space affordable "in perpetuity," according Luis Monterrubio, a Planning Department project manager.

The project's commercial space is a vital part of the neighborhood's long-term planning effort, Ocasio told commissioners. The lots at California and Division that Bickerdike now owns had at one point been slated for market-rate residential development, Ocasio said.

After the city acquired the lots, a new owner proposed to build 30 market-rate condominiums on the site. "We are trying to allow people the opportunity to stay in their community, which has become very hot, where developers are trying to do everything they can to come into the area. We allow developers to come in, but we try to negotiate with them," Ocasio said.

"We attempted to negotiate with the developer, who wanted to build the high-priced condos in an area that is struggling to stay alive, but he would not come down," Ocasio told commissioners. "Then he decided to [build] a mini-mall, where prices would start at $36 per square foot," Ocasio told commissioners.

"The project will provide something that is very hard to find these days . . . affordable commercial space," said Enrique Salgado, a resident and president of the Division Street Business Development Association, a community-based business group. "Small businesses are paying $8 to $12 a square foot for commercial space along Division Street" [between Western and California]. But east of Western Avenue, you are talking about $22 to $36 and even more [per square foot for commercial rents]," Salgado told commissioners.

Bickerdike is negotiating an agreement with the business association to manage the properties, according to Burton.

The Chicago Department of Housing will issue low-income housing tax credits to help pay for construction of the rental units, Monterrubio told commissioners.

In addition to approving the land sale to Bickerdike, the December Community Development Commission approved $1.5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) assistance for the project. "That subsidy will assist the extraordinary cost of developing the project on two sites," Stone told commissioners, adding that the land discount and the TIF assistance amount to 19 percent of total project costs.

The project is being designed by Chicago-based Lisec Biederman.

Construction will begin by late fall, Burton said.

Bickerdike will market the units through community group and neighborhood block clubs. "We will maintain a waiting list of names that we get from local groups, until we have about 500 names. At that point we will go through the screening," Burton said.

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

CITY REPORT
$25 million in housing set for Near West Side

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published January 23, 2005

Construction began last week on a $25 million housing development in the West Haven and Tri-Taylor neighborhoods on the Near West Side.

Up to 110 units will go up on city-owned lots scattered between Warren Boulevard and Flournoy Street, and Rockwell Street and Damen Avenue.

The project, called West Village Homes, will consist of houses, two-flats and three-flats, according to Ted Mazola, president of Chicago-based New West Realty.

The developer has city approval to build up to 110 units on the scattered lots, but the actual number will depend to some extent on the market, Mazola said.

"Each buyer can select a single-family home, a condo in one of the two-flats or three-flats, or they may want to buy one of the multi-unit buildings," Mazola said.

New West Realty is building the project in partnership with the Chicago Department of Housing, which is advancing a new version of its HomeStart program, called HomeStart II. In that program, the city shares the role of developer with its partners.

"It is a program through which we are able to stimulate development, particularly affordable housing development; get paid the market-rate value of our vacant lots; cross-subsidize the cost of affordable units [by applying proceeds from sale of market-rate units in the project as subsidy for affordable units in the same project]; and if there are any returns beyond the [projected earnings] the city and the developer split those proceeds," Housing Commissioner Jack Markowski said in an interview last week.

"Rather than selling the city's vacant lots for $1 as we do in programs such as New Homes for Chicago [which the department tends to apply in redeveloping neighborhoods where market-rate housing is yet to thrive], we use the land as collateral [against the construction mortgage], and developers secure their own financing" Markowski said of the HomeStart II partnerships.

In the original HomeStart program, the city secured financing for projects in city-developer partnerships, a cumbersome process that required use of public bonds, Markowski said.

Twenty-two units in West Village Homes will be sold affordably to families earning up to the median Chicago-area income, or $75,400 for a family of four. They will be priced from $180,000 to $190,000, according to Markowski.

New West began construction Jan. 18 of a two-story building at 2112 W. Madison St. that will have a sales office at ground level and a model on the second floor.

Unless buyers want to purchase entire two- or three-flats, New West will sell units in those buildings as condominiums.

Chicago-based Hartshorne & Plunkard Architects designed the buildings with a mix of masonry facades to compliment the area's turn-of-the-century houses.

Ground-level two-bedroom condos in three-story two-flats will have 1,284 square feet of space, and will be priced from $238,900 to $254,900, according to Terrie Whittaker, president of sales and marketing at New West Realty.

The three-bedroom duplex units on the second and third floors of the two-flat buildings will have 1,726 square feet and prices between $309,900 and $322,900, Whittaker said.

All of the three-bedroom condos in the three-flats will have 1,380 square feet and will sell for $249,000 to $275,900, according to Whittaker.

The 2,280-square-foot, three-bedroom, single-family houses will start at $332,900.

Marketing will start in February, according to Whittaker. The model is expected to open by late summer.

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

Is New Urbanism catching on in th suburbs? Check this out:



City to study $500 million plan

Gray Megan
Published January 30, 2005

ROLLING MEADOWS -- The City Council has moved ahead with plans to study the feasibility of what Mayor Kenneth Nelson said could be a $500 million redevelopment project in the city's Woodfield Gardens area.

The 48-acre site northwest of Illinois Highway 53 and the Northwest Tollway has 692 residential rental units, two shopping centers and a carwash. The rental property's owner has announced plans to convert the units to condominiums by late summer but also is willing to consider redevelopment plans, as are the other owners.

Rolling Meadows officials asked their planning consultants to prepare development plans that combine residential and retail uses, including low- or moderate-income housing and town-center-type shopping.

The council approved a resolution to hire Kane, McKenna and Associates Inc. of Chicago to investigate financing options. The property owners have agreed to reimburse the city for the $20,000 study.

"I would hesitate to predict what the final plan will look like," Nelson said, "but I suspect we'll know by early summer whether any of this is practical."

Village homes rising in Near West


A local developer has broken ground on the first units in a residential development that marks a creative new approach to building affordable and market-rate housing in a joint-venture deal with the city.


The West Village Homes will comprise a mix of two-flats, three-flats and single-family homes on 45 scattered lots that the city owns on the Near West Side. Under the "HomeStart II" program, the developer will pay market-value prices for the lots only after the homes on them are built and closed.


"West Village Homes is the first time city-owned land was used for collateral in conjunction with private financing to develop housing in the city of Chicago," said City Housing Commissioner John G. Markowski, who joined Ald. Madeline Haithcock (2nd ) and developers Ted Mazola and Gus Mauro, of New West Realty, at a ground breaking in January.


The $25 million infill project will include up to 110 affordable and market-rate units. Plans call for 18 two-flat condominiums, 87 three-flat condos and five single-family homes to be built between Warren, Taylor, Damen and Maplewood.


Under the program, builders face less risk and lower carrying costs because they do not have to pay for the land until after a home is sold. The city is able to encourage building in an area where it has made redevelopment a priority.


"The HomeStart II program used for West Village Homes could be a model for future development of city-owned land," Markowski said. The city currently holds title to more than 10,000 vacant lots in Chicago.


Pre-construction base prices are expected to start in the $230s for a two-bedroom two-bath condo in a typical two-flat. Three-bedroom two-bath condominiums will start in the $240s, and three-bedroom duplexes with 2.5 baths are priced from the $300s. Single-family homes with three bedrooms start in the $330s.


The typical two-flat has a two-bedroom condo on the first floor and a three-bedroom duplex above. The three-flats have three condominiums with three bedrooms and two baths each. Features include hardwood floors, master bedroom suites, granite countertops, wood cabinets and designer appliances. The masonry buildings, designed by architects Hartshorne & Plunkard, will have diverse facades that match the turn-of-the-century architecture of the Near West Side.


"The West Village Homes joint venture is very significant because it will provide important in-fill housing in communities that have started to develop but have been held back somewhat because of an abundance of vacant city-owned land," said Mazola. "The landmark residential project will allow quality development to occur on that city-owned land, supporting the whole redevelopment of the community."

CITY REPORT
69 townhouses are planned

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published February 6, 2005

A 69-unit townhouse project is being planned for the McKinley Park neighborhood

Chicago-based Warman Development and Design, a company owned by Williams and David Warman that has developed several residential projects in the Loop and South Loop, is designing and developing the project through its development entity, WOW Development LLC.

WOW expects to close on the 2.56-acre development site in March, William Warman said in an interview last week.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved the project Jan. 20 as a planned development. City Council approval is still needed, and is expected by the end of March, Warman said.

A vacant, multistory warehouse on the site will be demolished, Warman said. The site is between Western Avenue and the CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and the Stevenson Expressway and Bross Avenue.

"It is a nice family neighborhood," Warman said. "McKinley Park is just two blocks south of our development site, and it is near good transportation, near good thoroughfares, and the 35th Street `L' [on the Orange Line]," Warman said.

Called McKinley Gardens, the project will consist of three-story masonry townhouses with attached one- and two-car garages, to go up in eight rows with eight to nine units each, according to Warman. The project's two- and three-bedroom units will have 1,850 to 2,000 square feet, Warman said, and will be priced around $300,000.

WOW will reconstruct and landscape the portion of Bross Avenue that is between Western and Artesian Avenues. It currently lacks curbs, gutters or sidewalks, Warman said.

The project will also have 10,700 square feet of landscaped green space for residents' use. Each unit will have at least a 175-square-foot private yard, Warman said. WOW expects to begin selling the townhouses in spring, with construction expected to begin in May.

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

Target Gets City Help for $42M West Ridge Store
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: February 8, 2005 08:13am

For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

CHICAGO-Having landed what it considers a prime location despite the failure of two other big-box retailers, Target Corp. also will get $4.6 million in tax increment financing to build a 160,000-sf, $42-million store at 2036-2136 W. Peterson Ave. Along with another store being built in the McKinley Park neighborhood, Target’s store in the West Ridge community will be the Minneapolis-based retailers first two outlets in the US meeting LEED-certified environmental standards.

In addition to 130 trees planted on the 6.5-acre site between Damen Avenue and Rosehill Cemetery, the Target store will have a “green roof” over more than 50% of the building’s cover. The store’s design is unique in the retailer’s portfolio, not only because it fits between two of the chain’s three prototypes--a 138,000-sf model and a 175,000-sf Superstore concept. It will be built above a parking area, with 503 spaces, to maximize use of the land.

“This is a great opportunity for us. This is location, location, location--a great location to open a Target store,” says senior development manager Forrest Russell, whose company acquired the property last year for $10.5 million.

The company also has received a zoning change from the city council, and got a favorable recommendation Tuesday from the community development commission on the tax increment financing. Russell says Target Corp. hopes to begin construction next month, with a store opening expected in October 2006. The project includes razing an existing big box, formerly occupied by Venture and Kmart stores but vacant since 2002.

Russell claims the West Ridge store may capture approximately $6.8 million in annual sales from a competing Target outlet in the neighboring suburb of Evanston. However, he dispels the notion Target will further erode its market by opening stores in the Wilson Yards mixed-use project in Uptown as well. The new store there and the Evanston Target are within 1.5 miles of the West Ridge site.

“They’ll be servicing different areas,” Russell says. “We have stores in some parts of the country a mile apart. We see this as two different markets.”

The West Ridge area has more than 1,000 small businesses, but lacks big-box retail outlets. As a result, Target customers travel to Evanston, costing the city sales tax revenue.

Great, I was wondering what they were going to do with the old Venture's site, and this project is actually on the north side of the city.

I really appreciate how Target tries to fit into an urban area. They're so much smarter than Walmart, which just bullies itself into an area and surrounds itself with suburbia.

What can I say? Walmart is based in TExas--and they obviously have no clue down there.

I really appreciate how Target tries to fit into an urban area. They're so much smarter than Walmart, which just bullies itself into an area and surrounds itself with suburbia.

What can I say? Walmart is based in TExas--and they obviously have no clue down there.

Are you sick of SILVERLAKE/GYRO?

Sorry for being off topic. :)

What can I say? Walmart is based in TExas--and they obviously have no clue down there.

Actually Walmart is based in Arkansas, but your point about them not having a clue is still correct.
:)

THE CITY
Seniors building to rise at Roosevelt Square

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published February 13, 2005

The city will provide $1.6 million in financing toward development of an independent seniors building planned for the southwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Loomis Street on the Near West Side.

To be called Roosevelt Place, it will built on the site of the mixed-income Roosevelt Square project, which Chicago-based LR Development is building on a portion of the former ABLA Homes public housing complex.

The non-profit Intercommunity Housing Corp. is building the structure on a 34,204-square-foot, city-owned parcel at 1401 W. Roosevelt Rd.

The Community Development Commission last week approved sale of the land to the developer for $200,000. That's a $575,000 discount from the $775,000 recently appraised value, James Thompson, the Department of Planning and Development's West Side project manager, told commissioners.

"This is [Intercommunity Housing's] first project. They came to us because they lack development experience," said Eileen Rhodes, director of development at Eastlake Management & Development Corp., who is doing consulting work for the non-profit developer.

The development site is within the Chicago Housing Authority's ABLA Homes Redevelopment Area, which is being transformed into a 2,441-unit, mixed-income neighborhood, Thompson told commissioners.

As master developer of Roosevelt Square, LR is working in cooperation with Intercommunity Housing and Eastlake Management, Rhodes said in an interview last week.

The $9.8 million, five-story masonry building will have 62 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments, Thompson told commissioners.

Of the 68 units, seven will be leased at market rates and the remainder will be leased affordably, Thompson told commissioners. "Fifteen one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit will be reserved for tenants earning at or below 40 percent of Chicago-area median income; 41 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units will be reserved for tenants earning at or below 60 percent of the Chicago-area median income," Thompson said.

One-bedrooms will have 760 square feet and two-bedrooms, 935, Rhodes said.

Market-rate rents will range from $577 to $682. Rents for the lowest-income tenants will be $480 to $577.

The project will have 30 off-street parking spaces, Rhodes said.

Chicago-based Piekarz Associates is designing the building. "They have designed affordable multifamily buildings for us, and upscale single-family projects in neighborhoods like Wicker Park and Bucktown," Rhodes said.

"This corner is important, kind of a gateway to Roosevelt Square. So our building will have features such as pitched roofs and stone elements, " Rhodes said.

Aside from the land discount, the Chicago Department of Housing will provide about $1 million as financing for a second mortgage for the project. "They agreed to provide gap financing, what we need when all the financing is in place. Right now that amount would be about $1.1 million, but it could change," Rhodes said.

The land discount brings the city help to about $1.6 million.

That funding will likely come through the Housing Department's low interest HOME Fund program, according to Housing Commissioner Jack Markowski.

The developer received $786,516 in low-income housing tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. "We are converting those tax credits into $6.9 million in equity by selling the credits to a syndicate, " Rhodes said.

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

Take the Blue Line to value

By Wayne Faulkner
Real Estate editor
Published February 13, 2005

When you think of the CTA's Blue Line, most think of the end of the line -- O'Hare International Airport. But travel to the other end of the line and you'll find a better real estate value -- Forest Park.

It's a village of about 15,500 residents whom one town official called "very loyal." They're augmented by home shoppers who have "discovered" the town after suffering sticker shock in neighboring Oak Park.

Now, developers have also discovered the draw of this near west suburb with excellent access to public transportation, via the CTA and Metra, and also the Eisenhower Expressway.

Forest Park may not have the cachet of Oak Park and River Forest, but it doesn't have eye-popping price tags, either. The average price of a single-family home was $253,259 in Forest Park in 2004, up 3 percent from $247,073 in 2003, according to the Chicago Association of Realtors. That compares with $435,933 in Oak Park, which saw a 21 percent jump from $361,293. Not that Forest Park is in an appreciation backwater: Over five years, prices in the suburb have more than doubled,.

The housing market "is strong and lively," said Catherine Deam, an agent with Gloor Realty in Oak Park. "It's very family-friendly because there still are sensibly priced homes there. You can get started in the upper $200,000s" and the taxes are moderate, too, she adds.

She and partner Patricia Bizzone, an artist and longtime rehabber, redid a three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow at 1026 Marengo for resale. It was listed at $347,000 and is now under contract.

A recent Internet check showed only 17 houses listed in Forest Park with at least three bedrooms and two baths. They were priced from $209,500 to $455,000.

Despite the village's strengths, many families leave when their kids finish middle school.

"One of the issues for Forest Park has been that people are not pleased with the local public high school district," said Nancy Hill, village community development director. "The district [209] has recognized that and is trying to make some changes to make it attractive."

Enter Proviso Central Math and Science Academy, which will open this fall at Roosevelt Road and 1st Avenue.

The school offers "a viable opportunity for those who want a higher standard," said Village Clerk Joan White.

"Good schools always add value," said Tim Anderson, president of Focus Development Inc., which built Forest Park's sold-out Madison Commons condo and retail project on Madison Street in a joint venture with Taxman Corp. The magnet high school is "just going to help make Forest Park more attractive for housing."

Focus and Taxman have also teamed up to build the Residences at the Grove on a 6-acre former industrial site just a hop, skip and a jump from the Blue Line terminus.

The development will have 140 condos and 60 town homes. Prices start in the $330,000s for the town homes. One-bedroom condos will start in the $170,000s and two-bedrooms at $249,900, Anderson said.

"People have discovered Forest Park because they want to have some of the amenities of an urban area," Hill said, describing the concept as "big city access with small town charm."

"Our residents are incredibly loyal," she said.

One of is Toni Khatib, who wrote to us to point out that "really great things have happened to this town."

But Khatib has her house up for sale. She cited the high schools as a reason to move, though she said and her husband may stay if a good offer doesn't come their way, and then try to get their children into the new magnet high school.

She pointed to the spirit of the community where she has lived for 20 years. Residents raised $10,000 to build a dog park, and it attracts people from all over, she said.

Buyers must share Khatib's enthusiasm. The average time on the market for houses last year was 48 days, up only 5 days from 43 in 2003.

has this thing been constructed yet?? anyways it's very sheek, modern, and cool. Designed by Brininstool + Lynch who were just on the cover of Metropolis Magazine

Loft Haus - 321 S. Sangamon - 9 stories 90 units

http://www.atproperties.com/07/lofthaus/lofthausrend.jpg

CITY REPORT
43 new homes planned near Gateway Plaza

Jeanette Almada
Published March 6, 2005

A 43-unit residential project is planned for former commercial space at Ashland Avenue and Howard Street on a site that includes the former Lerner Newspaper building.

Burrell Restaurant Corp.'s project is a planned development, which subjects it to city oversight on density and building height. Burrell has owned the site for years, according to Jennifer LaSota, president of Single Site Solutions Corp., Burrell's project-planning consultant.

The Plan Commission approved the project late last month. It still must be approved by City Council and that is expected by summer, LaSota said.

Single Site Construction Corp., which is also headed by LaSota, will build the project and will begin demolition of the Lerner building soon after receiving City Council approval.

The for-sale residential project is going up in a neighborhood whose housing is about 70 percent rentals, city officials told plan commissioners.

The 1.05-acre site, at 7407-63 N. Ashland, is one block east of the new 500,000-square-foot Gateway Plaza shopping center and the Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Street elevated station.

"This project has been through an extensive and exhaustive community review process. The end product shows that," Ald. Joe Moore (49th) told the Plan Commission on Feb. 24. "It has been met with overwhelming approval from the community . . . and will bring people with disposable income to Howard Street to help support [businesses] and at the same time will provide affordable housing for people who otherwise could not afford to live in the neighborhood."

The units will be built in eight masonry buildings designed by Chicago-based P.F.B. Architects.

Those buildings will consist of two styles of housing, according to LaSota.

Thirty-three of the units will go up in seven rows of three-story town homes, at the south portion of the development site.

The two- to three-bedroom townhouses will range from 1,287 to 1,484 square feet with prices from $300,000 to $425,000.

A three-story building, facing Howard, will have 10 condominiums -- two one-bedroom units and eight two-bedrooms, with 976 to 1,195 square feet of space and prices of $200,000 to $300,000.

Four of the two-bedroom condos will be sold for $155,000 through the Chicago Department of Housing's Chicago Partners in Affordable Neighborhoods program, according to LaSota.

"All of this is really quite a jolt for Howard Street and the area," Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), a plan commissioner, said at the commission meeting. He championed the project but lamented an apparent loss of the Wisdom Bridge Theatre site.

Moore stressed that Wisdom Bridge Theatre will remain on its current site, immediately east of the development site.

"When Burrell bought the development site, it also bought the Wisdom Bridge Theatre site. Our original proposal was to tear down the Lerner Building and the Wisdom Bridge Theatre [at 1565 W. Howard], which has been vacant for years," LaSota explained. In response to community pressure, Burrell agreed to sell the Wisdom Bridge site to a community group that will either restore the vacant building or tear it down and build anew, LaSota said.

The developer will begin marketing the units by September, according to LaSota. She expects construction to begin by fall.

Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

^ Yippidy do! Now I can buy a house next to a piece of shit strip center designed by some ass clown from Naperville who doesn't give 2 shits what the word "city" means. I hate the Gateway Center--it was a mistake from its inception. It's a lesson in urban MISTAKES.

At least the houses are near a CTA station, though. Too bad that stupid Naperville (or whatever) developer didn't consider proximity to transit when he built that craphole Super Center

Before you skip this apparantly boring (although not to me) article, you will notice something interesting I highlighted near the bottom:

CITY REPORT
City to subsidize Jewel/Osco store in River West

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published March 20, 2005

The city will subsidize construction of a Jewel/Osco that will bring grocery services to the growing River West neighborhood.

A full-service food store is needed by residents who live in the burgeoning River West and West Loop neighborhoods, who currently must travel a mile to the nearest grocer, according to a Department of Planning and Development project manager, who spoke to the Community Development Commission.

Earlier this month, the commission approved $4 million in TIF (tax increment financing) subsidy for the $19 million project. The financing still needs City Council approval.

"We think there will be tremendous residential growth here, and this project will give us an opportunity to be a driving force in the design and development of a new neighborhood in the city," said Larry Wahlstrom, president of Melrose Park-based Jewel/Osco. "We know that residential projects being planned for the area will bring several thousand new residents to the area, and that residents who already live in the area are underserved," Wahlstrom said last week.

The 52,000-square-foot store will be built on 2.6 acres on Kinzie Street between Union Street and Desplaines Avenue. Jewel is under contract to buy the land from Chicago-based CMC Heartland Partners, and will close on the transaction within the next three to six months, Wahlstrom said.

Originally, a Home Depot store was slated for the site, but that was opposed by nearby Blommer Chocolate Co., the city staff told commissioners.

The Jewel/Osco will be a two-story building with 42,800-square-foot shopping area at street level and 9,480 square feet of receiving, storage and food preparation space below ground level, according to Joseph McKeska, vice president of real estate and construction at Jewel/Osco.

Designed by Des Plaines-based Camburas & Theodore Ltd., the store "has an urban design, with a monumental entryway at Kinzie and Desplaines for pedestrian and neighborhood traffic," Walstrom said. "It doesn't look like a prototype grocery store. Instead, it has limestone cast panels and green patina copper squares that add a modern feel and look to the building.

The store will have an outdoor patio on Desplaines. "With that patio we will take advantage of a public park that the city is building across the street from our store, on the southeast corner of Desplaines and Kinzie," Wahlstrom said.

The city's TIF assistance will reimburse the developer for infrastructure improvement costs. The developer will have to build multiple 90-foot caissons in order to build the store and the parking deck at 24 feet above grade level. That plan allows for the Chicago Department of Transportation's eventual construction of a high-speed rail line to connect downtown commuters to O'Hare International Airport, below the food store. As part of the developer's agreement with the city, it will reserve right of way for construction of the high-speed rail line, according to McKeska.

The Transportation Department is planning to build the rail line in about 10 years, Planning Department staff told commissioners.

The TIF subsidy will also reimburse the developer for construction of a parking deck above the existing Metra commuter rail tracks, located on the southern boundary of the development site, but not part of it, according to McKeska.

Designed by Des Plaines-based Camburas & Theodore Ltd., the store "has an urban design, with a monumental entryway at Kinzie and Desplaines for pedestrian and neighborhood traffic," Walstrom said. "It doesn't look like a prototype grocery store. Instead, it has limestone cast panels and green patina copper squares that add a modern feel and look to the building.

The store will have an outdoor patio on Desplaines. "With that patio we will take advantage of a public park that the city is building across the street from our store, on the southeast corner of Desplaines and Kinzie," Wahlstrom said.

The city's TIF assistance will reimburse the developer for infrastructure improvement costs. The developer will have to build multiple 90-foot caissons in order to build the store and the parking deck at 24 feet above grade level. That plan allows for the Chicago Department of Transportation's eventual construction of a high-speed rail line to connect downtown commuters to O'Hare International Airport, below the food store. As part of the developer's agreement with the city, it will reserve right of way for construction of the high-speed rail line, according to McKeska.

The Transportation Department is planning to build the rail line in about 10 years, Planning Department staff told commissioners.

The TIF subsidy will also reimburse the developer for construction of a parking deck above the existing Metra commuter rail tracks, located on the southern boundary of the development site, but not part of it, according to McKeska.



First, it is awesome that care is being given to the urban environment integration of this structure.

Second. The part you bolded (not in the quotation) is awesome.

AWESOME.

READ: Awexome!

Carnegie to build West Loop condos
Site is current location of Carmichael's Steakhouse


By Alby Gallun
Chicago-based real estate firm Carnegie Realty Partners LLC plans to build a roughly 350-unit condominium project on the current site of Carmichael’s Steakhouse in the West Loop.
A company formed by Carnegie has signed a contract to pay $10 million for the property at Monroe and Aberdeen streets, said Carnegie CEO John Thomas. He said he aims to start selling units in the project by the third quarter and break ground next year, assuming he sells enough units to obtain financing. Carmichael’s plans to search for a new location.

Mr. Thomas said he has hired architecture firm Fujikawa Johnson & Associates to design the building and plans to form a joint venture with a residential developer to build it. He’s currently in talks with three developers that have been busy in the West Loop.
Mr. Thomas estimates the project would cost $80 to $100 million. It would include two 12-story towers and street-level retail space for a supermarket and drug store, he said.



Does anyone know what kind of building this Carmichael's Steakhouse is? Is it a poor urban use of space or not?

Article from last week. Is this geographically correct for you, ThirdCoast?

First phase of Roosevelt Square moves forward

Project will create mixed-income residential units and new retail space

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mayor Richard M. Daley introduced a plan to the Chicago City Council today to build an $84 million development known as Roosevelt Square that will include residential units and retail space.


"This development will greatly benefit community residents by creating more affordable housing for individuals of all income levels as well as job opportunities because of new businesses coming into the area," Mayor Daley said.


The plan is the first phase of an overall redevelopment of the ABLA Homes public housing development. The first phase will consist of 233 for sale mixed-income units in a variety of sizes and building types on property bounded by Racine Avenue, Arthington Street, Blue Island Avenue, 13th Street, and Lytle Street.


The development also calls for 3,000 square feet of retail space along Taylor Street.


In addition to jobs created during the construction phase of the development, retail employment opportunities will be available upon the completion of the commercial portion of the project.


The City plans to provide the developers, RS Homes I LLC, RS Pointe LLC and RS Square LLC, with up to $9.7 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance.

This is Chicago's new Hellenic Museum, a model by Pappageorge/Haymes. It is moving from Michigan Avenue to Greektown, on Halsted. Does anybody know what is going on with this development? Has it already been built, or is it at least u/c? And what site is it being built on--a former parking lot, stores, etc?

http://www.hellenicmuseum.org/generations/images/forgenmodel.jpg

Wow, a museum in Greektwon. Where on Halsted? This is pretty cool (even if the design is a bit post-modern-classical ostentatious).

This is Chicago's new Hellenic Museum, a model by Pappageorge/Haymes. It is moving from Michigan Avenue to Greektown, on Halsted. Does anybody know what is going on with this development? Has it already been built, or is it at least u/c? And what site is it being built on--a former parking lot, stores, etc?

http://www.hellenicmuseum.org/generations/images/forgenmodel.jpg

This will be on the northeast corner of Halsted and Van Burean. A vacant True Value hardware store sits on the site now. That store sucked too, you couldn't even buy a roll of duct tape without the cleark searching through the back room, where all the merchandise was located for 10 minutes.

The Hellenic Musuem is currently located on the 4th floor of a loft building at Halsted and Adams Streets.

City Hopes Land Sales Spur Mixed-Use Building
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: April 21, 2005 08:15am

CHICAGO-Mixed-use developers have a chance to buy 63 city-owned lots in North Lawndale, mostly along Ogden Avenue as well as side streets between Kedzie and Pulaski avenues. The department of planning and development has set target prices totaling $1.9 million for three blocks of properties, totaling 6.6 acres.

The department’s request for proposals has a June 23 deadline, according to project manager Joseph Lopez. The land sale was approved recently by the community development commission.

Although the city may write down land prices from appraised value and consider tax credit deals, no tax increment financing is available, Lopez says. However, he adds the sites offer “prime opportunities” for developers willing to build mixed-use projects that could include retail, office and institutional space, as well as multifamily units. Sites range from 1,360 sf to 17,400 sf. Target prices average $6.54 per sf, but are higher in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Ogden Avenue, decreasing to the west.

The city already has invested in the area, building a 10th district police station in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of W. Ogden Avenue. Zoning of the sites along Ogden Avenue is expected to be rezoned to B2-3, which would allow for 9,000-sf buildings on 3,000-sf lots. Zoning for residential lots on the side streets is expected to be RT-4, which would allow for a 3,750-sf building on a typical city lot.

Push to land a Trader Joe's puts local retailers on edge

By Liam Ford
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 22, 2005


Amy Donati thought she had found her dream job when she bought 0Morningfields, a specialty grocery, deli and bakery in Park Ridge.

Donati and her husband, Terry, say they have a niche in the northwest suburban food market and hope a city plan to revamp downtown will help their business.

"The plans are gorgeous of what they want to do. ... It's going to bring people to the area, and how can that be bad for me, right?" Amy Donati said recently, sitting at a table in her store in the 800 block of West Devon Avenue.

But the couple's enthusiasm could diminish if Park Ridge taxpayers help bring in a competitor, such as Trader Joe's. The national specialty grocer could open in Uptown, the village's main shopping district, which is about a mile north of the Donatis' store and the focus of a major redevelopment plan.

In the wheeling and dealing of redevelopment, chain stores whose name recognition lures shoppers often beat out homegrown businesses for government help. While Park Ridge readies a downtown facelift, critics from the Chicago area and across the nation are fuming at the prevalent use of local tax dollars and other incentives to help developers snag national chains.

But downtowns often stagnate without government intervening to buy enough land to make new buildings profitable for developers, say officials in towns such as Park Ridge. Even when they don't give direct tax breaks, cities are trying to make it easier for large chains to come in because their high-volume sales translate into quick spikes in sales-tax revenue. And popular brand names can mean fewer vacancies in downtown buildings and higher property values for everyone.

Still, citizens groups across the country question the growing use of urban renewal policies in the suburbs. The apparent progress sometimes comes at the expense of people who have invested their lives in their businesses, critics say.

"Does Borders or Barnes & Noble really need a subsidy? If there's a local specialty food store, do we really need to be subsidizing Trader Joe's?" said Jacqueline Leavy, executive director of Chicago's Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, citing some of the companies that are among possible tenants for new retail space in Park Ridge.

Filled with restaurants and boutiques, Uptown Park Ridge grew up around what is now the city's main Metra commuter rail station. It's dominated by the Pickwick Theatre, an Art Deco gem built in 1928 that has thrived as other suburban movie houses have closed.

Under its redevelopment plan, the city spent $5.3 million to buy land in the area and set up a special tax fund to help developers build townhouses and attract retailers. For years, Park Ridge's residents had debated a plan to breathe new life into downtown.

Mid-America Asset Management, the town's chosen developer, has been negotiating with Trader Joe's and other retailers to fill new storefronts in the area, said Mid-America President Michael George. The grocer is expected to decide by summer whether to move to Park Ridge, he said.

The California-based chain has expanded aggressively in recent years, in part by taking advantage of city incentives or moving into subsidized shopping districts in such places as Redlands, Calif., and Oak Park.

"The only thing I have a problem with is if they give assistance to the new businesses, don't forget the businesses that have been here," said Morningfields' Terry Donati.

Critics of similar redevelopment policies say the Donatis should be concerned. Similar plans have forced homegrown businesses in other cities to close.

"You've got an ice cream shop owner that's been there for 20 years, and then, all of a sudden, you've got a Ben and Jerry's coming into downtown," with the help of village subsidies, said Nile Wendorf, president of an Oak Park-area watchdog group, REDCOOP. "If you're the small ice cream shop owner, you're paying tax dollars that make it easier for your competition."

In Oak Park the village cut land acquisition costs nearly in half for a new health club and promised to expand a village parking garage. The owner of a long-established health club said it will result in unfair competition.

"They tend to bring in national firms, like Trader Joe's, because they're easier to finance," said Al Berggren, one of the owners of the Tennis and Fitness Centre in Oak Park. "And in the process they drive out of business small companies."

But many business owners in Park Ridge are cheering for Uptown. And both candidates in the recent mayoral election supported the project.

City Manager Timothy Schuenke said the redevelopment plan has taken almost a decade to launch, in part because the city wants to do it right--without hurting existing businesses.

"We're trying to keep open lines of communication with the remainder of the Uptown [merchants] because we hope that this project will act as a catalyst and benefit those other areas as well," Schuenke said.

Some business owners fear competition from national chains. Others hope new condominiums and townhouses in Uptown will mean new theatergoers, diners and customers.

"I'm excited," said Dino Vlahakis, an owner of the Pickwick and a member of the task force that recommended the Uptown plan to the City Council.

So far, Morningfields has benefited from changes that also could help their competitors. Park Ridge changed its liquor laws in February, allowing Morningfields and similar groceries--like Trader Joe's--to start selling wine.

And some point out that Morningfields has a booming catering business, bakery and made-to-order takeout meals--services Trader Joe's doesn't match.

Schuenke said he knows from experience that having a more convenient Trader Joe's won't keep people from shopping at local stores.

"My wife shops at Trader Joe's," he said, "and because we don't have one in Park Ridge, she can't shop there in Park Ridge," where the suburb would get the tax benefits.

Where exactly is Park Ridge?

City Hopes Land Sales Spur Mixed-Use Building
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: April 21, 2005 08:15am

CHICAGO-Mixed-use developers have a chance to buy 63 city-owned lots in North Lawndale, mostly along Ogden Avenue as well as side streets between Kedzie and Pulaski avenues. The department of planning and development has set target prices totaling $1.9 million for three blocks of properties, totaling 6.6 acres.

The department’s request for proposals has a June 23 deadline, according to project manager Joseph Lopez. The land sale was approved recently by the community development commission.

Although the city may write down land prices from appraised value and consider tax credit deals, no tax increment financing is available, Lopez says. However, he adds the sites offer “prime opportunities” for developers willing to build mixed-use projects that could include retail, office and institutional space, as well as multifamily units. Sites range from 1,360 sf to 17,400 sf. Target prices average $6.54 per sf, but are higher in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Ogden Avenue, decreasing to the west.

The city already has invested in the area, building a 10th district police station in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of W. Ogden Avenue. Zoning of the sites along Ogden Avenue is expected to be rezoned to B2-3, which would allow for 9,000-sf buildings on 3,000-sf lots. Zoning for residential lots on the side streets is expected to be RT-4, which would allow for a 3,750-sf building on a typical city lot.


^There was another article about that in the Tribune a few days back. They were saying that the "mixed-use" could either be in the form of residential with ground-floor retail, or residential side-by-side with retail.

The "side-by-side" thing worries me, because I have yet to see Chicago build stand-alone retail in a form other than strip malls....

Simulcra --

Park Ridge is a middle / upper-middle class suburb near O'Hare. Hillary Rodham Clinton grew up there.

Empty lot on Division to get condos, retail


By Aiysha Hall


(5/5/05) – Exotic restaurants, modish boutiques, lavish apartments, quality businesses, and—a vacant lot?
For more than a decade, an empty parcel of land in the 2000 block of west Division Street has distorted the otherwise picture-perfect view of the bustling and thriving West Town community. Now, Betancourt Realty, a local real estate and development company at 2131 W. Division St., is giving that vacant lot a brand new look in the form of a four-story mixed-use building.
“I felt like I hit the Lotto,” Joseph Betancourt, the company’s founder, said of acquiring the parcel. “We’ve been trying for over a year and a half to get this land.”

Earlier this year, Betancourt finalized its $1.1 million deal with the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development. Amidst restaurants and boutiques, the company will develop a four-story building along 2041-47 W. Division Street, which will house two commercial units on the ground floor and nine condominiums on the second, third, and fourth floors.
“We’re happy and excited about the development because there’s no other building like ours in the area,” Betancourt said.
While the new development obviously is not the only mixed-use building in the community, Betancourt said the building’s details will make it stand out from all the rest and serve as an example for future construction in the area.
“This is a luxury development,” Betancourt said of the project.
Prices range from $280,000 to about $569,000 for condominium choices consisting of one- and two-bedroom units and a three-bedroom penthouse, all of which will offer a deck or balcony overlooking the city. Also, an attached indoor garage will provide 22 parking spaces for residents.

Of the building’s ground floor commercial units, one will be a “full-service, fine-dining restaurant,” though Betancourt is unsure exactly what type of restaurant it will be. Besides the restaurant will be a new real estate office housing a larger facility for Betancourt Realty.
“We’ve been in the neighborhood for more than ten years, and we decided it was time to expand,” Betancourt said. “Everyone in the current office will be transferring to the new building.”

First Ward Alderman Manny Flores believes the building will improve the area.
“You generate more tax revenue and at the same time add to the community,” Flores said, noting he reviewed plans for the new development even before the purchase was complete. “I think it’s exciting and in line with a lot of others we’ve seen in the ward…and what’s happening in the rest of the community.”

City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development spokesperson Connie Buscemi agreed.
“The proposal is appealing because it’s going to take vacant land, enhance the community, and eliminate blight,” she said. “The development will benefit residents and stimulate the economy.”

“The City wants to see beautification,” Betancourt said. “We want to make this the most beautiful building in the whole area. That’s why there will be green roofs and decks and a fountain in front of the building” as well as luxury upgrades and all brick renaissance stone with custom detail on the building’s facade.
“Our building definitely provides an addition to the community,” Betancourt said. “It offers more home ownership, and it offers more jobs.” Between his company’s expansion and the new restaurant, Betancourt expects to bring at least 30 more jobs to the area.
With the land in his possession, Betancourt hopes to have permits in hand soon and break ground next month. Like Flores, he hopes the project will be completed by the end of the year.
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On another note, sales for West Village homes in the west side just opened up--here is a rendering:

http://www.westvilhomes.com/images/home-houses.jpg

City Seeks Rehabbers for 1,297 Affordable Units
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: May 9, 2005 11:53am

CHICAGO-With 1,297 affordable rental units headed toward foreclosure, the city’s department of housing is seeking multiple developers willing to buy, rehab and manage the Lawndale Restoration and Douglas Lawndale multifamily projects on the West Side. The department has issued a request for qualifications, due May 16, and is negotiating with HUD on arranging a sale of the properties.

HUD has initiated foreclosure proceedings against the current owners, according to the department of housing, and officials from the federal department hope to begin disposing of the properties in August, city officials say. The city is looking for developers with rehab, affordable housing and property management experience. Besides putting the properties into the hands of several new owners, the department of housing envisions some of the one- to four-unit properties converted to owner-occupied units.

“It is our belief that this development, as a single entity, is too large and needs to be divided into smaller units so it can be more effectively managed and that is what we hope to achieve with this development plan,” says housing commissioner John G. Markowski. “By acting now, the City will identify who its partners will be as a strategy is worked out to preserve this as affordable housing.”

The 1,240-unit Lawndale Restoration was built in five phases, with a mix of properties ranging from two- to four-flats up to corner multifamily buildings. HUD provides project-based Housing Choice Voucher assistance to tenants. The 96 buildings are scattered in an area bounded by Madison and 19th streets, Kostner and Albany avenues. Inspections done by HUD earlier this year estimate the cost of repairs at $44.8 million, which breaks down to $44,333 per unit and $36 per sf. As a result, department of housing officials expect to sell properties for $1 each.

The 57-unit Douglas Lawndale development is spread over seven properties ranging from three-flats to a 21-unit building.

CITY REPORT
12 homes to rise in West Englewood

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published May 15, 2005

Construction is scheduled to start on a 12-unit housing development on long vacant land in the West Englewood neighborhood.

Exodus Development Co. will build the project on 10 currently city-owned parcels at 5831-45 S. Wolcott Ave. and at 5830-36 S. Honore St.

Chicago-based Exodus is a family-owned development company that consists of Lewis W. Powell III, Larry W. Powell and their mother, Ardell M. Powell.

The company has built and rehabbed homes throughout the city since it was founded in the mid-1990s and is preparing to build six housing units at 1800 S. Trumbull Ave. in a project called Ogden Courts in the North Lawndale neighborhood, Lewis Powell said in an interview last week.

The city has owned the vacant West Englewood land since 1998, according to Michelle Nolan, a Department of Planning and Development project manager who last week won Community Development Commission approval to sell the land to Exodus.

The developer has agreed to pay $93,000 for the land, which is the appraised fair market value, Nolan told commissioners. City Council must also approve the sale.

Exodus will build three 1,560-square-foot houses with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths; and three houses with 2,045 square feet and four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. It also will build six 2,400-square-foot two-flats.

"We designed the two-flat buildings so that one-bedroom rental units will be on the first floor, and three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath duplex [owners] units will be on the second and third level," Powell said. All the units will have a parking pad; a garage is an extra, he added.

Base prices for the houses will range from $215,000 to $250,000 and the two-flats are $325,000, Powell said.

Architects at Chicago-based Campbell Tiu Campbell designed the project.

City officials anticipate the project will spur further commercial and residential development nearby, Nolan told commissioners.

"There is a lot of development going on in Englewood, and we want to be a part of that, want to be a part of development in all parts of the Englewood neighborhood," Powell said.

Sales will begin by August. "We expect that City Council will approve the land sale by the end of summer and will start building soon after that, about fall," Powell said.

One neighborhood leader urged the development commission on Tuesday to include the community in the planning process.

"We heard about this project for the first time on April 21," Henry Wilson, chairman of the Empowerment Zone Housing Committee, said. "And while we are anxious to find housing coming into Englewood, we would appreciate it if the project could be presented to the community so that the community could have some input into these kinds of projects."

From Crain's
May 17, 2005

Rush University Medical Center gets $20M gift
Contribution from chairman of Boler Co. for medical imaging center

By Brett Chase

Rush University Medical Center is getting a $20 million gift from an Illinois businessman, the largest individual contribution in the hospital’s history, for a state-of-the-art medical imaging center.

The gift from John M. Boler, the 71-year-old chairman of Itasca-based Boler Co., will help the teaching hospital compete on a national level for imaging diagnostics, Rush CEO Larry J. Goodman said at a press conference held on the Rush campus today.

This is absolutely a red-letter day for Rush, Dr. Goodman said. The donation comes at a critical time for Rush, which is raising money for a massive 10-year building project and competes with other top medical centers, such as University of Chicago Hospitals and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The imaging center will be a cornerstone of what Rush is now estimating will be a $640 million capital expansion. That figure was estimated at $500 million when it was announced a little more than a year ago.

A joint venture firm Skidmore, Owings, Merrill/SmithGroup/Environmental Systems Design has been hired to develop Rush’s building plan. Construction is expected to begin in 2007 on new hospital buildings, including an emergency center. Some structures dating back to the 1800s will be torn down. With Mr. Boler’s gift, Rush has raised more than $100 million of a $300 million fund-raising campaign.

Mr. Boler, a trustee and patient of Rush, said he wanted to give back to an institution that saved his life. Mr. Boler had a bacterial infection that he said destroyed a heart valve. Rush’s doctors inserted an artificial valve in its place. The imaging center funded with Mr. Boler’s gift will be named the Mary Jo and John Boler Centers for Advanced Imaging.

Donors like Mr. Boler are crucial to Rush’s fund-raising campaign. Richard M. Jaffee, the Rush trustee in charge of the capital program, said large donations will make it easier for the school to tap the debt market later to help pay for the expansion.

Eco-friendly building fits right into Garfield Park

May 20, 2005

BY GARY WISBY Environment Reporter


Much of the new life in spring is green, so it's fitting that Bethel New Life's new $4.5 million center on the West Side is one of the greenest in Chicago.

From its roof -- half plantings, half photovoltaic cells to capture solar energy -- to its bridge to the CTA's Green Line, the two-story center at Lake and Pulaski qualifies for an unprecedented gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

More about environmentally friendly features later. But Bethel Center, which officially opened Thursday, is also community-friendly. Intended as a hub of activity in Garfield Park, it offers employment services, day care, Head Start classes, a bank, dry cleaners and a sandwich shop.

Agitation, link to L station

Mary Nelson, president of Bethel New Life, the faith-based social service agency founded 26 years ago, said, "Rabble-rousing is how all of this started." Closing of the Green Line in 1994 was the impetus. The agency joined with many partners -- including Oak Park and six other western suburbs -- to demand its return, and in the uproar the seeds for the new center were planted.

One result, Nelson said, was that "the Center for Neighborhood Technology introduced us to transit-oriented development." A brownfield site next to the L line was chosen, and the renovated Pulaski stop includes a covered pedestrian bridge to the center's second floor. Travel by train, of course, is cleaner.

"An opportunity for our dollars to stay here and be recirculated" is one of the center's offerings, said Jewel Mandeville of Bethel New Life's board.

In addition to the dry cleaners and a soon-to-open Subway sandwich shop, a branch of the 1st Bank of Oak Park will "bank the unbanked [to help] put currency exchanges out of business," said bank president Mike Kelly.

Energy-saving features

Designed by Chicagoarchitects Doug Farr and Kevin Pierce, the building is eligible for the building council's gold rating and would be the city's first to earn it. It should use only half as much energy as a conventional commercial building.

The green roof, planted with six kinds of sedum and five flowering plants, will lessen storm water runoff, heat absorption in summer and heat loss in winter. Other features include "super" insulation, further reduced heat absorption because of the building's beige color and shading from trees, a sophisticated heat recovery system and automatic light dimmers.

At least 25 percent of the building materials contain recycled content. Twenty percent of the materials were shipped from within 500 miles of Chicago, reducing the emission produced by transport. And half the wood used came from forests that are grown and harvested with environmentally friendly methods.

From Globest.com

Sterling Park Plans 1,200 More Units for Homan Square
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: May 23, 2005 08:18am

CHICAGO-Details of the plan are in flux, but the Homan Square area will get another 1,200 residential units over the next five years. The $200-million project includes a mix of rental and for-sale units, many of them in three current buildings formerly used by Sears, Roebuck & Co. and its Allstate Insurance Co.

The five-story Sears administration building, six-story MDL building and 10-story Allstate building total about one million sf in the 3200 and 3300 blocks of W. Arthington and Polk streets. Plans by Royal Imperial Development’s Sterling Park LLC, which acquired the 12.6 acres from Shaw Co., include 637 units in those buildings, another 467 in three new 14-story buildings, a 75-unit senior assisted-living facility and 21 townhouses.

Previous plans called for the buildings to be converted to office, commercial or manufacturing uses, but market forces made that unfeasible, suggests Fred Deters of the department of planning and development. Already, 500 residential units have been created in the Homan Square redevelopment project, along with community centers and a 1.7-acre park.


It’s a huge increase in the number of units, notes plan commission member Allison Davis. The project nonetheless received a unanimous endorsement Thursday and is expected to get city council approval.

Sterling Park LLC managing member Mordecai Tessler says the exact mix of for-sale and rental units, as well as financing, are among the details still to be worked out. However, he hopes work can begin before the end of the year.

Work at the former Sears administration building at 3333 W. Arthington St. is governed by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. That building and the MDL building at 3301 W. Arthington St. are part of a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Not any new construction, but good news still for the Near West Side.

From Crain's

May 24, 2005

Smithfield Properties to build 442-bed UIC dorm
Developer plans to convert old office building overlooking Eisenhower

By Alby Gallun
A Chicago real estate developer plans to convert an old office building overlooking the Eisenhower Expressway into a 442-bed dormitory for students at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Smithfield Properties LLC has a contract to buy the building at 1001 W. Van Buren St. and has asked the city Plan Commission to approve the conversion project at its June 16 meeting.

Demand for downtown student housing has boomed in recent years as Chicago universities have evolved from commuter to residential schools. Last year, Columbia College and Roosevelt and DePaul universities opened University Center, a 1,700-bed dorm in the South Loop, while Loyola University is building a 26-story dorm on its Water Tower campus.
Smithfield, primarily a condominium developer, has also jumped into the market, breaking ground late last year on a 580-bed dorm for DePaul University on West Fullerton Avenue in Lincoln Park.

Smithfield saw a similar opportunity at UIC, which is directly across the Eisenhower from the developer’s latest project. The university is not involved in the development.

We carefully examined the on-campus population of UIC, particularly at the freshman and sophomore level, and how it has increased over the last decade combined with the lack of other (housing) options in the neighborhood, said Smithfield Principal Robert Buono.

Including the cost of acquiring the property, Smithfield plans to spend about $40 million converting the 275,000-square-foot building into 145 units, he said.

I don't know if this was ever posted, but I absolutely go ZONKERS when I hear news like this:

City Targets El Stop for Redevelopment
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: May 18, 2005 08:21am

CHICAGO-A 12,700-sf vacant lot at 5144 W. Lake St. is being eyed by the city, which owns a 4,000-sf parcel at 5158 W. Lake St., for a potential transit-oriented, mixed-use development. The 16,700-sf site is next to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line stop at Laramie Avenue.


The city picked up the smaller lot through a 2003 tax sale and will attempt to negotiate a sale with the Mount Prospect-based owner of the larger property. If those attempts are unsuccessful, the department of planning and development has obtained acquisition authority from the community development commission, which would allow the city to use condemnation powers.


Department of planning and development project manager Benet Haller says the city could issue a request for proposals for the 16,700-sf parcel this summer. While located immediately west of a planned manufacturing district, the parcel is zoned C1-1, which would allow for a residential, office and retail building of about 20,000 sf.

Two Groups Adding 79 Units in East Garfield Park
By Mark Ruda (www.globest.com)
Last updated: May 25, 2005 12:28pm

CHICAGO-Gen One Group and Hispanic Housing Development Corp. will build 79 multifamily units on 35 scattered sites in the East Garfield Park community. The city will sell sites it owns, ranging from 1,900 sf to 7,200 sf, for a combined $1.1 million, near its target price.
The combined $19 million project will fill in vacant sites from California to Kedzie avenues, Grand Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Gen One Group will build 39 units, mostly in two-flat and three-flat buildings on 18 parcels while Hispanic Housing Development Corp. will build 40 units on 17 parcels. Hispanic Housing Development Corp. will make four of the units affordable under the city’s housing initiative, but company and city officials note the price range of $210,000 to $240,000 for 1,250-sf to 1,300-sf units already could be considered affordable. Meanwhile, Gen One Group plans to sell its condominiums, ranging from 1,400 sf to 2,300 sf, for an average of $230,000. However, it will offer a two-flat model at $330,000, which will include a rental unit that likely will offer an affordable housing opportunity, the developer says.

The land sale and project was endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission. “This development is long overdue,” says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett. “This is an area that’s sort of hidden, but it’s a jewel to the community.”

Gen One Group and Hispanic Housing Development Corp. offered the two best proposals out of four received, says department of planning and development deputy commissioner Mary Bonome. Gen One Group, which includes former Chicago Park District chief executive officer David Doig, was formed last year to build multifamily projects in emerging neighborhoods, and is beginning one in the Austin community. Hispanic Housing Development Corp. has developed 1,800 affordable multifamily units and townhouses, and manages 3,500 units.

Although the sites are located in one of the city’s fastest-growing tax increment financing districts, Bonome says, the developers are seeking no city assistance for the projects.

The long-vacant sites have been used by “fly-dumpers” and are covered with weeds, says East Garfield Coalition president Clifton Cooper, whose group supports the projects.

Burnett recalls the city once had another developer, the only one to respond to a previous request for proposals, lined up to build on the sites. “For whatever reasons, it didn’t go,” Burnett says. “I think he was overloaded with other projects.”

Dorm days ahead for ‘mural building’
UIC students may be moving in to Ike landmark

By HAYDN BUSH, Staff Writer


UIC students could soon be housed in that funny-looking building off the Ike.

Near West
It’s long been a quirky, eye-catching diversion for motorists stuck in traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway. Now, an old West Loop warehouse adorned with a mural of a never-built Chicago civic center could be transformed a dorm serving UIC students a short walk down Morgan Street from campus.

The plan, developed by Smithfield Properties, calls for 145 units of student housing with a total of 442 beds, along with 71 parking spaces, at 1001-1057 West Van Buren. The building is currently occupied by Goodwill Industries, among other tenants.

While Smithfield Principal Robert Buono was unavailable for comment this week, the development company has applied for a Planned Development with the Chicago Plan Commission, which will vote on whether to approve the project at their June 16 meeting.

The project would be the first private residence hall aimed directly at UIC students. Michael Landek, interim vice chancellor for external affairs at UIC, said that the developer approached the school about a possible partnership. But with UIC planning its own 750-bed residence hall on its south campus, the university was not in a position to extend itself further financially, Landek said. Nevertheless, he said UIC enthusiastically supports the development.

“We certainly look forward to additional partnerships in any way we can put together,” Landek said. “...If we get to capacity, word of mouth will certainly direct students there.” Landek added that since several landlords service the community, UIC would likely steer clear of doing any marketing for any outside operators.

WLCO executive director Martha Goldstein met with the developer within the last month, and said this week that the building will be completely rehabbed on the inside, but that no exterior changes have been proposed. She said the developer plans to include first floor retail space, and would house three to four students in each room. Goldstein said the plan makes sense for the far southern end of the West Loop, and would enliven the are.

“This is a very good utilization of the buildings currently there,” Goldstein said.

Eric Sedler, president of the West Loop Community Organization, is also supportive of the redevelopment plan.

“We think it’s fine,” Sedler said. “We feel like it’s something beneficial to UIC, and we’re happy to support it.”

In 2003, the West Loop Community Organization opposed an effort to construct the Premier Center, a proposed, 29-story high rise just west of the mural building in 2003. That plan would have renovated the so-called mural building into a series of condominium lofts. Goldstein said the Premier Center developer ultimately sold the property to Smithfield. The current plan does not include any new buildings on the site.

We think it’s a better setup,” Goldstein said of the new plans, adding “we’re opposed to too much height in the neighborhood.

For now, Sedler said, the influx of a few UIC students into the West Loop does not pose any concern to the future development of the area. He added, though, that he would want to sit down with UIC and the University Village Association if a preponderance of student housing projects emerge north of the Ike.

“I’m not sure the prospect of a huge amount of student housing fits with what we’re trying to accomplish, “ Sedler said, adding “some level of housing is important to UIC.”

Goldstein agreed, saying she would like to monitor the success of the new project before any additional student housing proposals come forth.

“We’d like to see how this one goes,” Goldstein said.

As for the mural itself, it depicts a domed civic center dreamed up by Daniel Burnham in his famous 1909 Plan of Chicago. Burnham proposed constructing the never-built civic center at Congress and Halsted. The Civic Center was never built, and a related plan to construct a series of roads emanating from the civic center in every direction was later trumped by the construction of the Circle Interchange at the same location. The mural would apparently be left alone by the redevelopment plans.

The new convention center and hotel in Scumburg is now topped out at 17 stories. Some pics from 5/31....

From the south
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A64495ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A64497ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A644%3A5ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A644%3B3ot1lsi

from the northeast
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A672%3C3ot1lsi

from the north
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A672%3C5ot1lsi

Hotel Entrance
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A672%3C9ot1lsi

Convention Center
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp4%3Enu%3D3253%3E95%3A%3E5%3B7%3EWSNRCG%3D323297%3B973583nu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3A9%3A3523232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E232388%3A%3A64489ot1lsi

236-Unit Project Pitched for Industrial Site
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: June 16, 2005 07:04pm

CHICAGO-A 5.7-acre trucking distribution center in Brighton Park will be redeveloped with 140 townhouses and 96 condominiums. Dubin Residential’s $60-million planned development, which is likely to be completed in 2008, was endorsed Thursday by the plan commission.

Construction of the 236-unit project at 3600-36 S. Western Ave., near a Chicago Transit Authority Orange Line stop, could begin next spring, president and chief executive officer David Dubin tells GlobeSt.com. “This is a site that’s been cited for illegal dumping, and has become an eyesore or sorts,” says 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas. “(Western Avenue) is a great avenue that’s been neglected for some time. We’ve got to take a look at obsolete buildings and do something with them.”

Dubin Residential will replace two buildings totaling 12,000 sf with one- and two-bedroom condominiums, priced from $170,000 to the low $200,000 range, in three five-story buildings facing Western Avenue. The prolific multifamily developer is offering 36 condominiums to buyers qualifying under the city’s affordable housing initiative. The two- and three-bedroom townhouses, likely to sell for $250,000 to $300,000, will be arranged in seven clusters.

The site, which Dubin Residential still must acquire from Garmat, LLC, is zoned M2-1 but would be rezoned to RM4.5. The project’s density is 25% less than the new zoning would allow.

One downside to the site is its neighbors to the south and west—the Chicago and Alton Railroad and Chicago Junction Railway Co. lines. “It’s not a high-speed rail line by any means,” says Cardenas, noting single-family homes are north of Dunin Residential’s site. “We don’t get a lot of complaints from the residents, and there are houses that are closer to the tracks.” Nonetheless, Dubin will consider landscaping along the property’s south and west borders as a potential buffer.

236-Unit Project Pitched for Industrial Site
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: June 16, 2005 07:04pm

CHICAGO-A 5.7-acre trucking distribution center in Brighton Park will be redeveloped with 140 townhouses and 96 condominiums. Dubin Residential’s $60-million planned development, which is likely to be completed in 2008, was endorsed Thursday by the plan commission.

Construction of the 236-unit project at 3600-36 S. Western Ave., near a Chicago Transit Authority Orange Line stop, could begin next spring, president and chief executive officer David Dubin tells GlobeSt.com. “This is a site that’s been cited for illegal dumping, and has become an eyesore or sorts,” says 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas. “(Western Avenue) is a great avenue that’s been neglected for some time. We’ve got to take a look at obsolete buildings and do something with them.”

Dubin Residential will replace two buildings totaling 12,000 sf with one- and two-bedroom condominiums, priced from $170,000 to the low $200,000 range, in three five-story buildings facing Western Avenue. The prolific multifamily developer is offering 36 condominiums to buyers qualifying under the city’s affordable housing initiative. The two- and three-bedroom townhouses, likely to sell for $250,000 to $300,000, will be arranged in seven clusters.

The site, which Dubin Residential still must acquire from Garmat, LLC, is zoned M2-1 but would be rezoned to RM4.5. The project’s density is 25% less than the new zoning would allow.

One downside to the site is its neighbors to the south and west—the Chicago and Alton Railroad and Chicago Junction Railway Co. lines. “It’s not a high-speed rail line by any means,” says Cardenas, noting single-family homes are north of Dunin Residential’s site. “We don’t get a lot of complaints from the residents, and there are houses that are closer to the tracks.” Nonetheless, Dubin will consider landscaping along the property’s south and west borders as a potential buffer.

^Nice find, Butler. This is awesome news for the near southwest side. Also, it's near an Orange Line stop--spectacular.

I once started a thread complaining about the lack of TOD near orange-line stops. It's as if these developers are reading my mind (or visiting this forum :) )

Another example of how stupid some of Chicago's suburbanites are:

Warrenville stops downtown plan
By Harry Hitzeman
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, June 21, 2005

ADVERTISEMENT


Warrenville leaders Monday shot down a controversial plan to redevelop a stretch of the city’s downtown area with townhouses, condominiums and a splash of retail.

“People want to preserve the rural character of Warrenville,” said William Weidner, one of five aldermen who voted against the Warrenville Centre plan.

Joining him in voting no were: Aldermen James McGuire, Matthew Wiesbrock, Fred Bevier and David Schultz.

Aldermen Clare Barry and Dan Leonard voted in favor of the plan, which was unanimously recommended by the city’s plan commission earlier this year. Alderman George Safford was absent.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Barry said. “Just because these buildings don’t look like the other buildings that are on that street doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

Proposed by Aurora-based Dwight Avram Builders, Warrenville Centre contained seven luxury townhouses, 39 condominiums and 5,800-square-feet of retail space along 4.74 acres on the east side of Batavia Road, north of Warrenville Road.

Four homes and an old antique store would have been razed and the four buildings in the development would have been constructed with different facades to create the impression it was built over time like an old city block.

The plan also hinged upon the city and Avram agreeing on how much financial assistance the city would provide from a special taxing district designed to spur redevelopment.

Avram, who declined to comment after the no vote, had said the plan could not go forward without assistance from the Tax Increment Financing District, but he couldn’t specify exactly how much money was needed.

Some council members were uncomfortable with that unknown variable. “I feel like I’m buying a car. It looks real good and pretty, but I don’t know the price and you want me to sign the agreement,” McGuire said.

More than 60 residents packed city hall to protest the plan. Like most people that spoke, Linda Salek said the plan was just too big.

“This (project) changes the entire feel of our town,” Salek said. “I don’t mean to be facetious, but if we wanted to move to Naperville, we would have moved to Naperville. We moved to Warrenville because of its small-town charm.”

Others opposed to the plan feared setting precedent for multifamily housing, increased traffic and high density. They also complained the city granted numerous zoning exceptions to accommodate Avram and opposed the developer’s request for city funding.

A few people spoke in favor of it, saying the city has had a long-range goal of redeveloping the downtown area, Avram’s plan was the best so far and had been scaled back from nearly 70 units because of public concerns.

“This (project) changes the entire feel of our town,” Salek said. “I don’t mean to be facetious, but if we wanted to move to Naperville, we would have moved to Naperville. We moved to Warrenville because of its small-town charm.”

Others opposed to the plan feared setting precedent for multifamily housing, increased traffic and high density. s.
If you "little town" doesn't grow, the kids go. Maybe Chicago?

Oh my goodness ! Multi family housing... EVIL! It might attract criminals. Yes, its definitely a good idea to preserve and promote Warrenville's rural character. They should continue in their quest to preserve and promote Warrenville's rural character by tearing down all those office buildings along the I-88 corridor. I heard they are multi-tenant ( I know, its shockingly evil) , which is a dangerous precedent and may also lead to more crime.

6/22/2005 10:00:00 PM
Tall tales
Could a couple of felons really be building a 29-story tower in the West Loop?

By LAURA PUTRE, Editor

When the developer of a downtown condo tower is a convicted felon awaiting sentencing, all kinds of curious questions arise. For instance, will the guy have to wait in line for the phone to talk to contractors? And what effect does an orange jumpsuit have on securing financing?

Eric Sedler, president of the West Loop Community Organization, never expected he’d be wondering such things, but that was before he learned through a newspaper article that a pair of convicted felons might be building a 29-story high-rise in an area where 15 stories is usually enough to raise a fuss.

John Thomas and Louis Giordano, transplants from New York who were recently convicted in a billboard fraud scam, told the Sun-Times last week that they planned to build the tower at 1052 W. Monroe under the auspices of Carnegie Realty.

Sedler said he first learned about the development from a blurb in Crain’s Chicago Business prior to the Sun-Times article.

“Usually, the developers come to us,” Sedler said. “We learn about projects from them, not the paper. But in this case, what I know is based on what I read in the paper. We haven’t seen anything specific.”

The site of the proposed development is not zoned for a 29-story tower; developers would have to obtain a variance from the city. Current zoning in the immediate area limits building heights to 155 feet.

Sedler said the WLCO would likely oppose anything taller than zoning allows. “We have made our views very, very clear,” Sedler said. “And we’re hopeful that [Second Ward Ald. Madeline Haithcock] will support our position. She supports whatever her constituents want.”

But any worries may be premature. Martha Goldstein, the WLCO’s executive director, said she doubts that Giordano and Thomas have any claims at all on 1052 W. Monroe.

“I do not believe they are the developers,” Goldstein said. “This is their M.O. They throw things around, say they’re doing projects” that they aren’t involved in. Goldstein said the WLCO had plans to meet Thursday with another developer, Bob Horner of Winthrop Properties, regarding a possible development on the Carmichael’s site. Horner’s previous developments include 111 S. Morgan.

Phone messages for this story left for Thomas, Giordano, and Carmichael’s owner Mel Bechina were not returned. Horner also did not return calls seeking comment.

This Chicago highrise will soon be gone forever:

Henry Horner Homes 2, the last CHA highrise of this group on the West Side....

http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3253%3E95%3A%3E5%3B7%3EWSNRCG%3D3232%3A365663%3A3nu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E23239456572%3B3ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E23239456572%3B4ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/3443858323232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2344%3D%3A4%3B%3D6%3A8%3DXROQDF%3E23239456572%3B5ot1lsi

There are times when it gives as much pleasure to see some buildings coming down as it does to see others going up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't this development eventually be right next to the United Center station of the Paulina Connector (ie Circle LIne)?

Here it is (from www.globest.com )


Condos Planned for Parking Lot Near UC
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: August 10, 2005 09:53am

(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)


CHICAGO-While the once forlorn Near West Side neighborhood surrounding the United Center continues to see a redevelopment boom, a site at the northeast corner of Madison and Paulina streets has been a laggard. However, a developer has plans for a five-story, 16-unit condominium building with two ground-floor retail spaces.

The city is selling the 7,466-sf site to McVan, LLC, which has done several small-scale residential developments on the West Side, for its appraised value of $672,000. The partners’ $4.6-million development will receive no city assistance, says Kimberly Cooke of the department of planning and development.

The project could fuel additional development on privately-held properties now used as parking lots during Bulls and Blackhawk games, says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett. The site at 1660 W. Madison St. has been the subject of six previous proposals, including one that called for construction of a Walgreen’s pharmacy. “This is a piece of property right around the corner from my home,” Burnett says. “With all the traffic that comes from the United Center, the fences catch all the debris…My neighbors are very excited someone’s trying to do something.”


Each of the upper four floors will have a single one-bedroom unit, expected to sell for $250,000, as well as three two-bedroom units, ranging from $313,000 to $343,000. Although it was not required because no city assistance is being offered, one of the two-bedroom units will be available to buyers qualifying under the city’s affordable housing initiative.

The ground-floor spaces, expected to be priced at $260,000 each, are likely to be bought by a coffee shop chain and convenience store, Cooke says. Construction, which is expected to take 18 months, is being financed by a 90% loan from State Bank of Countryside, she adds.


“It’s a little more ambitious than anything we’ve done,” says developer John VanKooten. “I’m excited about doing a project in a neighborhood where I live.”

The last time I drove through the West Side this past April, I was struck by the amount of vacant land between the poor West Side neighborhood and the "Near West Side." It was like a demilitarized zone between two warring factions. I'm so excited by the potential... I wonder if the (relatively) new Technology "incubator' park has enough employees to start fueling residential development in that area.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/gaz-logo-200488439_Cop90642.gif

West Loop highrises raise concerns at meeting

By Monica Staton and Susan S. Stevens


(8/05/05) - Halsted Street in Greektown will keep its low-rise look even after a new development replaces the Chicago Christian Industrial League (CCIL), the developer said.
A new design specifies a 1 1/2 story façade on the site of the building that contains a store selling used clothing and furniture and a building that shelters women and children.
“Zoning is now such that it would only permit a lower building to be built,” said Eric Sedler, president of the West Loop Community Organization (WLCO), which has been pushing to reduce highrises in the area and which drew community residents to a June 27 meeting to discuss strategy.
The developer disagreed. “Mar-ket conditions, not zoning, led to the redesign,” said Rick Filler, development director of Harlem Irving Cos., which is buying the almost one full block from CCIL.
Two 11-story buildings will sit on the west side of the land at 123 S. Green St., where a shelter for men currently exists, Filler said. On Halsted, a 1 1/2 story structure will replace the three-story CCIL store with a scale “in keeping with the street,” he said.
The taller buildings will contain 180 condos, down from the 280 originally planned.
“There is a very strong majority of people in this neighborhood who don’t want highrises,” Sedler said. The WLCO is on alert because of other planned highrise projects; the group opposes construction of any development exceeding 115 feet high.


Highrise for Carmichael’s site?
One such project is a proposed 29-story building on the site of Carmichael Steakhouse, 1052 W. Monroe St, sought by the Carnegie Realty Group, which plans several other projects in the Loop and West Loop.
A “happy medium” is what Alderman Madeline Haithcock (2nd Ward) intends to achieve, according to her chief of staff, Robert L. Anderson, concerning the highrise.
The Carmichael site is not zoned for a 29-story tower; developers would have to obtain a variance from the City. Current zoning in the immediate area limits building heights to 155 feet.
Sedler said his group would oppose anything taller than current zoning allows.
Many residents would oppose a 29-story development, believing it would change the character of the neighborhood because changing the landscape invariably affects its intimacy. A West Loop resident attending the meeting cited Lakeview as a community that is growing yet retaining its community charm. Lakeview has a building height restriction of 80 feet.
“Perhaps West Loop residents are not aggressive enough” in using the law to mandate height restrictions,” said Mike Liddell, a West Loop resident. Neighbors have started a petition that will be sent to the City in a show of solidarity.


Developers’ pasts
Two members of the Carnegie group, John Thomas and Louis Giordano, are awaiting sentencing following their convictions in New York City for stealing credit-card numbers and forging documents. They could receive terms of up to five years.
“It’s not a positive,” Sedler said. He noted, however, that he has had “positive dealings” with a third developer in the group, Bob Horner, who erected an earlier building.
“We want developers who are well qualified, who have good track records, and who have the ability and the vision to put up something we can look at with pride in 50 years,” Sedler said.
Officials at Carmichael and Carnegie did not return repeated phone calls.
Other sites that concern Sedler and the WLCO are the Helix Camera building at 310 S. Racine St. and a vacant lot at 150 N. Halsted St. “Carmichael’s is the one that’s farthest along,” he said.
The organization also is keenly interested in the fate of the century-old office building and bank at 1 S. Halsted St., which MB Bank vacated last month when it moved into a new building across the street. “It’s a very important project,” Sedler said, though he has no idea what will be done with the building.
“There is no ordinance limiting building height in the West Loop,” Lori Bush, project manager with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, told the West Central Chamber of Commerce after a community meeting. “Basically, development rights (density, use, etc.) are dictated by the zoning of a particular site.”

The City reviews projects only if the applicant or developer seeks a zoning change and if the size of the project triggers a “planned development” under the zoning ordinance, Bush said. In that case, the community will join in reviewing the project.
“Very generally, the City’s neighborhood plan for density in this area is outlined in the Near West Side Area Land Use Plan, which calls for higher density development along the expressways (both along Halsted and Van Buren), stepping down to lower densities in the rest of the West Loop/Near West Area,” she said. “This neighborhood plan was approved in 2000 and involved input from area residents and business owners in addition to neighborhood community organizations, the aldermen, and various city agencies.”



Old infirmary to become park
To increase the open-space feel of the community, the Chicago Park District board has approved a new 1.4 acre park at Sangamon and Adams Streets. A five-story building used for storage by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) now occupies the site and will be torn down after park officials use $7.3 million in state and city dollars to buy the land from UIC.
The building once housed the Eye and Ear Infirmary; some preservationists have been trying to save the structure because of its architectural and historical value.
“The university originally acquired the property from the State of Illinois many, many years ago, and in its most recent useful life it served as offices for several programs of our College of Education, a home for UIC’s ROTC program, and as a storage depot for university property,” said Ellen M. Hamilton, UIC’s director of real estate planning and services.

“A number of factors led to our vacation of the building—functional obsolescence of the structure, consolidation of programs on campus, and acquisition of a central storage facility at 15th and Laflin Streets being the main considerations,” she said. “Right about the time the building became empty, CPD [Chicago Park District] approached us about acquiring the property.”

Gazette, Inc

Company: Op2mize
Address: 2315 Peachtree Lane, Suite 100
Northbrook, IL 60062
Web Site: http://www.op2mize.com
Phone: 312-543-2900


Headline: U.S. House Speaker Hastert Dedicates DuPage National Technology Park

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full Release: OAK BROOK, Ill. (September 29, 2005) – U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the DuPage National Technology Park in West Chicago, Ill.

Joined by state and local officials, Hastert addressed more than 200 guests and noted that the 800-acre master-planned, mixed-use business park will stimulate investment, advance research and bring quality, high-paying jobs to the region.

“This day is only possible because of the tireless efforts of individuals and organizations throughout government and the private sector,” Hastert said at the ceremony. “As a result of this collaborative effort, our region will continue to grow into a world-class center for technology and research, fuel our local economy and create good jobs for our residents.”

He continued: “The park’s fully improved roadways, utilities and landscaping were funded by a $34 million grant through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.”

“Gov. Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity have made a significant contribution in making this a state-of-the-art business park and a first-class home to the international technology community,” said Michael Mullen, CEO of CenterPoint Properties. “The park’s communication and technology infrastructure has been engineered from the ground up to provide the most advanced connectivity for a wide variety of users and offers an extraordinary environment for innovation and growth.”

“Our state’s tremendous medical, agricultural, industrial and environmental assets make us an ideal national hub for greater technology exploration and advancement. We’re committed to providing the aggressive leadership and support that builds on those great assets to create an environment where tech innovation can thrive like never before. The DuPage National Technology Park is expected to generate some 2,000 jobs and nearly $500 million in wages during its first phase and is an excellent model of how we can use innovative public/private partnerships to unleash the enormous potential of this industry and help ensure a stronger and better future for Illinois,” Gov. Blagojevich said.

“We’re excited and proud to be part of this successful public/private partnership with DuPage County, the DuPage Airport Authority and the State of Illinois,” Mullen said. “This park is a classic in intergovernmental cooperation and bipartisan cooperation. It took vision and leadership from both sides of the aisle to get to where we are today. I am proud to say today that the DuPage National Technology Park is open for business.”

Dan Goodwin, who chairs the DuPage Airport Authority, told the guests that the vision for the park sought to leverage the innovative strength of the two national laboratories in DuPage County – Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Laboratory – in order to create a premier location where public and private research and development facilities, high-technology- and science-based companies and multi-institutional education and training facilities could reside. Goodwin thanked DuPage National Technology Park board chair Gerald Gorski and executive director Jack Tenison for helping to develop an innovative business model to sustain the park in the future without continued reliance on federal or state funding.

CenterPoint was chosen as the master developer in December 2004, and with recent approvals, is ready to construct technology and industrial build-to suits. Key tenants expected at the park include Argonne National Laboratory’s Center for Advanced Technology, the NASA Illinois Commercialization Center, the University of Illinois Technology Research Education and Commercialization Center and the Illinois Technology Development Alliance.

DuPage County Chairman Robert Schillerstrom spoke about the unique opportunities for advanced research and praised collaborative efforts between government, the education community and the private sector. Schillerstrom noted that tenants planned for the park will develop new technologies that will focus on national security, energy technology, environmental implications and complex transportation and communications technologies. The park will bring together entities that have vast expertise in science, engineering, academia and the social sciences. Great emphasis will be on technology transfer and commercialization, according to Schillerstrom.

“This will be a dynamic location for research, applied technology and business. The high-quality employment opportunities coupled with the world–class research greatly enhances the quality of life for our region. For generations, the Chicago region has been the crossroads of the nation. Now, thanks to Hastert’s vision, Gov. Blagojevich’s commitment and the expertise of CenterPoint Properties, the DuPage National Technology Park will be the crossroads for advanced and applied technology for the world,” Schillerstrom said.

About CenterPoint
CenterPoint is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and the largest industrial property company in the 1.4-billion-square-foot Chicago regional market. As of June 30, 2005, the company owned and operated approximately 38 million square feet. The company and its affiliates owned or controlled an additional 3,342 acres of land upon which approximately 50 million square feet could be developed. The company is focused on providing unsurpassed tenant satisfaction and adding value to its shareholders through customer-driven management, investment, development and redevelopment of warehouse, distribution, light manufacturing buildings and logistics infrastructure. The first major REIT to focus on the industrial property sector, CenterPoint had a total market capitalization of approximately $3 billion as of June 30, 2005.

Contact:
Geoffrey Kasselman
gkasselman@op2mize.com
312-543-2900

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I 'm just not hearing enough stories of Denny Hastert's clout positively benefiting the area. (Say, nothing like Dan Rostenkowski.) Since the feds are now essentially 'maxing out the national credit card", hell, Denny better bring home the bacon. With CERN in Switzerland soon to surpass Fermilab as the largest particle accelerator, Fermilab's continued (inter)national prominence hinges on some next generation technologies that require serious multi-billion dollar federal funding. Given that Fermilab is within Denny's district, it would shock me if the Speaker of the f-ing House, the man 2 heartbeats away from Leader of the Free World, didn't provide for his own district in this case. Even if Denny's doesn't give a rat's arse about Chicago, if he helps DuPage out big time with federal tech dollars, the potential for the region as a whole is tremendous. As many have said before, Illinois lags well behind in venture capital funding *BUT* effectively the Feds are the biggest venture capital funder, especially for basic research that doesn't have any immediate business application, but whose seeds, when spread, can create many wealth-creating offspring. In this way, Illinois has a huge *POTENTIAL* advantage with Speaker Denny. Now it just has to be leveraged. Denny, bring it home baby, and the whole region should be kissing your feet!

^ Nobody's disagreeing with you.

Any super-accelorator lab or major high-tech office park is going to be built in suburbia regardless, so I'll take Chicago's suburbia over another city's.

But damn it, I still really hate spawl.

And I also hope the tech-incubator/office district being developed at IIT's campus will also be successful in attracting companies. I like it because it will fill up some empty land in that part of town and will also provide some much needed jobs there. Also, it's not sprawl--I've seen the designs and it looks alright, and it's right next to a Green Line station.

Vincentians construct affordable home for seniors

By PAUL STORER



(Center) Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman blesses a new Society of St. Vincent de Paul apartment complex for senior citizens Sept. 25 in West Chicago.



WEST CHICAGO—An assortment of members of the Joliet diocesan council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul along with supporters of the lay Catholic outreach society and community members gathered outside the entrance of the society’s new senior apartment complex Sept. 25 near downtown West Chicago. Spectators watched and applauded as Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman cut the ceremonial ribbon, marking the opening of the new affordable housing development for senior citizens in DuPage County.

While dedicating and blessing the new building, the bishop praised the society for their commitment to DuPage County senior citizens in need of affordable housing assistance. “I’m privileged to be here to bless this place,” he said to the people gathered. “I’m happy to pinch-hit for (Bishop Joseph L. Imesch),” he added. Speaking on behalf of the leader of the seven-county Joliet Diocese, Bishop Schlarman congratulated the society for their efforts in the creation of the new facility.

Situated in residential West Chicago, the 16,000-square-foot, two-story apartment complex features 17 one-bedroom apartment units as well as a parlor for residents along with a community craft room, laundry room and kitchen, said John Beaty, president of the Joliet diocesan council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. “We’ve spared no expense” to make the building safe, he added, talking about onsite security controls and systems in every apartment for instant communication with emergency services.

Addressing the people gathered for the dedication ceremony, Beaty praised the members of the society’s building committee as well as representatives from the city, state and county for their assistance. Obtaining the financial backing for the enterprise took nearly a decade, he said, noting that the society raised one-third of the funds for the $2.5 million project and garnered the remainder from representatives from DuPage County and the state of Illinois.

Describing the lengthy planning and development stages before the ceremony, Beaty explained that decades earlier members of the society had acquired four lots nestled on a one-acre parcel of property in the heart of West Chicago. “We wanted to do something with those lots for the poor,” he said. Surveying residents of DuPage County, the members of the society discovered that seniors were in need of affordable housing in West Chicago and surrounding communities. The results indicated that many people on a fixed income couldn’t afford sky-high rent and utility costs along with expensive medications, he added.

Promptly deciding to create an affordable housing development for seniors, members of the society began acquiring building permits and financial grants. In the meantime, Michael Fortner, mayor of West Chicago, suggested a property trade with the faithful group, mentioned Beaty. Ultimately accepting the mayor’s proposal, the group secured a comparable section of land in a more residential area on McConnell Avenue in West Chicago.

The original planned site of the apartment complex was located in the middle of the city’s business district, according to Fortner. “It just wasn’t an ideal place for a housing development for seniors.” Following the ceremony, the mayor said, “This is a great project.” He also praised the tenacity of the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

While the current market rent of an apartment home in West Chicago is over $700 per month, the elderly residents of the new Society of St. Vincent de Paul complex would only pay $535 per month, according to Beaty, a member of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Naperville.

“We’re not trying to make any profit,” said George Rudnicki, a member of the society’s building committee. Addressing the people gathered for the dedication, he praised committee members and others associated with the project for devoting their time and talents to the endeavor. He mentioned that many volunteers were experienced in engineering, accounting and interior design and worked hand-in-hand with the architects and contractors.

About six residents are expected to move in Oct. 1 when the building opens for operation, noted Rudnicki, a member of St. Dennis Parish in Lockport. Those slated to be served are residents 62 years old and over with annual incomes of $24,000 and lower, he said, describing the guidelines for living in the complex. Two seniors could theoretically live in one unit, he added, noting that the overall capacity is 34 residents.

Andrew Jaworski of Chicago-based HarleyEllis architecture firm was on hand for the special dedication and blessing ceremony. The architect for the project noted that each 560-square-foot apartment unit includes bedroom, kitchen and living space. He said that the units were designed to be easily converted into handicap-accessible living quarters upon request. Outside amenities include a patio, deck and porch, added the veteran architect.

During his formal remarks, Deacon Thomas Thiltgen of Corpus Christi Parish in Carol Stream explained the mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The spiritual director for the Joliet diocesan council of the society mentioned that members of the 30 parish conferences across the diocese offer outreach service “to those who are needy and suffering.”

Members and volunteers are currently operating six thrift stores throughout the Joliet Diocese. Proceeds benefit poor residents, Deacon Thiltgen said. In 2004, members of the international Catholic lay organization served nearly 700,000 people across the globe.

Members typically offer basic services, including clothing, furniture and financial assistance, “but this is unique,” said Deacon Thiltgen, talking about the Joliet diocesan group who for the first time delved into the realm of home construction. “We have a tendency to forget about the elderly. We need to help them,” he added following the ceremony.


http://www.catholicexplorer.com/explore4325/moxiepix/a278.jpg
(Center) Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman blesses a new Society of St. Vincent de Paul apartment complex for senior citizens Sept. 25 in West Chicago

http://www.catholicexplorer.com/explore4325/moxiepix/b1_278.jpg

^Dude, we don't need to be posting stuff about every little development. Especially something out in the suburbs that isn't even particularly urban

yeh true, i just remember descusing the senior living a week ago and i though this would add to it

Hastert is bringing it home for HIS home town especially. Take a trip there one day and you'll see all the new construction going on.

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City Endorses Zoning Change for North Lawndale Plans
By Mark Ruda
http://www.globest.com/news/399_399...o/139503-1.html
Last updated: October 24, 2005 03:35pm

CHICAGO-Five parcels in the 700 block of South Kedzie Avenue will be developed with market-rate and affordable housing, but the size of the project has yet to be set. New West Kedzie, LLC, the only developer to answer a request for proposals to build on the five properties totaling nearly 1.6 acres, is weighing plans calling for a 60-unit or 77-unit project.

New West Kedzie, LLC originally planned a 100-unit, $21.2-million project in August 2004, when it agreed to city-owned lots in the North Lawndale community for $1 million. New West Kedzie still is in line for a $3-million tax increment financing subsidy, according to Joseph Lopez of the Department of Planning and Development, to help offset the cost of setting aside 20% of the units for buyers qualifying under the city’s affordable housing initiative.

Regardless of the number of units, New West Kedzie needs a zoning change to allow for a project more than 50% larger than allowed. The plan commission recently endorsed the change, which would allow for a 126,000-sf development.

One-bedroom units would sell for $130,000 to $145,000, while the discount for affordable units would reduce the price to $103,000 to $105,000. Two-bedroom units would be priced from $195,000 to $215,000, but the discount for the affordable units would reduce prices to $110,000 to $119,000.

Plan commission members noted the prices, even for the market-rate units, could be considered affordable when compared to the overall market. “Given the community dynamics in Lawndale, these price points are more affordable,” Lopez adds.

The 77-unit proposal includes one single-family home, 22 three-unit buildings and 10 townhouses. The 60-unit plan includes seven three-unit buildings and 39 townhouses.

From Chicago Crain's Mag webpage:
West Side void: Ogden Ave.

1968: North Lawndale sustained severe damage when rioters torched and looted the area after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death.
North Lawndale has been a tough place to do business for 40 years. In 1966, economic conditions in the West Side community were so grim that Martin Luther King Jr. picked the predominantly black ward as the base for his northern U.S. civil rights movement. After Mr. King's assassination two years later, angry mobs torched area homes and many white-owned businesses. Most factories and businesses quickly fled, and North Lawndale's residents have for decades battled crime, poverty and urban blight.
Yet in the past three years new hope has flickered. To attract investment and businesses, the city has pumped millions of dollars into North Lawndale's infrastructure, including a $6-million fire station and a $10-million police headquarters. The community's CTA Blue Line stop has gotten a $16-million publicly funded renovation. Encouraged by that public spending, pioneering speculators and developers have snapped up vacant lots and built higher-end homes like the townhouse development at the corner of Ogden and Albany avenues adjacent to Douglas Park, where units sell for $350,000 a pop.
But the 41,000-resident neighborhood, which is five miles west of the Loop, still lacks a real commercial strip. Its Ogden Avenue thoroughfare is a patchwork of overgrown lots, community centers and churches. So in April, city planners solicited offers for mixed retail and residential developments on 60 sites scattered along a three-block stretch of Ogden between Albany and Pulaski Road.

In a sign that nothing is ever easy for this impoverished area, the city got only three proposals. It rejected all of them.

WHAT INVESTORS NEED
Developer interest in the city's plan was tepid at best — three hardly makes a crowd when it comes to commercial real estate bidding. More importantly, though, these investors were apparently unwilling to embrace the Ogden project on the city's terms. All three bidders — Holsten Real Estate Development Corp., Royal Imperial Group Inc. and the non-profit Lawndale Christian Development Corp. (LCDC) — demanded major public investments in the infrastructure of Ogden, such as road and sidewalk improvements.
That's not all they wanted. LCDC and Holsten also asked the city to add tax-increment financing (TIF) to the incentives already on the table, namely land writedowns, enterprise zone funding and market tax credits.
After rejecting all three proposals last month, the city said it was investigating the "possibility" of TIF funding, a process officials say could take up to two years to put in place. Once construction time is factored in, the promised renaissance of Ogden Avenue could be a long way off.
"It's not uncommon for the city to reject RFPs if they don't accomplish our goals," says Constance Buscemi, spokeswoman for the city's planning department. "We are looking at broadening the scope of the plan to have a greater impact on the community," Ms. Buscemi says.
Specifically, she says the city is considering making more public money available, by means of a TIF district, to improve the roads, the street lighting and signs and for "other upgrades."
It could be another five or more years before this part fo North Lawndale gets any kind of commercial strip, says Peter Skosey of the Metropolitan Planning Council, a non-profit agency that put together much of the research material for prospective bidders.
Part of the immediate problem, according to Peter Holsten, president of Chicago-based Holsten, was that the city misjudged the demand for so-called "market-rate" housing in that hardscrabble pocket of North Lawndale, which made the development too risky. "The presumption that people will buy market-rate housing in this area is a little ambitious given the state of the housing around Ogden," Mr. Holsten says.
"You're not going to get some yuppie to buy a condo on the corner of Central Park and Ogden," he says. "Market people are fickle. If it doesn't look appetizing, they're not going to buy."

2005: The area has struggled to attract residents and businesses. "Lawndale is a very challenged neighborhood that is slowly getting better, but it's not there yet," says Peter Holsten, president of Chicago-based Holsten Real Estate Development Corp.

WHAT NORTH LAWNDALE NEEDS
To make the low-income neighborhood more appetizing to investors, start with affordable housing, Mr. Holsten says. "You need to build critical mass in a low-income neighborhood, then higher-income people will come in because they feel safe."
The city's vision for the Ogden development was based on a blend of market-rate and affordable housing, but the $63-million development proposal submitted by Holsten called for all 200 units to be affordable housing, with the city shouldering 52% of the cost.
"Lawndale is a very challenged neighborhood that is slowly getting better, but it's not there yet," Mr. Holsten says. Without a TIF, there wasn't enough funding to make the deal work."
For its part, Chicago-based real estate company Royal Imperial Group was concerned that the project might be a hard sell with retailers, in part because they would be setting up shop in virgin territory, but also because the ward's hundreds of vacant lots means fewer consumers. Moreover, the average household income is just $18,000 a year.
"The demographics are not great. It's not a high-density area," says Mordechai Tessler, president of Royal Imperial Group.
"Retail needs to be near retail," Mr. Tessler says. "The first one is always more difficult." Royal Imperial's bid was rejected because it did not meet the city's "design requirements," according to a planning department report, but Mr. Tessler says the company remains interested in the project. "We're great believers in the potential of the West Side."
This latest failure to develop Ogden Avenue has left plenty of frustration. Says Mr. Holsten, "The alderman needs to get in there and jump up and down." (Alderman Michael D. Chandler (24th) did not respond to requests for comment for this article.)
"We're caught between a rock and a hard place," says Eric Strickland, executive director of the Lawndale Business & Local Development Corp. "Lawndale has all the right kind of assets. It's close to Midway Airport and is a short train ride from downtown. It's just a matter of time before it really (takes off), especially with the city expanding west the way it is," he adds.
Maybe so. But North Lawndale residents have heard that promise before. This economic renaissance, at least along desolate, downtrodden Ogden Avenue, will have to wait.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/1070/247560gy.gif
1968: North Lawndale sustained severe damage when rioters torched and looted the area after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/9549/og103105a7qx.gif The area has struggled to attract residents and businesses. "Lawndale is a very challenged neighborhood that is slowly getting better, but it's not there yet," says Peter Holsten, president of Chicago-based Holsten Real Estate Development Corp.

Royal Imperial's bid was rejected because it did not meet the city's "design requirements,"

^That's right--you bring us plans for a strip mall, and you're getting sent back to the drawing board

How is Austin? Aren't they getting the Walmart?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0511130327nov13,1,4720592.story?coll=chi-business-hed

This outdoors store is big. Really big. Really, really big.

By Mike Hughlett
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 13, 2005


ROGERS, Minn. -- Tom Mackie got a shopping list from his hunting buddies before he set out on the 123-mile trek from his home in the northwestern Wisconsin woods to this Minneapolis suburb.

His friends knew he was making a pilgrimage to Cabela's. And to the outdoors crowd--those into hunting, fishing or just feeling woodsy--Cabela's is a shrine.

The store mates big-box retail with old-fashioned spectacle. There's a "library" of rare guns. A 35,000-gallon aquarium stocked with native fish. A virtual zoo of stuffed critters: bears, deer, elk and so on. And for the kids, and a few adults, too, a shooting gallery.

The Chicago area may get a taste of Cabela's: The fast growing Nebraska-based chain is planning stores in Hammond, Ind., and Hoffman Estates.

To land a Cabela's, both cities are planning to pony up millions of dollars in tax breaks.

Tax breaks to retailers have long been controversial. But communities such as Hammond and Hoffman Estates justify them in Cabela's case because the firm's stores typically become tourist attractions.

"It definitely is a destination," said Rick Nelson, a Chicago-based stock analyst for Stephens Inc. He counted 21 different state license plates in the parking lot of the last Cabela's he visited.

"The brand has a cult following in the outdoor sector," Nelson said.

Cabela's, which went public in 2004, has 14 stores and expects to open four more next year, including one in Richfield, Wis., near Milwaukee.

Neither the Hammond nor the Hoffman Estates store is a done deal, and it's not clear whether Cabela's will proceed with both.

If either community succeeds it will be home to a store that offers up everything from fishing rods to women's sweaters to jumbo bags of beef jerky (a snack for the hunting shack). And it will be supersized.

The store in Rogers, Cabela's newest, is 188,000 square feet, the same size as the average Wal-Mart Supercenter and four times as big as a large Best Buy store.

Last weekend the Cabela's in Rogers was teeming. Traffic into its parking lot was so heavy that several Cabela's workers served as flagmen to keep things running smoothly.

Mackie, a retired industrial arts teacher, arrived in the early afternoon. He had driven from Spooner, Wis., meeting up with his son Rob, a theater company carpenter who lives in Fargo, N.D.

Together at Cabela's they were preparing for the Nov. 19 opening of Wisconsin's deer hunting season.

Their shopping cart was brimming: blaze orange jackets, hand warmers, ammunition, even a new gun for "black powder" hunting. "It makes you a better hunter," Tom Mackie said of the black powder rifle, a modern variant of the muzzleloader.

Mackie has been hunting for 48 of his 60 years, and he handed on the tradition to his son. Sure, they could've geared up for deer season a lot closer to home. But they wanted an outing.

"I never knew there were that many types of antelope," Rob said as he looked up at a herd of mounted heads.

The Cabela's in Rogers has about 400 items of taxidermy. "Conservation Mountain," a two-story concrete mountain complete with waterfalls, is studded with 100 full-size animals in various reposes.

The "African Diorama," a savanna setting, features 46 more, including lions and kudus. "Stuff that you watch on television, here you get to see in real life," Tom Mackie said of the displays.

Neil Stern, a retail consultant with Chicago's McMillan/Doolittle, called Cabela's "part museum, part entertainment complex, part store."

Few other retailers take the spectacle approach to Cabela's level, Stern said. But one that does, Bass Pro Shops, just happens to be Cabela's biggest competitor.

Bass Pro is also expanding, often with the help of tax breaks. The company, which already has a store in Gurnee, is planning two more area outlets, one in Bolingbrook, another in Portage, Ind.

Cabela's and Bass Pro are essentially packaging and selling the outdoors experience. To do that successfully on such a large scale they must appeal to "the guy who does hunt and fish and those who want to look like they do," Stern said.

Range of customers

In other words, they need to build a big enough tent for everybody from Lenny Carlson to Laurie Marchetti.

Carlson, a land surveyor, and his 12-year-old son Cody were checking out a portable ice-fishing house last weekend at the Rogers Cabela's. They sat inside the tentlike shelter, testing the cushy-ness of its padded bench.

When you spend a day sitting on a frozen lake, as ice fishers do, "it's got to be comfortable or it's not worth it," Lenny said.

Fishing. Hunting. Camping. Carlson, who lives in the nearby suburb of Ramsey, embraces them all, and regularly. "Everything I do is here," he said, motioning to the store beyond the ice house.

Marchetti, a dental hygienist, admits she's not much of a hunter or fisher, but she does like the outdoors. Last weekend at Cabela's, Marchetti bought a pair of shoes for herself and a jacket as a Christmas present.

She and a friend, both from Wheaton, Minn., near the South Dakota border, drove to the Twin Cities to see a Vikings football game and to visit Cabela's.

"We have to cover the whole store. It's our mission to check it out," Marchetti said outside the furnishings department, where a cabin motif rules and deer-antler light fixtures and wildlife art are plentiful.

"They have some fabulous Terry Redlin prints over there," Marchetti said, referring to the well-known outdoors painter.

Marchetti and Carlson were making their first trips to Cabela's in Rogers, but they have visited the company's store in Owatonna, Minn., a city 65 miles south of Minneapolis.

The Owatonna store, built in 1998, was one of the first Cabela's outlets beyond the company's original location in Sydney, Neb. Initially, Cabela's located its stores in non-metropolitan areas like Owatonna.

Now it's putting stores closer to big cities. The reason: to be closer to customers and to counter competitors like Bass Pro, which also have metro area stores, analysts say.

Wherever Cabela's builds a store, analysts say, the decision is based on extensive research of its customer database.

Cabela's, founded in 1961, has long been known for its mail-order catalog. Even today, direct sales--via the catalog and the Internet--are the company's anchor. In the first nine months of 2005, direct sales were 67 percent higher than in-store revenues.

The company plants its stores where catalog sales are high, analysts say. And wherever Cabela's wants to go, it is often welcomed with a generous subsidy package, usually involving tax breaks.

For a store in Buda, Texas, Cabela's reportedly got a total incentive package of $61 million. In Ft. Worth it was about $40 million, and in Hamburg, Pa., $27 million.

In Hoffman Estates, incentives could reach $40 million, including infrastructure improvements and tax breaks.

Hammond is putting together a $65 million deal, including local property tax and state sales tax incentives, said Edward Krusa, a consultant working for Hammond. The city part of the deal is done; now Cabela's is negotiating with the state.

The $65 million price tag includes benefits for businesses expected to locate near Cabela's. Hammond anticipates that another 400,000 square feet of retail space, including hotels and restaurants, will spring up near Cabela's, Krusa said.

Those projections are based on businesses that have sprouted near Cabela's stores in other states.

Cabela's has made a commitment to Hammond. Earlier this month, it bought--for $14 million--the Woodmar Country Club and its 93 acres. Cabela's plans to put a store there, and sell much of the land for retail development.

Krusa said he believes Cabela's is likely to choose only one site in the Chicago area. "We understand there is still a horse race between Hammond and Hoffman Estates."

California-based retail expert George Whalin agreed, saying Cabela's is probably trying to see where it can land the best tax incentive deal.

Cabela's spokesman John Castillo said the company is planning stores at both sites.

Tax breaks controversial

Tax breaks for retailers like Cabela's have long been controversial because they are seen more as redistributing wealth within a region, rather than creating it.

Theoretically, the perfect business to subsidize is one with sales predominantly outside of the region in which it is located--like a car factory. Retailing, though, tends to be a predominantly regional business. Subsidizing one retailer in a region can hurt another one nearby.

Officials in cities like Hammond and Hoffman Estates justify incentives for Cabela's because it draws so many people from beyond the regional market.

Cabela's estimates that its metro-area stores will still draw 50 percent of their customers from beyond a 100-mile radius.

Tax incentives are important for Cabela's, said several analysts.

"It's one of the things that makes [its stores] work economically," said Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants.

Stephens Inc.'s Nelson agreed. "It certainly helps return on capital for the stores."

Cabela's outlets cost $40 million to $80 million to build; the Hammond store will reportedly cost $78 million. Whalin said a Wal-Mart would probably cost less than half that much.

The higher costs stem from Cabela's various displays. Also, those displays gobble up space that would normally be devoted to merchandise, thus pushing down sales per square foot--an important measure in retailing.

For all of Cabela's push to build more stores, and for all of the cities salivating over the company, investors appear to want Cabela's to slow down a bit. That's the conclusion of stock analyst Chris Svezia at Susquehanna Financial Group in Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Cabela's stock debuted close to $25 a share in 2004 but has fallen to about $16 in the past few months.

Investors are worried that the number of new outdoors stores--Cabela's, Bass Pro and others--is growing at a much faster clip than demand for their products, Svezia said.

Meanwhile, Cabela's sales at stores open at least a year--another important measure in retailing--have been declining. Wall Street wants more than anything to see the company address that weakness, Svezia said.

Taking a stand for affordability

By Ed Finkel


Fifty-seven lower-income families and several locally owned small businesses

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/LaEstancia2749-61inside.jpg

The building depicted in this rendering will be built on the southeast corner of Division and California in the next year, on what's now a gravel lot where Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. hosted a groundbreaking for its La Estancia development on Oct. 20.


will be able to stay in Humboldt Park no matter how ferocious gentrification becomes thanks to the mixed-use La Estancia along Division Street.

Developer Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 20 at the southeast corner of Division and California, on what's now an empty lot (see sidebar for details on its three locations). On that corner there will be a 30-unit apartment building with arched-window storefronts at street level. Two other buildings will rise on Division just west of Kedzie, also with a mix of apartments and stores.

"We have come a long way in the effort to take the responsibility to stabilize our community. We will not be

A crowd of about 150 residents, business owners and other supporters cheered the groundbreaking for La Estancia, the first mixed-use development undertaken by Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp.


In addition to Bickerdike and NNNN/HPEP, the Division Street Business Development Association (DSBDA) is also helping to promote the project, a key plank of the NCP Quality-of-Life Plan in Humboldt Park.

The housing-related strategy at the center of that plan aims to preserve affordability for current residents, who face the possibility of being pushed out of a neighborhood in which their families have lived, in some cases, for generations.


"This is a place for working families. This is a place where we provide them an opportunity to stay in their community," said Alderman Billy Ocasio (26th) of La Estancia, on which Bickerdike is working in partnership with Near Northwest Neighborhood Network/Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership (NNNN/HPEP) and Division Street Business Development Association (DSBDA).


But they know what has happened in Wicker Park and Bucktown to the east, and they have attempted to make a stand through affordable housing and the Puerto Rican-themed Paseo Boricua, which stretches along Division from Western Avenue through California Avenue. The Paseo has built a lively atmosphere and record of success with bakeries, shops, and the space that hosts the arts-oriented youth group Batey Urbano.

Judith Diaz and Janeida Rivera of that group received a roaring reception during the groundbreaking ceremony by performing hip-hop-style poems – one in English and one in Spanish – that gave the youth perspective on gentrification and other issues affecting Humboldt
Chicago Housing Commissioner Jack Markowski, shown chatting with Bickerdike Executive Director Joy Aruguete, praised Bickerdike for its devotion to the Humboldt Park community -- and its reliable record of development.

On this breezy Thursday morning the site at 2753 W. Division St. had nothing but gravel and a small patch of dirt with about a dozen shovels, with attached lettering that spelled out L-A E-S-T-A-N-C-I-A, which literally means "place to stay" but loosely translates as "the stand."

But in about a year, the location will be the anchor building for the project, located at the west end of the Paseo. The building will be architecturally tied to the rest of the Paseo through decorative archways on the commercial spaces that recall the Puerto Rican flag archways at both ends of the street as well as wrought-iron
La Estancia also will include this building at 3220 W. Division ...

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/LaEstancia3220Winside.jpg

Window framing similar to that which adorns many Division Street businesses.

Both draw from Spanish colonial architecture found throughout Puerto Rico, said Raul Echevarria, NCP outreach worker.

The 57 apartments total at the three sites will be rental units aimed at families earning 50 percent or less of the area median income. Each will have off-street parking, in-unit laundry, central air and high-speed Internet wiring. Rents will range from $497 to $770 per month.

Figures from the Chicago Rehab Network show that more than one-third of renters in Humboldt Park currently pay more than 35 percent of their income in rent.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/LaEstancia3248Winside.jpg

... and this building at 3248 W. Division, both of which will feature ground-floor retail and three stories of apartments affordable to those earning 50 percent of the median income.


"This is a place for working families. This is a place where we provide an opportunity for them to stay in their community,"said Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th), who recalled that he once received a proposal for a 30-unit, high-end condominium building on the same site -- a concept that drew a chorus of boos from the 150 or so people in attendance.

The commercial space will be marketed and managed by DSBDA. "This community is making it happen," said Enrique Salgado, executive director of DSBDA. "All of us on Paseo Boricua welcome it." The project will create "more businesses on Division Street that cater to us – not [sell] a $5, $6 cup of coffee."


The ends of the Paseo Boricua, a Puerto Rican-themed stretch of Division Street from California through Western avenues, are draped with Puerto Rican flag archways.

Bickerdike Executive Director Joy Aruguete thanked "the many [organizations and individuals] who made this a reality," including Ocasio, NNNN/HPEP and the DSBDA as well as several funders.

These include the city departments of Housing and of Planning and Development, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, J.P. Morgan Capital Corp., the National Equity Fund, Northern Trust Co. and LISC.

"La Estancia is a truly collaborative initiative," she said, adding that it's also Bickerdike's first mixed-use development after building 1,000 units of housing in 38 years. Construction will be handled by Humboldt Construction Co., a subsidiary of Bickerdike.


The youth-oriented arts group Batey Urbano is a mainstay of the Paseo Boricua.

Department of Housing Commissioner John Markowski said the development would be his department's tenth project with Bickerdike over the last 20 years. He praised the agency for keeping a strong community perspective and being a reliable affordable housing developer.

"That's why all of these funders and investors are willing to participate. We all know these developments are going to be well built, on budget and well managed over time," he said. "We know that redevelopment is coming. We have to make sure we provide affordability for people who have been here for the long term."


Teenage poets from Batey Urbano youth group electrified the crowd with their staccato critiques of gentrification.

A handful of protesters at the corner of Division and California expressed opposition to the project.

The ceremony closed with the speakers and other area leaders donning Bickerdike hard hats for the symbolic churning of the dirt, which prompted applause, cheers and a shout of "Viva La Estancia!"

"We have hit a grand slam. The Sox need us on Saturday," Medina said jokingly, on the eve of the World Series. "This is a celebration of one of the most extraordinary accomplishments this community has been able to put forth."

These type of developments that TUP posted make me more excited then any DT project. These three particularly interest me due to the dominant opposition of ANY new housing project that may deal with gentrification in the Puerto Rican community ( trust me I've gone to meetings, when in favor of any new development I was almost chased out of the room). When I was younger Bucktown was predominantly Puerto Rican and Mexican, so you could understand the residents fear of them being priced out in the near future... Still I don't see any problem with these projects and hopefully they'll bring some more needed life to this stretch of Division.

Park's popular, so is its neighborhood
The blocks around Garfield Park and Conservatory are attracting developers and home buyers.

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published November 20, 2005

West Sider Clifton Cooper remembers "there was time when we couldn't get developers to cross Western Avenue. They didn't see potential" in his neighborhood, known for its namesake Garfield Park and Conservatory, which have attracted visitors from outside the neighborhood.

Now the blocks immediately surrounding the park and conservatory, refurbished by the Chicago Park District, are attracting developers and home buyers.

As president of the East Garfield Park Coalition, Cooper consults with developers building in the area, he said in an interview this month.

Roughly 30 percent of the land on blocks immediately around Garfield Park are vacant, according to Ald. Ed Smith (28th), who says that since 1994 when the Chicago Park District began making improvements to the 185-acre park, its lagoon, conservatory and surrounding streets, developer investment has steadily increased.

"We are now getting to a point where we can be selective," Smith said in an interview at City Hall earlier this month. "We are trying to use those improvements, and improvements to [Washington and Warren Boulevards], and to the Green Line station as a catalyst that will draw a mix of development to the area. We are looking for mixed-income and commercial projects to go up on blocks around the conservatory," Smith said. The CTA's "L" station was relocated to Central Park Avenue and Lake Street so passengers can walk to the conservatory.

The city owns most of the vacant lots in the area, Smith said. "Because of the improvements to the Green Line, which is near Washington and Warren Boulevards, the vacant lots on those two streets are now all earmarked for development," Smith said.

Developer Mike Clarke has been building residential projects in the area for the last four years. "That neighborhood is one of best kept secrets in city," said the president of Clarke Construction LLC. "East Garfield is a little like Bronzeville," he said. "It's been put down for so long and now it is coming back."

Clarke recalls how he got into the neighborhood. "A gentleman who lived in the area was moving to back to Tennessee and approached me about buying his land. A woman told me, `Don't buy there, that area is rough,'" he said. Since then Clarke has built several condo projects that sold out quickly, and a 50-unit apartment building.

Clarke has scheduled spring construction for the 33-unit Homes of East Garfield, on Washington and Warren between Central Park and Western Avenues. Sixteen of the single-family homes and 2-flats will be built under the Chicago Department of Housing's New Homes for Chicago Program. He plans to sell the affordable homes for $190,000 to $240,000, with market-rate homes starting near $300,000.

"In spring we will also start building a 7-unit condo building at 3301 Washington Blvd., [starting at $220,000], and six townhouses at Warren Boulevard and Sacramento Avenue that will start at $325,000," Clarke said.

The ambience of Washington Boulevard and the improvements to the park and conservatory drew Chicago developer Herb Eck to the area. "We think all those improvements are an indication that things are changing in the area for the better," he said. He and partner Michael Silver, a developer and builder with Chicago-based In/Site Architecture, are building Washington on the Park, a development of three-flats at 3315-25 W. Washington.

Like Clarke, Eck and Silver worked closely with Cooper and members of the East Garfield Coalition. The coalition pushes for developments that complement the historic masonry housing stock that survived the decades of under-investment, Cooper said. "We really want single-family houses and townhouses to go up on these vacant lots, but if they want to build condos. We try to get them to at least build those condos in a building that looks like a single-family residence," Cooper said.

Silver designed buildings "that look like single-family homes, 3 1/2-story masonry buildings with mansard roofs," Eck said. "Each building will have a duplex unit on the first floor and basement level, and simplex units on the second and third floors." Pre-construction prices start at $249,900 and $274,900, Eck said.

At Conservatory Manor, 102 N. Hamlin Ave., a firm headed by Chicago developer Bernard Berry is converting a 41-unit single-room-occupancy hotel into 19 condos. The 2- and 3-bedroom condos are being sold for $120,000 to $279,000.

Ald. Smith expects that conservatory traffic will create momentum for economic development -- business for mom-and-pop shops that he hopes will open up on scattered lots throughout the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, the attention has increased area land value. "I think that in the last four years that I have been building in this neighborhood," Clarke said, "the cost of vacant land has gone up about 35 percent."

I just passed by Garfield Park this afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised of the changes in that area. It used to be a scary area to drive through, years ago. Now, there are some new housings scattered all over. Garfield Park is grateful enough to have Mike Clarke. Hopefully, there will be more developers with courage and visionary like Clarke in helping that area as the residential boom is stretching westward from the Loop.

Senior, Affordable Housing Plan Wins Endorsement
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: November 21, 2005**08:13am


CHICAGO-Hispanic Housing Development Corp. has a date next month with the Illinois Housing Development Authority, when it hopes to obtain one more piece of financing needed for a $23-million affordable and senior housing project in the 2600 block of W. North Avenue. Plans to build 56 affordable rental units for senior citizens as well as renovate a four-story warehouse to create 27 more affordable units were endorsed Thursday by the plan commission.

In addition to more than $2.4 million in tax increment financing as well as money from the city’s department of housing, Hispanic Housing Development hopes to use low-income housing tax credits to finance about 65% of the cost of the project, according to vice president of development Mark Kruse.

Hispanic Housing Development is not using money from the city’s affordable housing fund, however, as its plans have been in the works before the pool of money was created, an attorney for the group says.

Nonetheless, gentrification of the Humboldt Park area has increased the need for affordable housing. “This neighborhood has undergone an amazing transition,” says 1st Ward Alderman Manuel Flores. “It highlights and emphasizes why we need this type of housing here. You’re not only providing affordable housing, but also senior housing.”

The affordable units are being built on five parcels totaling 1.1 acres. The warehouse at 2646-54 W. North Ave., which has been described as “a hotel occupied by pigeons,” will be preserved and renovated. The new construction will be added to lots from 2634-44 W. North Ave. Hispanic Housing Development has spent $2.6 million to acquire most of the sites it needs for the project, according to property records.

http://www.globest.com/news/418_418/chicago/140384-1.html

Park's popular, so is its neighborhood
The blocks around Garfield Park and Conservatory are attracting developers and home buyers.


Music to my ears; a neighborhood with tons of vacant land is finding itself on the rebound..with a rail station being one of the main catalysts. Fantastic!

found in the op-ed section of the trib today


Preserving Pilsen

Published November 23, 2005


For more than a century, the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side has served as a port of entry to thousands of immigrants lured by the promise of well paying jobs. German and Irish workers first settled the community in the 1840s. The Slovaks-- who gave the community its name--became the dominant group for most of the 20th Century. More recently, Mexican-Americans have come to call this neighborhood home.

But no matter the group's origin, Pilsen has welcomed wave after wave of immigrants who have come to realize the promise of this country through hard work. Their pride can be seen in the ornate stone facades of buildings along 18th Street and in the brick and frame two-flats that give the community its sturdy feel.

Each group has added to the neighborhood. The early stoneworkers left behind their opulent handiwork in the architecture. The lively culture of the Mexican-American people is now evident in restaurants, shops and the Mexican Fine Arts Museum.

The neighborhood, and the Mexican-American community as a whole, is in flux again. But for the first time in Pilsen's history it isn't a new immigrant group arriving. This time it is gentrification and what a recent study called "Latino suburbanization" that is changing the neighborhood's role as a port of entry.

These changes have prompted Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) to seek state and federal landmark status for the Pilsen and adjoining Heart of Chicago neighborhoods. He will go before the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency in early December to ask that the area be made the state's largest historical district. If state officials approve, 3,987 properties could be eligible for historic status. He also seeks to put the neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. All this is designed to encourage families to stay and invest in Pilsen.

State landmark status would freeze property taxes for eight years for the owner of a home, building, condo or cooperative if the owner lives in the structure. To qualify for the tax break, the owner would have to spend 25 percent of the property's assessed value on improvements.

After eight years, property taxes would rise gradually. If a dwelling was sold during the eight-year period, the tax benefit would not be transferred to the new owner.

The proposal has the backing of City Hall and local community groups, such as The Resurrection Project, the 18th Street Development Corp. and the Pilsen Neighbors Community Council.

The metropolitan Chicago area is changing rapidly. Hispanics are the largest racial or ethnic group and many new Hispanic immigrants are choosing the suburbs rather than the city, according to a new study by the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

More Hispanics now live in the suburbs than in the city. And those 862,000 Hispanic suburbanites have impressive economic muscle, the report concluded. From 1990 to 2003, the aggregate household income for Chicago-area Hispanics increased from $5.8 billion to $20 billion. About a third of the Hispanic households have incomes of $60,000 or more and one in five have incomes of $75,000 or more.

From 2000 to 2003, nearly half of the total number of people who bought owner-occupied homes in the metropolitan area were Hispanic.

Solis and other leaders of Pilsen understand that they are in an intense competition with the vast Chicago region for immigrants, old and new. They have a solid proposal to encourage people to live, work, raise families and spend in their neighborhood.

found in the op-ed section of the trib today


Preserving Pilsen

Published November 23, 2005


More Hispanics now live in the suburbs than in the city. And those 862,000 Hispanic suburbanites have impressive economic muscle, the report concluded. From 1990 to 2003, the aggregate household income for Chicago-area Hispanics increased from $5.8 billion to $20 billion. About a third of the Hispanic households have incomes of $60,000 or more and one in five have incomes of $75,000 or more.

From 2000 to 2003, nearly half of the total number of people who bought owner-occupied homes in the metropolitan area were Hispanic.

Solis and other leaders of Pilsen understand that they are in an intense competition with the vast Chicago region for immigrants, old and new. They have a solid proposal to encourage people to live, work, raise families and spend in their neighborhood.
Apparently Solis sees this shift diluting the Hispanic political clout, making this a cool move.

Condo Developers Buy Parking Lot Adjacent to United Center
By Mark Ruda (http://www.globest.com/news/421_421/chicago/140527-1.html)
Last updated: November 23, 2005 01:59pm

CHICAGO-One of the remaining parking lots used by Bulls and Blackhawks fans is being sold to a group planning to put up an eight-unit condominium building. A partnership will pay the city $169,100, the appraised value, for a 2,487-sf lot at 1641 W. Warren Blvd., which it will combine with an adjacent 5,000-sf site to build its $3-million project.


“This is the first step in moving the parking lots closer to the United Center,” says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, before the land sale was endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission. “It’s been an eyesore on that block.”


It also was a site the city did not realize it had for several years, Burnett adds. Red Top Parking, a local company that rents parking spaces on lots for sporting events, had been using the lot with the mistaken belief it owned the property, he adds.


Three-bedroom, two-bath units ranging from 1,600 sf to 2,000 sf, and priced from $350,000 to $450,000, will go up on the site about three blocks from the United Center, says department of planning and development project manager Kimberly Cook. However, the plans by 1641 LLC, led by Victor Hotel developer Frank DiBuglione, drew criticism from community development commission member Anne Kostiner, a former developer on the Near West Side. Specifically, Kostiner criticized plans by architect and investor Antonio Fanizza that called for the rear of the building to be clad in cinder block, rather than face brick.


“We need to change that,” Kostiner says. “There is a $1.1 million profit here. So there’s no reason at all not to bring it up a step.”

The partnership has lined up $2 million in financing from Amcore Bank. The 5,000-sf site at 1637-39 W. Warren Blvd., owned by DiBuglione, was acquired last year for $400,000, according to property records. The site includes a 1,914-sf building that will be razed.

Condo Developers Buy Parking Lot Adjacent to United Center
By Mark Ruda (http://www.globest.com/news/421_421/chicago/140527-1.html)
Last updated: November 23, 2005 01:59pm

CHICAGO-One of the remaining parking lots used by Bulls and Blackhawks fans is being sold to a group planning to put up an eight-unit condominium building. A partnership will pay the city $169,100, the appraised value, for a 2,487-sf lot at 1641 W. Warren Blvd., which it will combine with an adjacent 5,000-sf site to build its $3-million project.


“This is the first step in moving the parking lots closer to the United Center,” says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, before the land sale was endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission. “It’s been an eyesore on that block.”


It also was a site the city did not realize it had for several years, Burnett adds. Red Top Parking, a local company that rents parking spaces on lots for sporting events, had been using the lot with the mistaken belief it owned the property, he adds.


Three-bedroom, two-bath units ranging from 1,600 sf to 2,000 sf, and priced from $350,000 to $450,000, will go up on the site about three blocks from the United Center, says department of planning and development project manager Kimberly Cook. However, the plans by 1641 LLC, led by Victor Hotel developer Frank DiBuglione, drew criticism from community development commission member Anne Kostiner, a former developer on the Near West Side. Specifically, Kostiner criticized plans by architect and investor Antonio Fanizza that called for the rear of the building to be clad in cinder block, rather than face brick.


“We need to change that,” Kostiner says. “There is a $1.1 million profit here. So there’s no reason at all not to bring it up a step.”

The partnership has lined up $2 million in financing from Amcore Bank. The 5,000-sf site at 1637-39 W. Warren Blvd., owned by DiBuglione, was acquired last year for $400,000, according to property records. The site includes a 1,914-sf building that will be razed.



This is great. I went to the Bulls game (for the first time since the Jordan era) a week or so agao and I was just thinking there are too many darn parking lots around this place. It would be cool to get some dense uranity around the stadium to give it a cohesive connected feel from stadium to neighorhood. Hopefully the Circle line will go a long way in that as well.

^ I was hoping for more bars/sports shops/restaurants to hang out before and after the games at United Ctr.

You're right there are so many parking lots. Hope they will be disappearing fast.

^Actually, a few months ago there was also an article about a developer planning a multi-level condo building (5-6 stories, I believe?) on one of the vacant lots near United Center. That building would also have ground-level retail.

Once the Paulina Connecter/Circle Line is complete, that area will be alright in my book

Thu Dec 8 15:03:05 2005 Pacific Time

University of Illinois at Chicago City Design Center Updates Development Plan for Burnham
CHICAGO, Dec. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- The near southeast suburb of Burnham can renew itself by leveraging its riverfront, marina and golf course to attract retail and residential development, according to a plan by the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Fifteen graduate students from UIC's City Design Center conducted a year-long study for a strategic plan to improve Burnham's retail and waterfront districts. Brent Ryan, assistant professor of urban planning, and Rachel Weber, associate professor of urban planning, supervised the study and planning process.

"Burnham's retail was spatially dispersed. It lacked a distinct identity," said Ryan, co-director of the City Design Center.

"Many older Chicago suburbs have codes written for the type of development popular during the 1950s. It's important for them to reevaluate how commercial areas are built to create an attractive, distinct shopping district."

The students conducted site visits, surveyed businesses and customers, and analyzed retail markets to evaluate Burnham's built and natural environments, current and potential retail mix, transportation and fiscal conditions.

They met with village officials and employees to present their ideas, which include new homes along the Grand Calumet River, an expanded marina, a tree-lined boardwalk, a public park, a full-service restaurant, new retail businesses, indoor recreation facilities, more services at the Burnham Woods Golf Course clubhouse, transit-oriented development near the Hegewisch commuter station, and an entertainment and historic corridor.

As recommended by the students, the village recently hired a staff planner to implement such initiatives, said Burnham Mayor Robert Polk. Polk, Ryan and Weber will present the plan to village trustees at a Dec. 13 meeting.

"This administration is eager to pursue initiatives for economic development, and this plan offers fresh, innovative ideas," Polk said.

"Burnham has natural, historic, and recreational facilities and good transportation to strengthen its potential," Ryan said. He noted that the plan allows Burnham to protect its natural areas while enhancing public access to the waterfront. The plan also suggests bicycle paths that would connect the shopping district to the regional Burnham Greenway Trail System.

Weber, an expert on tax-increment financing districts, said a community must assess both its design and its economics to make a business district competitive.

"A planning process that examines either the economic or physical factors alone doesn't address the wide range of issues facing inner-ring suburban communities today," she said.

Weber and Ryan started the City Design Center's Urban Business Districts program in 2003 to aid older suburbs while training student urban planners. The program has produced comprehensive retail plans for Worth, Ill.; Whiting, Ind.; and the Howard/Morse district in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

UIC's City Design Center is a research, education, and service program dedicated to design in the public interest. It is part of the College of Architecture and the Arts and is affiliated with the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. For more information, visit http://www.uic.edu/aa/cdc/files/home1.html .

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

- - - -

CONTACT: Anne Brooks Ranallo, UIC Media Relations, 312-355-2523, aranallo@uic.edu

SUMMARY: Mature suburbs such as Burnham, 20 miles south of downtown Chicago, can attract new retailers and housing by leveraging natural, historic, recreational and transportation facilities, according to a plan by the University of Illinois at Chicago's City Design Center.

Daley plans more borrowing for W. Side movie studio
December 16, 2005
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-studio16.html
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Advertisement

The Daley administration has revised its assistance package yet again in hopes of turning a mountain of debris created by an FBI mole into a West Side movie studio complex.

The redevelopment agreement, quietly introduced by Mayor Daley at Wednesday's City Council meeting, would authorize the Illinois Finance Authority to issue up to $40 million in so-called "empowerment zone revenue bonds" for a project that now carries a $57 million price tag.

The city's initial plan called for $25 million in empowerment zone bonds. The 183,000-square-foot project at Roosevelt and Kostner is still in line to receive a $10.5 million city subsidy.

"Construction costs are increasing and capital interest and debt service reserves, related costs when you issue these bonds, were not calculated in the initial $25 million," said Chicago Planning and Development spokeswoman Connie Buscemi.

"This gives them the capital they need to start the project and revenues from that development pay off the bonds. They carry a lower interest rate than conventional financing -- significantly lower."

Langdon Neal, an attorney representing Central Studios LLC, didn't hesitate when asked what would happen if the bonding was not increased. "They couldn't do the project. They need to sell more bonds. As time has gone by, the project has gotten more expensive to build," he said.

Central Studios LLC is a partnership between California-based Raleigh Enterprises and Chicago attorney Stephen Allison and Lawndale-born Donald Jackson.

Project stalled since 1999

Buscemi stressed that Chicago taxpayers will not be on the hook if the project goes belly up. However, the $40 million in bonds would count against the $230 million cap of empowerment zone bonds that Chicago can have at any given time.

In exchange for bribes allegedly paid to the late Ald. William Henry (24th), FBI mole John Christopher and others used the parcel to illegally dump debris that took two years and $5 million to remove.

On the eve of his 1999 re-election, Daley unveiled plans to transform that urban wasteland into a production house that could recapture for Chicago movie and commercial work lost to the East and West coasts. The project has been stuck in the mud ever since.

^^ I think I've had my fingers crossed on this project for so long that they've fused together. A studio in Chicago would be massive and would help to stem the cinematic brain drain that happens here. Columbia and NU are pumping out all of these film grads who find it impossible to stay in the city and work on challenging, fulfilling projects. Only so many commercials and indie films to go around. It may not be the next Warner Brothers or Paramount, but keeping smart, creative, well paid people in the city is good. Hope this finally, finally gets rolling.

That would be sweet.

Kind of a small development, but worth noting considering all things:

On the Dept of P&D's website:

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/Lake_and_Kedzie.pdf

http://globest.com/news/443_443/chicago/141518-1.html

City Plans Transit-Oriented Development at Kedzie Stop
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: December 29, 2005 07:18am

The city’s Department of Planning and Development is offering a 20,366-sf lot at the northeast corner of Lake Street and Kedzie Avenue for sale to a developer able to build a mixed-use, transit-oriented project. The site is north of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Kedzie Avenue station on its elevated Green Line.


Although the city has set a target sales price of $203,500, it also is offering tax increment financing, property tax break and department of housing incentives to a developer willing to build at 3148-56 W. Lake St., four miles west of the Loop. Developers have until Feb. 20 to submit their qualifications, indicating their experience and financial ability to complete a project. They will learn in March whether they have made the department of planning and development’s cut, and a successful bidder is scheduled to be named in May.


The site in East Garfield Park is zoned C1-3, which would allow for a mixed-use building up to 60,000 sf. City officials envision ground-floor retail space with live-work spaces or residential units above. They also are encouraging developers to bring plans for an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient building.


The city acquired the site nearly 10 years ago through a foreclosure sale, according to property records.

Wow, Austin. From globest.com:

Austin Development Getting TIF Help
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: January 12, 2006 08:00am

CHICAGO-Developers of some of the newest multifamily construction in the Austin community since the 1960s will get $1.3 million in tax increment financing to help build 41 townhouse and condominium units. Lake and Waller, LLC will build 26 townhouses on land it already owns on the southwest corner of Race and Waller avenues, and 15 condominiums on city-owned land at the northwest corner of Lake Street and Waller Avenue.

In addition to pricing nine condominiums at rates deemed affordable to households earning less than the area median income, the partnership that includes former Chicago park district boss David Doig’s GenOne Group will pay $196,500 for the city-owned lot, its most recent appraised value. Prices in the $13.2-million development will range from $181,500 for two-bedroom, two-bath condominiums under the city’s affordable housing initiative to $350,000 for three-bedroom townhouses. The discounts on the nine affordable units total $390,000.

“We believe there is pent-up demand for market-rate housing in the Austin community,” Doig says. “There’s a lot of market activity around Austin.” GenOne Group also is building the 27-unit Corcoran Condos less than two blocks west, across Austin Avenue from the village of Oak Park.

Designed by Papageorge/Haymes Ltd., the condominium building will resemble one in University Village at 14th and Halsted streets. The Chicago-based architectural firm also was involved in that development. The building on Lake Street will be built first, Doig says. After those units are sold, the developers will move north to build the townhouses.

“This new housing will add energy and new opportunity to our community,” says 29th Ward Alderman Isaac S. Carothers. The tax increment financing and land sale were endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission. The developers got rezoning for the property last year to allow for their project.

Really. I am glad that the West Side is experiencing a remarkable development boom. Nothing made me happier than seeing the West Side as a place to live and to do shopping.

Really. I am glad that the West Side is experiencing a remarkable development boom. Nothing made me happier than seeing the West Side as a place to live and to do shopping.


23 townhomes and 15 condos?

I'll reserve judgement on calling that a "boom" for now

- edit

Not bad.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0601220240jan22,0,3789635.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed

245 units planned for N. Lawndale

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published January 22, 2006

A residential project with as many as 245 units that will sell for as much as $600,000 is planned for the eastern rim of North Lawndale, near the Tri-Taylor district.

Chicago-based MCL Construction Corp. will build the project in a partnership with Chicago-based Brownstone Properties, on a 6.2-acre former industrial site at 2500 W. Roosevelt Rd.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved the $45 million project as a residential planned development this month. That approval was won by Warrenville-based Neumann Homes, a developer that has built residential projects in the suburbs but not in the city.

Neumann Homes then sold the site to the MCL/Brownstone partnership last week. It extends north to Fillmore Avenue and has three buildings on it. "We will begin demolishing those buildings in May," said Daniel McLean, president of MCL Construction Corp., in a phone interview last week.

The MCL/Brownstone partnership will build the project Neumann Homes planned, McLean said.

It will consist of four building styles from single-family houses to condominiums in three-flat and six-flat buildings, according to Jim Raymond, a partner with John Keich in Brownstone Properties.

Two- and three-bedroom condos will have 1,150 to 1,300 square feet. Single-story condos will be built on the ground floor of the three-story buildings, and 1,600-square-foot duplex units will be on the second and third floors, Raymond said.

Three-story single-family homes, with three or four bedrooms, will have 3,100 square feet of space, he said.

"It is a flexible plan that allows us to test the market," McLean said. Units will be priced from $250,000 to $600,000.

"We think these units will be a big asset for the area, where units are already selling for comparable prices," Ald. Ed Smith (28th) told the planning commission.

"We picked this neighborhood because it is virtually a part of the [West Side] medical district and in an absolute line of growth along Roosevelt, considering what is taking place at [the eastern] end -- University Village and Roosevelt Square," Raymond said.

"It is essentially the same project that we built in Old Town and in other neighborhoods," McLean said, explaining why he joined Brownstone in developing it. "It's been hard finding this kind of a project that lets us test the market with three-flats, six-flats and single-family homes. We used to have six of those going at any one time, but now it is hard to find land."

The developer will begin selling the units in April from a sales center at Roosevelt Road and Campbell Avenue. Construction will begin this fall, Raymond said, and first occupancy is expected in spring 2007.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2535/lawndale5ls.jpg
Sorry for the crappy scan

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2535/lawndale5ls.jpg
Sorry for the crappy scan

^ I hope that's not aluminum siding I'm seeing there

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0602010268feb01,1,3807650.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Oak Park's Madison Street options outlined

By Victoria Pierce
Special to the Tribune
Published February 1, 2006

Linear parks, more retail and residential development and spruced-up historic buildings are likely to be part of the new plan for the Madison Street corridor through Oak Park.

Consultants unveiled three separate concepts for the 1 1/2-mile stretch that runs from Austin Boulevard to Harlem Avenue at a meeting last week in RUSHOak Park Hospital.

Rather than have one cohesive look along the entire route, it might be better to emphasize various land uses in different sections, said Scott Harrington of Vandewalle and Associates, Madison, Wis.

"It's a very long corridor. It's got a long history. It's got an evolving history," Harrington said. "Things aren't going to change overnight."

The area now includes a wide variety of architectural styles and land uses ranging from a large auto dealership and small businesses to several government offices, including Village Hall.

Harrington said that in the future, some areas might have more of a linear park feel while others emphasize retail or commercial space or a mixture of first-floor businesses with residences on upper floors.

Planners didn't have to wait long for a response from the crowd of about 100 Oak Park residents and Madison Street business owners. As planners presented their ideas, participants were asked to use keypads to provide feedback on the different proposals. The results were instantly displayed on screens for all to see.

A plan calling for a linear park concept, with more green space and landscaping, was by far the most popular.

The least popular proposal would highlight institutions such as RUSH Oak Park Hospital and Village Hall and bring in other public amenities to draw people to the area, such as a small museum or entertainment complex.

Likewise, a boulevard road configuration that emphasized landscaping while still maintaining four lanes of traffic earned support.

But a proposal to eliminate one lane of traffic or on-street parking to make way for a bike lane was trounced.

Harrington said he was a little surprised at the drubbing the proposal took. But it showed that residents and business owners feel strongly about having enough convenient parking and the ability to drive through the area without getting into a traffic jam, he said.

Village President David Pope said he was pleased with how much public participation the consultants have included in the planning process.

Although Madison Street now has a jumble of styles and uses, Pope is looking forward to seeing the final concept plan and the improvements to come.

"There are some hidden jewels along Madison Street," he said.

The next meeting on the Madison Street corridor is scheduled for Feb. 23, when Vandewalle and Associates will present its final proposal on whether the area will be more of a linear park with mixed uses, an institutional destination or a commercial district. The final plan is expected to be completed by this spring.

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/6633/austin5ld.jpg

^ Those renderings seem to leave out the bottoms of the buildings.

Quite strange....

Hi, I was thinking about purchasing a property in the Austin Neighborhood. Do you people think that it is a good buy. I took a look at the Police's Icams website, and it seems that crime is still bad in the are. Also, the demographics suggest many people living below poverty. I am just wondering if considering Oak Park's success, wouldn't it be in line for improvement in the next 5 years.

^ I'd be surprised if Austin improved markedly over the next several years. Of course that's just conventional wisdom. I suppose investing in Austin is a typical high risk / high return situation.

- edit

http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-gale16.html
205 homes coming to 50-acre city site

March 16, 2006

Victor/Shawn:

At the Plan commission meeting, this and several other proposals were brought up (retail centers with parking, housing, etc). How did they look?

Builders See Condo Potential Near United Center
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: April 4, 2006 10:20am
http://www.globest.com/newspics/chi_unitedcenter.jpg
(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)


CHICAGO-Delwar Construction Co. is paying the full appraised value for a 2,482-sf lot at 2243 W. Warren Blvd. to build a four-unit, $1.3-million condominium building. The $165,000 sale of the city-owned lot, next to property the north suburban developer already owns, was recently endorsed by the community development commission.


The project will bring additional market-rate for-sale housing to an area four blocks from the United Center and just south of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Henry Horner Homes, part of the agency’s $1-billion “Plan for Transformation” that is replacing the former housing project with a mixed-income neighborhood. The 1,800-sf, three-bedroom units will range from $300,000 to $400,000, with spaces in a four-car garage selling for an additional $10,000, according to Department of Planning and Development project manager Kimberly Cook.


Delwar Construction Co., whose new construction includes a 7,000-sf home in Lincolnshire and a 4,500-sf home in Inverness, is financing its West Side development with a $1-million loan from Beneficial Financial.

^^ The beginning of the end of all those godforsaken parking lots??:drunk:

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0406/News/Newstory040613.htm

Illinois Medical District announces expansion plans
By Jane Lawicki

The Illinois Medical District Commission (IMDC) has raised $40 million by selling taxable and tax-exempt bonds backed by the Illinois Finance Authority to help fund commercial development in the Chicago Technology Park and its District Development Area. Announced Feb. 21 by Governor Rod Blagojevich, the cost for planned projects within the Illinois Medical District (IMD) is estimated between $150 and $200 million and will be funded through private investment in addition to the bond financing. “As the global economy continues to evolve, we are investing in the technologies of today and tomorrow,”

Blagojevich said. “Biotechnology serves to improve everyday life by finding solutions to everything from human illnesses and safer food products to cleaner environments and reducing public health threats. It’s also creating high-paying, high-tech jobs.” Projects funded by the bond proceeds will enable the IMDC to acquire and develop additional land and facilities. These investments will provide infrastructure for growing and established life science companies from within Illinois and attract other companies to the area, with the ultimate goal of creating new jobs and economic opportunity in this rapidly growing industry.

The IMD’s expansion project includes the acquisition, construction and renovation of two sizeable properties and several smaller parcels within the boundaries of the Illinois Medical District Commission’s (IMDC) Chicago Technology Park. Plans include the construction of a graduate medical/biological research facility and the provision of “greenfield” sites in the District
Development Area (DDA) south of Roosevelt Road for future development.

The project will complement existing facilities by providing serviceable lab areas and other necessities to accommodate the expansion of existing and prospective new tenants consistent with the IMDC’s mission. The developed properties will be used for office space, laboratory space, ancillary parking, record retention, and for other academic, healthcare, emergency management and medical research related purposes. Key components of the project include the purchase and redevelopment of the American Society for Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) building at 2100 W. Harrison St. the construction of a graduate research facility and greenhouse on a site currently owned by the IMDC at the southeast corner of south Leavitt Street and west Lexington Street; the purchase of a 7.5 acre vacant site at 2020 W. Odgen Avenue that, when combined with an adjacent two-acre site the IMDC currently owns, will provide a 9.5 acre “greenfield” site suitable for future development; the leasing of the property at the southwest corner of south Leavitt Street and west Roosevelt Road to Jupiter Realty for the development of a seven-story, 170,000 square foot professional, office, research and medical building; and land acquisition of two separate blocks in the DDA south of Roosevelt Road which will be combined with currently owned parcels to pro-vide contiguous sizeable properties to be used for future development.

The new 40,000-square-foot graduate research facility will provide laboratory and administrative space for companies in the
research center that are outgrowing their existing space and for other biotechnology companies in Illinois and from elsewhere. Lab sizes in the new building will range from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet. “This critical step forward by the Illinois Medical District is another strong example of why our state can not only lead the nation but also become the biotech capital of the world,” Blagojevich added. “With Chicago hosting BIO 2006 in just a couple of months, the rapid growth of biotech in the district and throughout Illinois will certainly continue.”

The annual BIO convention is the industry’s largest gathering of researchers, major international and domestic biotech corporations, start-ups, regulators and investors. Business Facilities magazine recently rated Illinois number one for biotech growth in 2005, thanks in part to the innovative work of the Illinois Medical District. BIO 2006 marks the first time the convention will be held in the Midwest, and more than 20,000 people from around the U.S. and more than 60 countries are expected to attend. As the nation’s largest urban medical district, the IMD is charged with governing coordinated growth and enhancement of the specially designated 560 acre district on the Near West Side. The IMD houses some 2,200 hospital
beds, employs 20,000 people, and generates $220 million in research annually.

^^ The beginning of the end of all those godforsaken parking lots??:drunk:

Hopefully they won't drive away all the prostit...never mind.

Hopefully they won't drive away all the prostit...never mind.
Madison avenue??? brother we gotta point you to a better class of prostit...never mind... :lol:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0605140402may14,0,2670942.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed

Retail, condo project being planned for land on city's Near West Side
By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published May 14, 2006

Long-vacant land on the Near West Side will become part of a mixed-use project that will include residential units and ground-level retail space.

Chicago builder Chris Karbowski of Madison Developers Inc. is buying the city-owned land at 2434 W. Madison St. He will pay the appraised market rate price of $200,000.

Madison Developers will build a four-story building, with 1,300 square feet for retail on the ground floor and three condos on the other floors.

The condos will be a mix of two- and three-bedroom units with two baths. Each of the units will have about 1,300 square feet, said Frank Tholke, project manager for Madison Developers Inc.

The developer will sell them for $299,000, including a parking space, Tholke said.

Madison is working with a consortium of five private landowners and developers who are building on contiguous parcels on West Madison--from 2428 to 2444.

Chicago-based Hannah Architects Inc. is designing all of the project's buildings for a uniform look, Tholke said.

The other developers will build four-story buildings with ground-floor retail and upper-level condos that mirror the Madison Developers plan, according to Tholke.

The city land sale was approved last month by the Community Development Commission.

City Council approval is expected by June, he said.
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/1060/2434madison1lc.jpg

^ Always good news. More of that stuff is needed in that area.

I'm not a huge fan of side-ways slanting buildings, but the fact that the ground-level retail is flush and doesn't form an angle with the street saves it. Besides, a little variety in the streetscape doesn't hurt, as long as designs like as that aren't overdone

AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH I HATE THESE PEOPLE!!!!!

CBP to the rescue?

Neighbors resist ****** Center dorm plans

By Susan S. Stevens

Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) said if the community next to the University of Illinois at Chicago campus does not want an eight-story, 300-student dormitory, he will not let a new Pope John Paul II ****** Center be built.

A petition opposing the dorm on the site of the current ****** Center at 700 S. Morgan St. drew more than 200 signatures in five days. Every homeowner who spoke at one meeting, called by Adam Walker, president of the owners' association at Town Homes of Vernon Park, opposed the dorm. All but two community residents at another meeting, called by the ****** Center's Rev. Patrick M. Marshall, spoke out against it. Each meeting drew more than 100 people.

“Nothing is going to pass until you tell me it is something you can support,” Solis said, referring to zoning changes necessary for the project. “There is nothing going to be passed behind your backs.”

Solis spoke at a May 11 meeting called by the owners association of the Vernon Park townhouses, located directly west of the ****** Center. An aide to Solis, Stephen Stults, re-stated that message at a May 17 meeting scheduled at ****** Center while Solis was in Washington.

“This is not a done deal,” Stults said. “There is no reason to get very concerned at this moment."

Stults said those who want to voice an opinion can call the Alderman’s office at (773) 523-4100 and have their comments recorded for the Alderman to listen to later. People also can write to Solis's office at 2439 S. Oakley Ave., Chicago, IL 60608 and e-mail dsolis@cityofchicago.org.

Vernon Park townhouse owners also encouraged area residents to contact Mayor Richard M. Daley, UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning, and the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Fr. Marshall, ****** Center chaplain and executive director, is president of a new not-for-profit foundation that owns the property, which recently was transferred to the foundation by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

"UIC can be a very cold, uninviting place," Fr. Marshall told the audience at the most recent meeting. “****** Center provides warmth, welcoming."

Students who participate in ****** Center programs are good neighbors already and last year donated 10,000 hours of community service, he said, although some at the meeting questioned that figure.

At an earlier meeting at ****** Center, which was publicized so little that only five neighbors attended, neighbors saw preliminary artist sketches of the building and adjacent 300-seat chapel. Those drawings were not shown at the second meeting.

The plans are so tentative that proponents did not want the distraction of visuals at the meeting, said Joseph F. Zosky, president of Zcorp Services construction company and secretary-treasurer of the new not-for-profit foundation. Zosky and Fr. Marshall promised better notification of the next meeting, which they said probably would be in June.

Residents expressed admiration for Fr. Marshall but noted they object to the plan because the community cannot absorb higher density, the eight-story height is out of scale for the area, access is limited, traffic will be congested, and parking is not provided.

By the time of the latest meeting, several residents had concrete suggestions.

Sell the land, put up five single-family houses and make $3 million, said one.

Why not move the ****** Center to one of the Catholic churches in the area that are hurting for members, another person asked, naming Our Lady of Pompeii, Holy Family, and St. Francis of Assisi.

Why not on Roosevelt Road, asked another, noting the extensive tracts of vacant land on the south side of that street.

Negotiate something that is acceptable to the community, several said.

Form a committee of five to seven members to seek a compromise, suggested University Village Association board member Oscar D’Angelo, who said he had “reservations” about bringing 300 additional students into the neighborhood.

Keep an open mind, said Sunny Chico, who lives four blocks away on Loomis Street. Chico is another UVA board member and has raised money for the ****** Center. She offered to be on a committee.

“A better course of action is to find another pathway,” said Jack Weinberg, who offered to join a committee to negotiate alternatives. He moved to a nearby townhouse because it is a “green, quiet place” that 300 students and trucks hauling food and trash out would "destroy," he said.

“This is a low rise, un-dense community,” Weinberg said. “A dorm would change the residential character of the neighborhood.”

Weinberg and more than a dozen other people in the audience at ****** Center expressed opposition to the current plan.

“This is the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Bill O’Neill, a UIC professor who has lived in the neighborhood for half of his 40 years of teaching.

Marshall and Zosky said plans are not firm, though the dorm needs 300 students to pay its way. They vowed to continue listening to area residents.

“This is an initial meeting, not a one-time thing,” Marshall said.

The project would cost $25 million, Marshall and Zosky said. No financing has been arranged, Zosky commented, claiming "a few" investment bankers have come forward to express interest.

The ****** Center is poised to acquire another property: the owner of the first townhouse south of the center, at 800 S. Morgan St. just south of the park where Polk Street dead-ends, has been transferred to California and plans to sell the townhouse to the ****** Center for $660,000, Zosky said. If the new building is approved, the townhouse will be used for some of the ****** Center staff. He also noted the ****** Center might buy another property "if we can afford it," Zosky said. "We want our staff and our priest to live in the neighborhood."

That additional property will not be Agape House, a Protestant ministry one block west, Zosky added. Agape has been undergoing a reorganization and is searching for a new Protestant minister to direct it.

One resident alleged the ****** lawyer is the nephew of an Alderman on the City Council Zoning Committee. Zosky shot down that rumor by insisting ****** does not have a lawyer, although two have approached the organization.

Zosky’s company, Zcorp, has built numerous senior housing complexes and parking garages. It also built the current O’Hare Airport control tower and the UIC Hospital.

102 homes planned in N. Lawndale

June 9, 2006

BY BILL CUNNIFF Real Estate Reporter






A groundbreaking ceremony recently was held for Heritage Homes of West Village, a mixed-income development at Polk and Kedzie.

"This is something North Lawndale can be proud of," said Ted Mazola, president of New West Realty, the developer working with the City of Chicago. "In place of vacant lots, there will be homes that offer residents the chance to be homeowners. It's a part of the American Dream, and New West is thrilled to work with the city to make it happen."

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) agrees with Mazola about the importance of creating opportunities for home ownership. "Giving people a chance to own a home is an important step in the continued rejuvenation of this neighborhood," Davis said. "Pride in the homes and the neighborhood as a whole is necessary for helping North Lawndale thrive as a community."

Ald. Michael Chandler (24th) is also enthusiastic about the development. "We will continue to build this neighborhood, block by block," he said.

A total of 102 homes -- town houses, duplexes and walk-up condominiums -- are planned. Twenty-five of the homes will be offered starting in the low-$100,000s under the City of Chicago's affordable housing program.

Market-rate 3-bedroom condos will start in the $230,000s. Two-bedroom duplexes are priced from the $260,000s. Three-bedroom town houses begin in the $320,000s. Amenities will include 1- or 2-car garages. Some plans have decks or balconies.

More than 10 percent of the market-rate homes were sold in the first week, said Terrie Whittaker, president of sales and marketing for New West Realty. "That shows this is a viable area with a lot to offer," Whittaker said.

There is a waiting list of qualified applicants for the 25 affordable homes.

"Heritage Homes of West Village is a great example of our philosophy at New West," Mazola said. "We often build in up-and-coming areas, where there is the unmet demand for new, for-sale housing. We like to be a part of developing a neighborhood."

Heritage Homes of West Village, Chicago. A temporary sales center, with a decorated model, is located off-site at 2112 W. Madison, at the corner of Madison and Hoyne. New West Realty, (312) 491-1930, www.heritagehomeschicago.com.


North Lawndale graystones



Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago recently announced a new initiative designed to help homeowners in North Lawndale affordably rehab and preserve their 100-year-old graystones.

"North Lawndale is home to nearly 2,000 graystones, more than any other Chicago community," said Bruce Gottschall, NHS executive director. "The Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative will build community pride, stimulate reinvestment, increase home ownership and promote property improvement throughout North Lawndale.

"The Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative is an exciting opportunity for homeowners to rehab their homes and for home buyers to purchase new homes with affordable loans from our Neighborhood Lending Program," he said.

Since 1975, NHS has helped to create about 2,600 new homeowners and assisted about 158,000 low- and moderate-income families with their housing needs, he said.

"Some of the exterior facades of these beautiful, limestone-faced brick structures are crumbling," said Charles Leeks, director of NHS North Lawndale. "NHS has money available to support rehabbing. We also have experienced NHS construction specialists to assist owners in obtaining bids from licensed, insured contractors, and to monitor the home-improvement projects."

As part of its revitalization efforts, NHS provides affordable financing for families who want to buy, fix, or keep their home.

"The City of Chicago's Department of Housing is glad to support this initiative because it will help preserve these beautiful, historic buildings and bring improvements to the North Lawndale community," said Chicago Housing Commissioner John G. Markowski. "Preservation of Chicago housing stock is an important part of keeping neighborhoods affordable."

The City of Chicago Department of Housing and Department of Planning and Development have committed $1 million in funding through its TIF Neighborhood Improvement Program to help fund grants for homeowners in the Greystone Initiative.

Gerald Earles and his wife, Lorraine, own a graystone in the area. "Our graystone has all of its original exterior details and interior woodwork, cabinetry, moldings and fixtures," Gerald said.

"We have repaired the roof, installed new windows and gas heating, replaced dry wall, fixed the plumbing, and tuckpointed," he said. "We encourage everyone to improve their properties. Use the services of NHS. They are a reputable, nonprofit housing organization that helps families achieve their dreams of home ownership."

Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative. NHS, (800) 482-4090, or visit www.nhschicago.org. For information on purchasing a graystone or other home, call the NHS Redevelopment Corp. at (773) 568-1020.

For information on City of Chicago housing programs, call 311, or visit the Web site, www.cityofchicago.org/housing.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/hlife/hof-news-lawn09c.html

hey URB since when doesnt uic get their way?
they have pretty much had carte blanche with the neigborhood it seems,
almost completely destroying the surrounding area,
but this is atleast a step in the right direction,
overall i like uic and how its doing though.

these nimbies crack me up, they act like they are suburbians,
what stands at the current site right now?


and the north lawndale greystone initiative sounds great

West Side draws Sundance Kid
Redford eyes Fannie May site for theaters

Robert Redford's start-up movie theater chain is in talks to anchor a retail complex planned for the former Fannie May factory site on the Near West Side, a deal that would add celebrity glitz to a once-gritty area now brimming with new condos and townhouses.

Sundance Cinemas LLC is close to signing a letter of intent to open a six- to eight-screen theater in a 266,000-square-foot, multistory development proposed for the site just north of the Eisenhower Expressway and east of Racine Avenue, according to people familiar with the negotiations. A Chicago location would be a key step in a planned nationwide rollout of movie theaters featuring the artsy independent films and brainy documentaries that have gained wider popularity thanks in part to Mr. Redford's non-profit Sundance Film Festival.

http://***************************/random/og070306m.gif
Photo: Erik Unger

Sundance Cinemas was launched last year by Oaktree Capital Management LLC, a Los Angeles investment firm with $30 billion in assets, and Provo, Utah-based Sundance Group LLC, which oversees Mr. Redford's business interests, including a cable channel, a catalog company and a resort. Sundance has already signed theater deals in Madison, Wis., and San Francisco and is interested in the South Boston Waterfront, an area targeted for redevelopment.

"Sundance Cinemas is looking at many sites all across the country," says President and CEO Paul Richardson, declining further comment. Mr. Richardson is a former top executive with Los Angeles-based Landmark Theatres, the country's largest art house chain with 57 theaters nationwide, including the Century Centre Cinema at 2828 N. Clark St.

Negotiations started about a month ago between Sundance and a venture that includes two low-profile Chicago development firms, IBT Group LLC and Structured Development LLC, sources say.

"We are getting a really positive response from a lot of retailers. Unfortunately we're not at a point where we can disclose any of the names of the tenants that we are talking to," says IBT President Gary Pachuki. An announcement is expected "in the next short period of time," he adds. Michael Drew, a principal in Structured Development, declines comment.

DEVELOPMENT PLANS

The developers have been working on the project for nearly two years, after paying $12.2 million for the nearly four-acre site at 1137 W. Jackson Blvd, part of the liquidation of the historic Chicago candy company. Called Metro Center 290, to play up the location along Interstate 290, plans for the project also include a specialty grocery store and a health club.

Even so, the Near West Side would at first seem an odd choice for Sundance, compared with trendier neighborhoods such as Bucktown or Lincoln Park. In the late 1990s, as part of a failed first launch of the movie house chain with General Cinemas, Mr. Redford planned a theater at North and Clybourn avenues, but never went ahead with the deal.

But retailers are slowly following a West Side housing boom that's moving westward from Halsted Street's Greektown past the United Center.

"It's hard for some retailers to have the vision to imagine what this thing is going to look like when it's built, much less all the residential around it," says Paul Bryant, a principal in Oakbrook Terrace retail brokerage Mid-America Real Estate Corp., which isn't involved in the project.

In Madison, as part of the redevelopment of Hilldale Shopping Center, Sundance is planning a six-screen, 1,200-seat theater that would include a bar, restaurant and shop for Sundance-themed merchandise, says Andrew Stein, vice-president of development at Palatine real estate firm Joseph Freed & Associates LLC, which owns Hilldale. "Sundance is the premier name in independent art films. That's what we're banking on," he says. Announced in November, the theater is expected to be opened early next year.

©2006 by Crain Communications Inc.

not big news, but I kinda like this tid bit about Oak Park

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bricks13.html


Oak Park may bring back brick streets

News
Oak Park may bring back brick streets

July 13, 2006

BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter


Already known for being the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and the architectural playground of Frank Lloyd Wright, Oak Park may soon claim another mark of distinction from its neighbors: brick roads.

The village is considering a proposal to convert some of its residential streets to brick from asphalt. Wilmette restored some of its bricks as part of a four-year restoration project that wrapped up last year.

In addition to adding character, brick streets would be more in line with the suburb's historic homes, Oak Park Village President David Pope said.




A bicyclist rides on brick-paved Michigan Avenue in Wilmette on Tuesday. Oak Park is considering a similar look for some streets. (TOM CRUZE/ SUN-TIMES)
He's also hopeful the bumpier surface would slow motorists down or, better yet, keep them on major arterial and feeder streets.

"Using bricks for local residential streets will help to preserve them as more pedestrian in character," Pope said. "They give you an immediate sense that you're in a residential area."

Brick streets also tend to enhance property values because they are so desirable.

Only one street in the west suburb, the 700 block of Woodbine, has an exposed brick surface.

Most of the major streets that had brick surfaces were paved over with asphalt beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s, according to Frank Lipo, executive director of the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.

Ideally, Pope wants to see eight to 12 streets a year get their grooves back.

1st major repair 40 years away



Oak Park wouldn't be the first to switch to brick. In addition to Wilmette's conversion in 2005, Champaign and Davenport, Iowa, also have brick restoration programs.

Though it comes with a heftier price tag up front, brick is more durable and requires less long-term maintenance than asphalt.

Asphalt streets require repaving every 15 to 20 years, and total reconstruction every few decades, said Brigitte Mayerhofer, Wilmette's engineering director.

The first significant maintenance for a brick street comes in about 40 years when the bricks need to be flipped over. Individual bricks may also need to be replaced from time to time.

Mayerhofer said the response to the bricks in Wilmette was overwhelmingly positive. The only complaints, she said, were that the brick roads are noisier than asphalt and rough on bikers.

Lipo said the return of brick streets in Oak Park is an intriguing prospect.

"People do a kind of a double take when they see that rich red brick," he said. "It kind of takes you back a little bit."

mjthomas@suntimes.com

new condo project going up in berwyn, oak park's neighbor to the south

Century Station, mixed use, 5 story, 52 condos. Across the street from the Metra/BNSF train station.
http://www.newcenturystation.com/images/main_header_image.jpg

http://www.newcenturystation.com

^ Ahhh, a breath of fresh air.

TOD in the 'burbs.

Boring architecture, but functionally EXACTLY what more of the region needs

^ Ahhh, a breath of fresh air.

TOD in the 'burbs.

Boring architecture, but functionally EXACTLY what more of the region needs

LOL, the only boring on here is you! :scouserd:

LOL, the only boring on here is you! :scouserd:

^ Launch 1 more personal attack on me and I'll report you to the mods.

EDIT: Nevermind, I already reported that comment.

I will report every rude personal comment made towards me by you--just thought you should be aware..

lighten up every body, and repeat after me:

"it's just an internet message board......

it's just an internet message board......"

not sure if this is a new development or not....

http://www.suntimes.com/output/hlife/hos-news-metro30.html

Real estate
Medical district gets 200 new condos

July 30, 2006

MetroPlace's 200 condominiums and single-family houses will push the boundaries of the West Side's thriving new housing market.

The new MCL Companies development at West Roosevelt and Campbell is a "natural progression" for housing being constructed to serve the growing area around the University of Illinois and the Illinois Medical District, said company President Daniel E. McLean.

"The West Side is ready to happen," McLean said. "Chicago institutions such as ... the U. of I. and our great hospitals have never left for the suburbs."

The success of new housing at University Village at the U. of I., and Roosevelt Square at 1200 W. Roosevelt, are an indication of the area's growing popularity, he said.

MetroPlace will be a mix of single-family homes and condominiums in duplex and six-flat buildings. About 200 units are planned, but the number could go as high as 250 as the mix of product is adjusted to meet demand.

"The first couple people in here said they wanted single-families," McLean said. "I was surprised at the strong market for them."

The three-level plans have 4 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths, full basements, detached 2-car garages and about 3,100 square feet of space. Prices start at $614,900 to $639,900.

Standards include red oak floors, carpeting, gas fireplaces with ceramic tile hearth and surrounds, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, marble and cultured marble vanity tops, air conditioning and two-zone heating. The buildings have brick fronts, vinyl siding and private backyards. Options include a fifth bedroom, skylights, cathedral ceilings and decks.

The condominiums are in six-flat buildings or duplexes. They have 2 or 3 bedrooms, 2 or 2-1/2 baths, fireplaces and decks or patios. They include most of the same finishes and appliances as the single-family designs. All units have a parking space. Sizes range from 1,150 to 1,300 square feet and prices start at $265,900 to $399,900.

The first phase of condominium buildings will face onto Roosevelt Road and the single-families onto West Grenshaw Street, in the interior of the development. The first two blocks of housing will be divided by a regulation-size alley.

"The restaurants and the neighborhood are already there," McLean said.

Little Italy shops and restaurants are nearby, as are Jewel and Dominick's stores and numerous franchise outlets. Chinatown, Greektown and Maxwell Street Market are within blocks.

The western edge of the property is bounded by a small park and plantings to buffer it from a railroad viaduct, McLean said. The city has designated the area to the west of the tracks for manufacturing development, he said.

The sales center is at 2500 W. Roosevelt. Call (312) 321-1400 or visit www.metroplacechicago.com.

--Larry Finley

Ugh. With a name like "Metroplace" I was expecting something really cool. 7-10 story midrises with retail or something. Same old crap.

www.chicagojournal.com

8/16/2006 10:00:00 PM Email this article • Print this article
The hopefully commercial future of Madison Street
For now, retail strip is sparse, but residents have big ideas

By BILL MAYEROFF, Contributing Writer


At a community meeting last Thursday, East Garfield Park and West Haven residents discussed bringing new businesses to Madison Street between Central Park and Western avenues.

East Garfield Park resident Nancy Vachon described that stretch of Madison as "sparse," while Lue Whitehen, of the 2600 block of Madison Street, said it has "no store we can walk to." Other residents echoed those sentiments.

Whitehen said she's not particular about what type of store comes into the area. She lives a short distance from Madison and Western, where construction of a new Aldi is slated to begin next spring. While some residents of the area have expressed concern that Aldi does not carry high-quality products or fresh meats, Whitehen, who does her grocery shopping at other Aldi stores in the area, believes it will help an area where it's hard to get good food.

"I don't see anything wrong with Aldi," Whitehen said after the meeting. Vachon, who said Aldi is her primary grocery store, would prefer to see a different store such as Jewel or Dominick's at Madison and Western, but said if Aldi is what will come to the area, it will help.

"You have no variety with an Aldi," Vachon said. "If you don't have a car, that's where you go."

Earnest Gates, co-founder of the Near West Community Development Corp., said Madison Street should be both stylish and functional.

"It should be pedestrian-friendly," said Gates at the meeting. "You want to set architectural standards that the community can agree on."

Residents suggested that Madison Street needs all different types of businesses, from bookstores to copy centers like Kinko's. Residents also seemed to agree that any new businesses should provide jobs to neighborhood residents.

"You want stores that offer the maximum employment opportunity," said Gates.

One major concern was that residents have to leave the neighborhood to do most of their shopping, whether for food or anything else.

"We don't even have a nice shop where women can go and buy a decent pair of pants or a dress or anything like that," Whitehen said. "Nothing is here." But she reiterated that a lack of decent food is the major problem in the area.

"We need some grocery stores we can go to without catching a bus," Whitehen said. "I go all the way to Taylor Street for the bakery." Vachon agreed, saying that it gets expensive to travel out of the neighborhood.

"It's four bucks for me to do anything," she said.

By the end of the meeting, everyone had a different idea of what they wanted Madison to look like.

"We want Madison to look like Harlem [New York in] 1940," said Gates. Other attendees had different ideas, suggesting the neighborhood needs everything from coffee shops to a bowling alley. A number of people, including Vachon, suggested the area needs more family-friendly places. Vachon is concerned that the only food nearby is fast food.

"There needs to be more kid-oriented, family-oriented, eat-in restaurants," Vachon said after the meeting. "To me, [the area] would look like the Halsted-Belmont area north of Diversey and south of Irving Park."

Abe Lentner, of the University of Illinois at Chicago's City Design Center, said he isn't sure what Madison Street will ultimately look like, but that he did see a theme in the ideas presented at the meeting.

"I hear there is a need to diversify the types of businesses," said Lentner. The City Design Center, he said, will take the ideas from last week and try to form them into a single plan for Madison Street, which will be presented at a meeting in November.

There is a "forgotten project" that maybe you guys can help me with.

It was a high rise condo that was to be built west of downtown due north of the Eisenhower and would have broken the mold of the 8-10 story warehouse and new loft construction. I want to say it was somewhere around Racine.

Does anyone know what became of this project? Is it dead? I haven't read or seen a thing about it in ages.

Not to get picky, but would the mods be interested in changing the name of this thread to "West side development news" to eliminate confusion, since there is already a "suburban development" thread in existence?

^ I still think it would make sense to take 'suburban' off the title of this thread, in case the mods missed my last post.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0610290351oct29,0,5620072.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
83 condos slated for former industrial site

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published October 29, 2006

A local developer is moving ahead with plans to convert a terra cotta, Washington Boulevard warehouse into 83 condos, expanding residential development on the West Side.

The Chicago Plan Commission this month approved Chicago-based Mansion View Development Corp.'s project.

Chicago developers Alice Prus and Helen Nelson head Mansion View Development. Both declined to comment. City Council approval is needed.

Mansion View owns the 19,380-square-foot site at 2620 W. Washington Blvd., according to its application to the city.

The site stretches along North Talman Avenue from West Washington Boulevard to West Maypole Avenue among vacant parcels and a few manufacturing buildings that have drawn attention from developers. Another residential building is planned two blocks away, a Department of Planning and Development project manager told commissioners.

The developer will convert the vacant, six-story warehouse into condos and will add four stories to the building.

Six duplex penthouses set for the ninth and 10th floors will be sold for $550,000 to $600,000.

Thirty-three efficiency units will be sold for $140,000 to $190,000; 41 two-bedroom units will be sold for $240,000 to $300,000 and three three-bedroom units will be sold for $325,000 to $375,000, the developer's attorney, Jim Banks, told plan commissioners.

Proposed by Pickus Devt at 1260 W Madison. 13 stories with ground level commercial.

WLCO NIMBY's are opposed:

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/1106/newsst5.jpg

aawww......that's the cute-looking towers. WLICO opposed them? They are such a bunch of naturally born LOSERS.

I'm not sure this is the right thread for this, but....
Commercial Real Estate News


Caffé RoM On Board at MetraMarket

By Kevin Knapp

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 - CHICAGO – The transit-oriented retail center under development by U.S. Equities Realty in the West Loop has signed the first restaurant: Caffé RoM, a new concept by Café Baci owner Joe DiCarlo and partner James Louras. RoM, pronounced the same as Italy’s capital city, will combine a European coffee bar, serving coffees, pastries, paninis and gelato, with a contemporary wine bar open late afternoon and into the evening. MetraMarket is located adjacent to Ogilvie Transportation Center, and is intended to transform two underutilized city blocks — between Washington, Lake, Canal and Clinton streets — into a lively hub of street-level shops and restaurants linking the Loop with the rapidly growing Near West neighborhood. Slated for late 2007 opening, Caffé RoM will occupy 2,900 square feet on Canal between Randolph and Washington. Patrons will be able to enter directly from Canal as well as from inside the Metra concourse. Plans for MetraMarket include additional restaurants, an assortment of retailers and an open public space for dining and socializing, as well as ground-level parking for up to 100 vehicles. Phase I of the development is 50 percent pre-leased according to Camille Julmy, vice chairman of U.S. Equities, the developer and exclusive leasing agent for MetraMarket.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/newhomes/chi-0612230293dec23,0,2723806.story?coll=chi-classifiednewhomes-hed
Driven by design
Plans for Lemont redevelopment call for new buildings to fit in with the old

By Annemarie Mannion
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 23, 2006

Just as legendary urban planner Daniel Burnham once advised, the village of Lemont is making no little plans in the effort to redevelop its downtown.

Its goal: the construction of new buildings designed to look as if they have been part of the community and neighborhood for decades.

Redeveloping the downtown may not be as treacherous a project as was digging the Illinois & Michigan Canal in the 19th Century; but the 133-year-old village is embarking on an endeavor that is fairly daunting, particularly in the midst of a slowing real estate market.

Lemont is seeking to revitalize its downtown with new condos, townhouses and public attractions that include a landscaped, pedestrian walkway along its portion of the historic canal.

"This is the first time Lemont has done anything of this magnitude. The first phase involves $80 million of public and private investment," said Mayor John Piazza, who is familiar with the ups and downs of the real estate market. He also works as a mortgage broker.

"The market is soft, very soft. The good thing is that the condos are moderately priced. At the entry level, they're $180,000, and will go up to $500,000," he said.

Despite jitters inspired by the slack real estate market, the village is moving forward with the first project, which features construction of 82 loft-style condos in the initial phase. Ground was broken recently on the condos that will be constructed over 25,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.

The Front Street Lofts will have one-, two-, or three-bedroom units and a 260-car parking structure that will be available for use by shoppers and others who are in the downtown area. First move-ins are anticipated next fall.

Village officials in the suburban community of about 15,000 residents are embracing the notion of having more residential density in the downtown district. They want more people to live, shop, dine and spend money at businesses in the village's core.

The goal is "a downtown that has more of an urban setting, but with a neighborhood feel," Piazza said.

"It's really hit or miss whether there's foot traffic in our downtown right now," he said. "There have been numerous small businesses that have closed their doors."

Chicago-based Marquette Cos. is building the Front Street Lofts.

"Our role is to catalyze economic development," said Bruno Bottarelli, the firm's managing partner.

He noted that that the project is a departure for Lemont not only in its scope, but in how the village is seeking to control and encourage development.

Instead of traditional zoning methods, which designate specific uses, the village has adopted a form-based code which dictates the look, mass and scale of structures. Area buildings must fit within the designated scale and meet standards for materials. Additionally, they must fit in with the vision for the area.

"It lays out the specific details we want to see, everything from the size of the windows to the materials," said Piazza.

Controlling such seemingly minor details might seem like a headache, but Piazza said it should make the process less stressful and less costly for developers, who won't need to go through a drawn-out public hearing process.

"It makes it easier for developers because they know exactly what we want," Piazza said.

The village wants buildings that are three to five stories high which are constructed of brick or stone to be in keeping with the materials used in other vintage limestone structures that village leaders believegive Lemont its distinctive character.

Many of the community's older buildings were constructed of yellow limestone that was quarried near the village during the 1800s. (Another famous structure that was built with the material is the Chicago Water Tower, the only structure to survive the Great Chicago Fire).

Bottarelli said the form-based code is key to enabling Lemont to capitalize on its historical assets.

"There's a vernacular of materials that already exists here. We want to maintain the historic feeling," he said.

Piazza said the finished project "will look like some of these buildings could have been here 60 or 70 years ago. It won't look like a new project that was just plopped into the downtown."

Susan Donahue, a member of the Lemont Area Historical Society, said the organization participated in a public hearing process prior to adoption of the form-based code.

Those involved in the hearings "reassured us that they'd try to use building materials that blend with what's already there," she said. "We were concerned that the integrity of the downtown be maintained."

Donahue said it appears the organization's concerns have been taken seriously. The developer even borrowed archival photos from the society to be used in helping create a look that complements the area's existing landmark structures.

There are eight sites within the district that are targeted for redevelopment. The form-based code requires that parking be located behind buildings and that storefronts meet sidewalks to allow shoppers easy access. It also requires that all buildings have first-floor retail outlets and either residential units or office space above.

Another goal of the project is to make the Illinois & Michigan Canal a destination.

The canal's heyday was in the 1830s when it was used to ship goods between Chicago and the Mississippi River. The rise of railroads led to the canal's demise as a shipping conduit, but village officials see it's potential as a destination for shoppers and pedestrians.

A long-term goal of the redevelopment effort includes building a pedestrian walkway along the canal.

"It would be a linear park with stores across the street," on Front Street, said Bottarelli.

Bottarelli said the canal is an underappreciated gem that needs to be polished.

"Lemont is blessed because it has the canal. We're using the canal as a major amenity," he said.

Creating a lively retail mix is another key to his vision.

"You could look at the downtown as a mall without walls," said Bottarelli.

There are plenty of potential shoppers living within driving distance of the downtown.

Bottarelli estimates there are 218,000 households within a 10-mile radius of the village, with plenty of people who could be lured to shop in Lemont.

Currently, the area isn't attracting as many visitors as the town would like.

"Lemont is losing consumer spending and tax revenue to retail centers in Oak Brook, Naperville and Orland Park," Bottarelli said. "This project will help Lemont capture a larger share of the annual retail spending among area residents that is being siphoned off by other communities."

The Lemont Downtown Redevelopment District will consist of three pedestrian-friendly sections, each with a distinct identity: the Historic District, Transit Depot District and Fry's Landing District, where the Front Streets Lofts will be located.

Other projects envisioned include an arts-based community/cultural center, the Canal Walk, featuring a replica of an 1800s-era barge that will serve as a museum/restaurant venue, as well as landscaped walking and bicycle paths.

Bottarelli says the projects could be completed within 10 to 15 years.

Taking note of a less lively real estate market, Ron Stapleton, a Realtor with Century 21 Olsick & Co. and a member of the Lemont Chamber of Commerce, said the downtown's future is yet to be determined.

"We struggled for several years to get the financing for the downtown district in place. As to the outcome, we don't know. This is a different market than it was," he said.

Piazza predicted home buyers will be lured by the $180,000 starting prices for the Front Street Lofts.

"I think this product will capture a different segment of the market," he said.

That segment, presumably, will find the mix of old and new in Lemont appealing.

"Many people like the old homes with the wood plank floors, but they want the modern conveniences--the big closets and lots of electrical outlets," he said.

Lemont, he said, is poised to take advantage of its historic assets while creating new ones.

"Not every community has what Lemont has. We have amenities, such as the canal, that we need to take advantage of," he said.

As for the form-based code, Bottarelli said it will ensure that new housing and other structures will display a high quality.

"These aren't easy standards to meet," Bottarelli said. "You have to do a good job. But if you're not a good developer, don't bother with Lemont."

- - -

A new agenda for Lemont



ABOUT THE TOWN

Population: 14,300 (2003 estimate)

Founded: 1873 on the banks of the Des Plaines River and the Illinois & Michigan Canal. It is in both Cook and DuPage Counties.

Did you know? Limestone from Lemont's quarries was used in the construction of the Library of Congress and Chicago's Water Tower.



REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

- Revitalization will focus on the Historic District, including vintage buildings; the Transit Depot District, near the village train station; and Fry's Landing district, near waterways.

- Plans call for new condos, townhouses and public attractions, including a landscaped, pedestrian walkway along the village portion of the historic canal.

- The first project, the Front Street Lofts, will feature 82 loft-style condos in the initial phase. Move-ins are anticipated for next fall. The first floor also will provide 25,000 square feet of ground-level retail space.

Sources: News reports, village government

Wow - looks like Lemont is adopting the New Urbanist strategy lock, stock, and barrel. It's about time somebody around here did.

I hope as part of this revitalization that they segregate parking into specific lots/garages, allowing for on-street/parallel parking as necessary.

http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=662
Portfolio: North Lawndale MLK district

North Lawndale is promoting a memorial district dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of the New Communities Program Community Investment Portfolio.

Plan includes park, housing and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioNL_02.jpg

Photo: Skidmore Owings and Merrill LLP

Forty years ago, to call attention to segregated slum conditions in northern cities, Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lived in a walk-up apartment building at the corner of Hamlin Avenue and 16th Street. That building, like so many in North Lawndale, was later torn down.

The King Memorial District will cover four acres along 16th between Hamlin and Springfield. It will consist of a memorial to Dr. King; an affordable family housing development that includes both rental and home ownership opportunities; a park near Penn Elementary School; a community center for the Marcy Newberry and Chicago Youth Centers, now located nearby; and a new public library.

BENEFITS The King District will help revive the once-thriving commercial area on 16th Street, which was damaged by the riots following Dr. King's assassination. The project will add momentum to recent developments including renovation of the former Howland Elementary School, a new fire station and a new Access Living site.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION Lawndale Christian Development Corporation was established in 1987 by Lawndale Community Church to bring holistic revitalization to the lives and environments of Lawndale residents through economic empowerment, housing improvements, educational enrichments and community advocacy.





LOCATION
16th Street and Hamlin Avenue

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
$21 million

OVERALL PROJECT VALUE
$41 million
$20 million for mixed-use rental housing
$15 million for community center
$6 million for campus park and King Memorial

TIMELINE
2007 Begin affordable family housing project
2008 Begin campus park and King Memorial
2009 Begin community center and public library

PARTNERS
Chicago Youth Centers, Marcy-Newberry Association, Safeway Construction Company, The Westside Federation

I love all these small corporations that I'm hearing about, which are teaming up to reform their own neighborhoods. It's close to the way most of Chicago was originally formed, and it's a lot better of an approach than the regional or national developers stepping in.

Something I randomly ran into:

36 N Paulina

http://dreamtown.com/images/builders/properties/paulinapark.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0702180355feb18,1,3223934.story

237 condos in project set for the West Loop

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published February 18, 2007

A 17-story, mixed-use project with 237 condominiums is planned for the West Loop.

DAGS Desplaines LLC, which consists entirely of Chicago-based Mesirow Financial Real Estate Inc., will build the project on a development site at 659 W. Randolph, on the southwest corner of Randolph and Desplaines Streets.

"We bought the site from Catholic Charities in April last year and finished demolishing the building on the site in August," Gavin Stein, a vice president at Mesirow, said last week.

The Chicago Plan Commission, in December 2006, approved the project as a business and residential planned development, and the City Council approved it this month.

The developer will build the 237 residential units in 21 floor plans on the 4th through 17th floors in the L-shaped building; 124 of the units will be 1-bedroom condos; 41 will be 1-bedroom plus den units; sixty-five will be 2-bedroom units; and 7 will be 3-bedroom units.

The condos will have a range of 655 to 2,137 square feet, and 213 of the units are being marketed for prices between $210,000 to $879,000. "We are already selling them from a sales center at Randolph and Desplaines," Stein said.

Twenty-four 1-bedroom units with 655 square feet of space are being sold for $147,500, under the Chicago Partners for Affordable Neighborhoods program, administered by the Chicago Department of Housing.

"The units will be sold to buyers that are pre-qualified by the housing department, and the buyers will have deeds with restrictions in them . . . saying that they will be held in a [community] land trust for 99 years," Stein said.

"Also, because of the affordable component in the project, we have a special arrangement with National City Mortgage, who is offering all qualified buyers a 1.5 percent discount off the 30-year fixed mortgage rate," Stein said.

The project will have 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 185 parking spaces on the ground and second and third levels, according to Stein.

Chicago-based Brininstool + Lynch Ltd designed the project.

Construction will begin in April, and the developer hopes to deliver the first units in August 2008, Stein said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0702250428feb25,0,311630.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
Lake Street project tilts toward transit

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published February 25, 2007

A transit-oriented, mixed-use, mixed-income project with 30 condominiums is planned for a long-vacant parcel in the 3100 block of West Lake Street in East Garfield Park.

After issuing a request for development proposals in 2005, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development has selected Kedzie-GreenLife, a joint venture of Chicago-based non-profit developer Bethel New Life Inc. and local developer Terra Firma Co.

Bethel New Life has built affordable, often-green housing and community-oriented projects on the West Side for more than a decade. Terra Firma is a mixed-use developer whose work includes the Fountain View in Ravenswood and Station Square at Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.

Two other developers responded, a Planning Department manager told the Community Development Commission this month.

One proposed a 38-rental-unit and the other 40 condos, both in a mixed-use project. Neither included a green roof, a priority for the Planning Department, though other criteria contributed to the city selecting Kedzie-GreenLife.

The developer will come before the commission later to get approval for its plans.

The city wants to see a focus on the site's proximity to the CTA's Green Line Kedzie Avenue station. Another goal is day-care or service-oriented uses with apartments, condos or artists' live-and-work units above ground-level retailing. Kedzie GreenLife's project will have 7,800 square feet of such retail and community support space.

Kedzie-GreenLife will build on a half-acre of city-owned land at 3148-3156 W. Lake St. The developer has agreed to pay $203,500, or $9.99 per square foot, according to Ben Ranney, a principal of Terra Firma.

Thirty condos to be built in the project will likely be 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units, Ranney said.

Sixteen will be sold as affordable housing to families earning up to 80 percent of the Chicago-area median income.

"We will likely ask for TIF [tax increment financing] assistance, but the details remain to be finalized," Ranney said.

Green elements include a 10,000-square-foot green roof, wind turbines, passive heating and cooling systems, solar panels and sunshades.

Chicago-based Worn Jerabek Architects is designing the project. "Our architect and Bethel New Life are leaders in terms of environmentally friendly housing," Ranney said.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0307/Newsstorypcs0307.htm
Old meets new at Groomes Building in West Haven

The Groomes Building in West Haven has become "where the old meets new," thanks to a rehab project that has transformed it into a residential structure featuring 26 condominiums.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0307/Newsst25.jpg

Located at 2120-24 W. Washington Blvd., the upgraded building was designed to be both luxurious and affordable. Workers restored its original limestone façade and ornamental details to their original splendor while giving the interiors a new construction look and feel.

Two-bedroom, two-bath units start at $199,000, and one-bedroom, one-bath condos start at $169,000. Outdoor secured parking spaces cost $15,000 each.

The building offers an elevator and professionally landscaped exterior, and each unit on the second floor and above has a balcony. All units come with large energy efficient windows and doors, individually controlled heating and air conditioning systems, and washer and dryer hookups.

Kitchens feature a GE refrigerator, dishwasher, self-cleaning gas range, and microwave. A double-bowl stainless steel sink, a garbage disposal, chrome faucets, granite countertops, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors also are standard, and buyers can choose among various 42-inch cabinet styles.

Bathrooms have ceramic floor and wall tile, a large soaking tub, white matte solid surface vanity tops, a vanity, and chrome fixtures.

Bedrooms feature wall-to-wall carpeting, ceiling fans, and vinyl clad shelving in closets.

Hardwood floors can be found in living areas, hallways, and the foyer. Units also feature cable television/high-speed internet outlets and pre-wired telephone jacks.

The Groomes Building is marketed exclusively by D'Aprile Realty, 1732 W. Hubbard St., Suite 1C, Chicago, IL 60622. For information, contact Jon Neff, Jeff Azuse, or Claudia Weems at (312) 492-7900 or log on to www.daprilerealty.com


http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0307/Newsstorya0307.htm
Renaissance 2010 plan brings new charter high school to West Town

By Ivette Sandoval
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recently approved a plan to open 17 new schools in the 2007-08 school year, including two in the Noble Network of Charter Schools—Superior Avenue College Prep in West Town and Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy in West Humboldt Park. This wave of school openings is part of CPS’s Renaissance 2010 plan, which started in 2000 and has three years left to reach its goal of creating 100 new city schools.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0307/Newsst1.jpg

The Noble Network already operates three other charter schools that have posted good results. In the 2005-06 school year, the Noble Street College Prep campus was one of seven Chicago high schools to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress status, according to No Child Left Behind guidelines. The school maintained a 95% attendance rate, and 91% of seniors attended college after graduating.

Superior Avenue College Prep will be located at 1460 W. Superior St. in a building that formerly housed Holy Innocents School and has been vacant since the Catholic school closed. This fall, the new school will admit 145 freshmen; it will add one grade level each year until this year’s freshmen reach 12th grade.

Noble began operating schools in 1999. Said Michael Milkie, superintendent for Noble Network of Charter Schools, “These new campuses are close to our other campuses, and we have about 1,300 families on a waiting list, so the demand is great.”

“Families feel that this is a good option for their kids and they’re always looking for better options,” Milkie went on. “Generally speaking, they’re looking for safety and quality, not overpopulation.”

Noble follows a model that includes rigorous standards and discipline, student culture and respect, strong back office support, and faculty and administrative excellence and dedication.

“From administrators down to teaching staff to office personnel, I am confident that the people assembled here all pull their weight and do it because they believe in a better education for kids in the city,” said Ross Hunefield, an 11th grade math teacher at one of the Noble schools.

Hunefield explained the culture of respect and learning is reinforced consistently. He feels students are better prepared for college when they graduate from a Noble Charter High School. “I think their academics are more rigorous than in other options, and I think they have learned better social and work skills that enable them to function independently at the next level,” he said.

Classes average 18 students, which is smaller than at other schools and allows more individualized attention. In the two new high schools, college prep classes will prepare students for college; they also will focus on health and fitness, and all students must pass an annual fitness test to be promoted.

Noble’s curriculum is similar to the traditional CPS curriculum, except that Noble Charter Schools have a longer school year.

Both Superior Avenue College Prep and Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy will open Monday, Aug. 20, 2007. On Feb. 12, Noble held a lottery to admit students because applications to attend the school exceeded open slots. The first 150 will be offered enrollment, with the rest put on a waiting list for Noble Street College Prep. For additional information visit


http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0307/Newsstoryj0307.htm
Residential boom underway in West Haven community
By Amy Rothblatt

The area surrounding and west of the United Center has exploded with residential development. In West Haven, West Haven Park, East Garfield Park, Tri-Taylor, and West Village, new townhouses, condos, duplex condos, and single family houses abound.

The boom is remarkable because, as recently as five years ago, much of the area was vacant land. One factor contributing to the change is the Home Start Program, begun several years ago by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the City's Department of Housing to entice developers to buy vacant, City-owned land to create mixed developments of affordable and market value housing. Such joint ventures allow developers to purchase land at market value but not actually pay the City for it until their new housing is built, sold, and closed.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0307/Newsst15.jpg

Under the program, 20% of units must be designated affordable to help meet the City’s goals of using land optimally, creating mixed-income environments that promote diversity, and transforming underdeveloped areas into established neighborhoods with a sense of community. The program also specifies a mix of housing styles and pricing to promote diversity of age, race, gender, and ethnicity.

West Village Homes by New West Realty is a Home Start development consisting of 84 affordable and market-rate units, including simplex and duplex (or one- and two-level) condos and townhouse. Located in part along the 2100 block of west Madison Street, where the sales center can be found as well, the project also is "clustered from the 2300 block of Madison to the 2500 block of Flournoy," said New West's Ted Mazola. "We've only got about ten of them left, and at least 50 are occupied," stated Mazola. "In the next few months they will all be occupied."

The second phase of this development, Heritage Homes of West Village, will span four blocks along Kedzie Avenue from Flournoy to Taylor Streets. "We're just calling the area West Village," Mazola said, referring to the area west of West Haven and the Tri-Taylor neighborhoods.

Steve Barton, a member of the sales team, described the affordable housing program’s importance to the area. "It is designed to get people into a home who might not otherwise have the opportunity because of income and to also actually keep people in the community," he said.



Affordable housing

The City of Chicago Affordable Housing Program is based on income and the number of people in a household. Those interested must submit an application, which the City reviews, after which “the applicants are notified if they are eligible," Barton said. "They say it takes six to eight weeks, but it usually takes about two to three weeks."

Mazola said he always believed in "giving back to the communities, especially those that may be overlooked and underserved. The West Village Homes will provide important infill housing in communities that have started to develop but have been held back somewhat because of an abundance of vacant City-owned land."

The project’s architectural design harmonizes with the area’s turn-of-the-century look, Mazola noted, to help alleviate some longtime residents’ concerns that the neighborhood’s feel will change and its history could be lost with current residential development.

According to Diane Jones, former president of the Madison-Western Chamber of Commerce, "The older residents who have been living in the area for years are opposed to the new condos coming into the area because they feel that they are being pushed out by the new residential development, that they [developers] are not trying to blend them in, and that [newer residents] don't want to associate with the people who have been there for so long and know the community. Some of the new residents coming in are buying these new condos as an investment; they were told their property values would go up in the next five years, and they want to see that happen."

Monica Brown, a homemaker and West Haven resident for the last two years who became frustrated by the area’s lack of good elementary schools, became active in the community and attended regular local get-togethers, such as the Roadmap and Near West Side Community Development Corp. (NWSCDC) meetings.

The Roadmap program consists of a planning and consulting team headed by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Design Center, whose members work actively with the community and schedule monthly meetings to get residents’ feedback about the residential and commercial development they would like to see in West Haven. UIC also works with the East Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce and the Madison-Western Chamber of Commerce.

The NWSCDC holds meetings to discuss planning for schools, retail and residential development, and beautification.

Brown and many other residents regularly attend both groups’ meetings because they believe "the two organizations kind of want different things to happen," she said.



Crowding and parking

"Our biggest concern on the residential side is that our neighborhood is becoming very crowded and that developers are trying to put too many condos on a lot and not give them ample parking," Brown continued. "Parking will become a big issue."

She also reported senior residents "are concerned that the integrity of the neighborhood is being compromised. They want us to be able to combine the old with the new, to maintain a historical look. They don't want to wake up one day and walk out of their houses and have everything brand-spanking new. " She claimed seniors feel "it doesn't appear that the newer generation is willing to do that, particularly the developers, [but] you can't tear everything down."

Jewel Ware, who was elected president of the Homeowners of Westtown Association three months ago, is an 11-year West Haven resident and said, "I am pleased with the development, although I'm not sure

it was planned as well as it could have been.

"Development is always good, especially in this area," she continued. "There is still a good chance that there will be success with the whole mixed-income environment or community, from the homeowners' perspective, which is where I'm speaking from."

Ware believes "the homeowners in general are pleased with having development take place," although "just in terms of looks, the appearance of the condos could blend more with the existing architecture. We know that some developers are trying to keep to the architecture of the area, and some aren't. We appreciate those developers who are being authentic and staying true to the look of the area, and I think it's important that they get some positive reinforcement."



Modern design

The townhouse development by the 2200 W. Madison Group has taken a different approach in the area west of the United Center by implementing a more modern design.

One of the project’s developers, Bill Sipowicz, said the City's Department of Housing "said that they would like to make the city more green and environmentally sound, instead of just having a concrete jungle effect." He added the City wants the area to be "more family-oriented, [and] they wanted us to build something inviting, less dense, that would have appeal for families to stay in the city. We wanted to work within the City's plan."

The development of 18 townhouses, of varying sizes and layouts, extends across 31,000 square feet of land where "normally you would find 45 to72 condo units stacked on top of each other like poker chips," Sipowicz said. "That's what most developers would do: go for the best and highest use. We've given our people the opportunity to live in a less dense environment.” The project also provides personal space outdoors, as the townhouses and third-floor condos have private roof gardens.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0307/Newsst17.jpg

The gardens feature "a very resilient plant growth, similar to grass, but it doesn't grow, so it's like a putting green," he added, noting that in landscaping terminology this is known as "zero floor. It changes color with the seasons and it gets thicker, but not higher. You don't have to haul a lawnmower up to the top level of your home."

Sipowicz noted the other units have either a private patio or balcony, and a common area includes "bike racks, picnic tables, grass, and places to sit."

Karen Williams, a former president of the Homeowners of Westtown Association who remains an active supporter and member, offered her view, saying, “I think that people are very positive about the housing and that the neighborhood has always been eclectic in terms of architectural styles. There is no one style to mimic." The neighborhood’s architecture "varies from block to block, everywhere. There are row houses on Warren Boulevard, tall buildings on Monroe, and on the 2200 block of Adams all of the greystones are so tall, and the new single family homes on Adams are much shorter, not in keeping with the same height. If you think about how the city is, about the older communities and how they were formed, you have smaller units mixed in with townhomes mixed in with single family homes.

"When Mazola came in and built one-, two-, and three-flat condos at West Village Homes, people were very excited about it,” Williams continued. “I know one family who had sold their vintage condo and moved to West Village Homes. I am very pleased with Ted Mazola and his development coming to the neighborhood. Their properties are appreciating, and it will help the neighborhood grow, sustain itself, and become a nice community.”



East Garfield-West Haven overlap

Mike Clark of Clark Construction has been developing in this overlapping area of East Garfield Park and West Haven for over a decade. Located presently at 1937 W. Fulton St., he was one of the first developers who pioneered into that area, and is involved in extensive development in the neighborhood along Washington and Warren Boulevards, as well as on Madison St., as far west as Kedzie Ave..

Bene Dituri, real estate broker and owner of Premier Real Estate Ventures, who is exclusively handling Clark's developments, explains that "the areas of West Haven and East Garfield Park are intrinsically tied together, and there is a lot of overlap between the two."

Dituri noted that developing larger unit buildings, as well as townhouses, single family homes, and conversions of existing architecture is something that Clark is actively involved in.

Clark is another developer participating in the city's affordable housing program, and is currently completing a six townhouse development at 2946-56 W. Warren Blvd.

"We sold four out of the six in the preconstruction phase," Tiduri explained. Each dwelling will be approximately 3,000 sq. ft., constructed of brick and limestone, offering full-finished basements, two-car garages, roof decks, and three bedrooms with 3.5 baths.

Another project along Warren Blvd. that Clark broke ground on last month will be a mix of affordable and market rate housing, and will consist of 30 structures: single family homes, and two-unit buildings. The land was purchased from the City, with the agreement that approximately 15 of these structures be designated to affordable housing. Its location will be between 2700 and 3200 west on Warren Blvd.

This development will be called "New Homes of East Garfield Park," and the first phase has begun.

"We have had very eclectic buyers," Tiduri explained, "and a very eclectic group has bought into our 7-unit condo new construction building at 3101 W. Washington St.. The refreshing thing is that we're seeing diversity."



'A sense of community'

Williams sees the Homeowners Association's primary role as helping people regain a sense of community. The area "has always been diverse, [with] some middle class, professionals, and working class people coexisting for years and years together,” she said. “We want to…welcome the new owners into the community and still have a sense of place, a sense of belonging and sharing, that neighborly feeling that you're not a stranger.”

She believes the association has succeeded in creating harmony in the area. “Whatever ethnicity comes to the neighborhood, soon they're interacting with each other. Old people like seeing children going to the park in their strollers, and we are hopeful that people will stay in the community, upgrade to a home from their smaller condos, once they have children. Many people that I talk to, and most of the property owners who are longtime owners within the neighborhood, are very pleased. There aren't a lot of property owners being displaced in the area; if they're moving out, it's because they want to.”

For Williams, new development gives the community housing options that never existed before. “There’s such a variety of housing stock now: new and old, condos, townhomes, single families, and rentals of various sizes,” she explained. ”That's created choice and that's what I like. It's all positive."

Architectural flair sought
Discussions on key Oak Park property's development focus on design qualities

By Victoria Pierce
Special to the Tribune
Published March 22, 2007
Oak Park may soon lose its beloved Original Pancake House restaurant, but expectations are high that in its place will rise a structure worthy of a town that prides itself on its architecture.

The downtown master plan calls the corner of Lake Street and Forest Avenue a potential "catalyst project" for redevelopment with retail, residences and parking.

"Not just any building will do," said Tim Wittman, an architectural historian who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "To go for the lowest common denominator would be a terrible loss for this site."

Developer Michael Glazier of Sertus Capital Partners has bought the site and hopes to redevelop the restaurant and grocery building and the village-owned parking garage to the north and another parking lot to the east.

More than 100 residents met at the nearby 19th Century Women's Club recently to discuss the site and what type of architecture should replace the non-descript building and parking garage.

Wittman showed a variety of slides on the work of some of the world's most well-known architects, including Richard Meier, who designed the J. Paul Getty Museum in California; Ricardo Bofill, who did the National Theater in Barcelona; and James Sterling's Performing Arts Center at Cornell University in New York.

Wittman encouraged the audience to give feedback on their preferences in architectural styles and materials. Helmut Jahn's Illinois Center in Chicago earned thumbs down, while Santiago Calatrava's Milwaukee Museum of Art received considerable support.

The building with the highest rating? Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple, only a block away from the Original Pancake House.

"The name of Oak Park is synonymous with architectural excellence," said Wittman, who takes his students to Oak Park to visit Wright's home and studio and see firsthand his numerous Prairie Style homes.

With such a legacy, the question becomes whether a new building on Lake Street should blend in with the other significant architecture in the area or make a bold new statement.

That direction has yet to be determined. But Glazier said he is working with the well-known architectural firm of A. Epstein and Sons in Chicago, the same firm that designed the Chicago Public Library, the Stone Container Building and the McCormick Place South and West expansions in Chicago.

The maximum height for the new building is 80 feet, although the developer could ask for a variance, said village planner Craig Failor.

Glazier said he would like approval for the entire project this year, but if it's delayed too long, he suggested he might only redevelop the restaurant and grocery site.

Village President David Pope said it makes sense to redevelop the property as a whole.

As for the popular Original Pancake House, Pope said he hopes the restaurant can relocate in the village so residents can continue to enjoy the famous apple pancakes..

Meanwhile, the fate of the beleaguered Colt Building in downtown remains uncertain after the village received two proposals for the site--one for demolition and the other to restore the former Art-Deco shopping arcade.

The Village Board last week rejected both proposals, opting instead to hold onto the property in hopes that interest in the site will increase as various downtown projects come to fruition.

The village bought the property for nearly $5 million after a redevelopment agreement could not be reached with the previous owner a year ago. Built in the 1920s as an arcade of shops, the central open atrium was filled in during the 1950s. The Lake Street side is Art Deco, and the Westgate Street entrance fits in with English Tudor facades.

Pope said the small number of proposals reflects the overall lack of direction regarding how the Colt property fits into any future downtown plans.

But with nearby Marion Street reopening to traffic later this year and a North Boulevard parking garage in the early planning stages, interest in Oak Park's downtown is on the rise, he said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northshore/chi-0703220115mar22,1,2545584.story?coll=chi-newslocalnorthshore-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

http://www.journal-topics.com/ro/07/ro070307.1.html

Start Buttering The Popcorn
New Movie Theater About 50% Finished

By ANDREA ZELINSKI

Journal City Editor

Construction on the movie theater meant to wow both residents and visitors in and around Rosemont is half finished.

Despite the theater's progress, officials believe an early opening may be out of the question.

"I doubt that," said George Figler, senior project manager for Muvico movie theaters, on an early opening. He blamed it on the cold and snowy weather that tumbled through the midwest early this year. "We're probably about 50% complete...It's a struggle to get back on track."

Currently, the gray exterior shell isn't much to look at, but rather a towering arrangement of high walls assembling the theater's outer shell. It sits at the dead end of Bryn Mar just west of River Road facing the Rosemont Theater parking lot and the I-294 Tollway.

By August, it will be sprinkled with brilliant, bright lights in a classic movie theater entrance to welcome patrons in.

Currently, crews are working on delineating auditoriums inside the structure under a newly built roof. Figler explained that crews are in the raw concrete and shell stage. Installation of screens and seats should start later this month.

The theater is expected to attract not only residents in the northwest suburbs, but also thousands of visitors that fly in and out of O'Hare Airport for local workshops and conventions each week.

This theater will be the first powered my Muvico to enter the Chicagoland area.

"We've been looking to get into this market for quite some time," Figler said about Chicago. "We're just unusual in the way we do business."

The theater will join three new hotels and dozens of restaurants and retail shops to sit around the Rosemont Theater off River Road on the southern edge of town. Together, it will create a $500 million Rosemont Walk entertainment district.

Muvico Vice President of Corporate Communications John Spano called the theater "different," priding itself on a VIP quality experience.

When finished, the theater will include a premiere level of movie viewing, priced separately from general admission. Some viewing would be open to patrons 21 or older. There, viewers can bring alcoholic drinks, deserts or other goodies purchased from a full service restaurant and bar in with them to the show.

"It really differentiates ourselves in the industry," said Spano.

Such premiere tickets would also include a reserved seat, valet parking and popcorn. The theater will also cater to parents by providing a child care center and play room so parents "can now go back to that spontaneity" of traditional movie-going.The theater will also include concession stands loaded with extra goodies like quesadillas, popcorn shrimp and other snacks not usually found in movie theaters.

"At Muvico, we pride ourselves on providing the premiere movie experience," said Spano. He expects the company to start aggressively hiring in June and plans to target students at neighboring high schools like those in Maine and Leyden Township. The company looks to hire about 200 people to man its restaurant, bar, theater and management. It also expects to reach out through the Rosemont Chamber of Commerce.

Muvico currently owns 13 other theaters with as many as 249 screens.

"We look forward to wowing our audiences in the Chicago market and Rosemont is a perfect fit for us."

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0307/Newsst17.jpg


ok, this whole wrought iron black crap is getting old. Am I the alone on this?

short notice, but:

1260 W. MADISON (FedEx site)

The developers of 1260 W. Madison (FedEx site)
are geared up to show you the proposed new
retail/residential project they've been planning.

MARCH 27, 2007 AT 6:00PM
@ WEST LOOP STUDIO
17 N. ELIZABETH

TAKE THE TIME AND SHOW YOUR
SUPPORT. DEVELOPER TO PRESENT
ALL THE FACTS AT THIS TIME.

THIS IS A PUBLIC COMMUNITY MEETING SO ALL ARE WELCOME

Oh I hope they don't shorten it.

It seems like there has been a lot of development and construction going on in West Haven and East Garfield Park over the last year or two. I'm definitely curious to hear from people in this forum who live in that area on how things are progressing in their area (especially in regards to the retail plan on Madison Street). Are new businesses and restaurants coming into the area? Is the neighborhood as a whole, seem to be improving?

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=25&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=3145&TM=81996.62
6/20/2007 10:00:00 PM
Banking on a new development
American Eagle Bank to build new location, condos next year

By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER
Editor


http://www.chicagojournal.com/SiteImages/Article/3145a.jpg
The bank headquarters and condo development on the 700 block of N. Ashland will include 27 residential units and two or three commercial spaces.
File image

An empty lot and used car dealership on the 700 block of N. Ashland will be converted into a bank and 27-unit condominium development by the end of 2008.

Greg Whipple, president of American Eagle Bank, said the project still awaits variances for a drive-thru teller at the bank, but zoning has been approved by the city. The bank will take much of the first two floors of the development, Whipple said.

He said the four-story building will include a fifth floor setback for a bedroom and den, roughly 62 parking spaces and two or three ground-floor commercial spaces, including the bank operation. Approximately 12 to 15 of the parking spaces will be available to the public, Whipple said. The units also will include balconies or terraces, he said.

He said it still is uncertain what businesses will occupy the commercial space, but he added that they are looking for a "local flavor."

"We're trying to keep a neighborhood feel because we're a community bank," he said.

The 30,000-square-foot lot runs from 700-710 N. Ashland.

He said the development includes two buildings split by an alley. The entire site takes up 11 city lots, one of which that runs into the Huron Street neighborhood will be converted into a space park space that acts as a buffer between the building and nearby residential housing, Whipple said.

Construction will begin in late summer and last roughly 15 months, he said.

"We expect being in there by next fall," he said.

Neighbors living in nearby East Village expressed concern about the congestion a bank would bring last summer when the development first surfaced. But incoming Chicago Grand Neighbors Association president David Ramos said his group supports the project.

Ramos said he believes development in the area will help curb crime.

Meanwhile, Whipple said American Eagle also is building a new branch at 2255 N. Western. He said construction of the Western branch will run concurrently with the Ashland branch, beginning roughly in July and completing near the end of 2008

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-montclare_re_07-01jul01,0,606101.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
Grand Avenue gateway goal of Montclare revival plan

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published July 1, 2007

A six-story project with residential units and ground-floor retail space is intended to convert a failing corner in the Montclare neighborhood, where Elmwood Park and Chicago meet, into a pedestrian-oriented gateway district.

The Chicago Plan Commission on June 21 approved the project, but City Council approval still is needed. Harlem & Grand LLC will build it on 0.62 of an acre.

Harlem & Grand is a partnership between two families that have each owned part of the site for years. The families combined the properties to create a significant development site, said George Kouvelis, the managing partner representing one of the families and head of Premier Construction Group, which will build the project. He also heads PreferredCo, the development company managing the project.

The Gus Kouvelis family had owned a 14,500 square-foot parcel on the northeast corner of Grand and Harlem Avenues. The Luigi Mollo family, which includes Mariano Mollo who heads Avenue One Realty, owned an adjacent 12,500-square-foot parcel.

Since the two families formed the LLC, that entity has purchased the combined 27,000-square-foot site, making the families 50/50 partners in the project, Kouvelis said.

The project, to be called The Grand at Harlem, will go up at 7180-7192 W. Grand Ave. and consist of 70 condominiums and 9,200 square feet of ground-level retail space.

One-bedroom and two-bedroom condos will have an estimated 900 to 1,700 square feet of space. Stressing that plans are in early pricing stages, Kouvelis estimates that the LLC will sell the units for $280,000 to $450,000.

Of seven to eight storefronts with 900 to 2,700 square feet of space, Kouvelis expects that one will be a cafe and another a restaurant to draw foot traffic.

"We have designed a village-style facade, a masonry building with balconies facing Harlem and Grand, with 6th-floor terraces, a green roof and a setback garden on the second floor," Kouvelis said.

"We are trying to create a downtown walking district, to bring back the old Grand Avenue, once part of a thriving Grand and Harlem shopping district. Right now people don't walk there because most of the stores are empty, but The Grand at Harlem project will change the area to a gateway, the entrance into the city from Elmwood Park," Kouvelis said.

Condo seekers have begun to express interest, said Kouvelis, who expects buyers to be couples in their 20s and 30s.

The developer will begin selling the units by the end of summer from Avenue One's office at 7159 W. Grand Ave., across from the site. Construction likely will begin by next spring.

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/business/457646,061BIZ3.article
New Lenox Metra station development plan sprawls into 'a city within city'

July 6, 2007
By Patrick Ferrell Special to the Daily Southtown
The area around New Lenox's second Metra station near Laraway and Cedar faces a large overhaul unlike any other development in the village.

GV Development is proposing a 236-acre, transit-oriented development that one trustee dubbed "a city within a city."

The development would straddle the railroad tracks north of Laraway Road and include some commercial and single-family homes south of Laraway, west of the tracks.

More than half of its 949 residential units would be condominiums. The rest would be split between single-family homes, brownstones and townhomes.

There's also 50 acres of commercial development planned. The entire project, called Village Station, will be marketed to folks who take the train to downtown Chicago for work.

"There's a lot of opportunities for pedestrians to get around," architect Chuck Smith said in describing to the village board the tree-lined, sweeping promenade in the middle of the development. "That's exactly what this is built for."

"We've clearly got a recipe for success here," Trustee Ray Tuminello said. "This is exactly what I envisioned for the area."

The project was approved by the village a few years ago, but Smith brought it back before the village board recently with some changes.

Those include a redistribution of some housing types and changing once-planned curved blocks into straighter, more urban designs.

"One of the fundamentals of a transit-oriented development is short, walkable blocks," Smith said. The major retail portions, including the most concentrated residential areas, will be within two blocks of the village's SouthWest Service line Metra station.

Trustee Nancy Dye, who usually advocates for larger, estate-type lots, said she liked the design of the project but was concerned the village would set a precedent for smaller, more compact housing.

Dye also said the success of the project depends on whether Metra increases the number of trains it runs on the line. Currently, two run to Chicago in the morning and two return in the evening.

"If you take a half day (off work) to get home because one of your kids is sick, you're stuck," she said. "You can't get home on this line."

Smith said Metra was very excited for the project and would likely increase the number of daily trains once demand increases, something the project undoubtedly will do.

Why not put this in the Suburban thread. This thread's combination of West Side and "Suburban" makes no sense. I understand putting Cicero,Oak Park etc in this thread, but New Lenox???

I know... this really needs to be re-labelled to "Near West Suburban Development".

Including:
Cicero
Oak Park
Maywood
Westchester
Melrose Park
Elmwood Park
River Forest
Riverside

etc.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0907/ud0907.htm

Stroger may save old County Hospital

Crystal Carlson

Stroger has proposed removing the connection between the old hospital and the Fantus Clinic, building a new road between Fantus and the hospital, and adding a daycare center and commercial center. The restoration proposal also specifies obtaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification; LEED encourages creating buildings that are environmentally sustainable and energy efficient.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3437/ud090726qc4.jpg

If all goes well with this, I would consider this one of the top preservationist victories in American history.

You can't demolish Cook County Hospital, plain and simple.

yeah you cant (knock it down), and the guy got to put his name
on the new one, the least he can do is save the old one.
wonder what they will use it for?
probably offices

What aa fantastic building!!! Restoration FTW!

If all goes well with this, I would consider this one of the top preservationist victories in American history.

You can't demolish Cook County Hospital, plain and simple.


Its a tall statement but one with validity that will even become more apparent with time.

They should turn it into a museum or something civic-minded. Maybe an ER Museum?

I think the plan is to turn it into medical offices.

Damn it, I'll open up an office there if I have to (we'll have to wait till 2009, though). This structure MUST be saved at all costs. The Illinois Medical District is turning into a built up pile of concrete, steel, and ugly parking garages, and structures like these must remain to add some grace to the area.

Actually, I haven't seen that area since 2005, but I recall that a lot of residential construction is occuring nearby. A lot of hospital workers, I believe. So much potential...

^ I have no idea what belongs on this thread any more, but this sucker's gettin' put here, like it or not. One notable aspect of the project is that TIF dollars will go towards "adding to the streetgrid", even though supposedly this is a gated development. Sounds like an inappropriate use of public funds to me:

CITY REPORT
TIF help for housing project in W. Elsdon
By Jeanette Almada Special to the Tribune
September 23, 2007
The city has agreed to provide up to $7.4 million in tax increment financing for a 181-unit residential project planned for the West Elsdon neighborhood.

The Community Development Commission this month approved TIF assistance for the Park Place development. City Council approval for the subsidy is needed.

A team of local developers -- Ted Mazola of New West Realty, August Mauro, Neil Renzi, Anthony Tirtilli and Charles Papp -- will build the project through 5007 Lawndale Corp.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-welsdon_re_09-23sep23,0,5084513.story

Some renderings:

http://newwestrealty.com/img/comm/parkplace/photos/n_01.jpg

http://newwestrealty.com/img/comm/parkplace/photos/n_02.jpg

http://newwestrealty.com/img/comm/parkplace/photos/n_03.jpg

Photos taken a few days ago by Noah Vaughn on flickr

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2748/173733771879db5ed859oud7.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7014/1737339910b872444571oqc5.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6352/1737335674722fbc4b91ok3.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/4472/1737342432fd4adfdbc9oky1.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1999/1658586795665e686ea5oyk3.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8541/1658590381dfaae2a3f5ovt7.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8507/1659456932219d982924kb2.jpg

Not sure why this was moved, but demolition is certainly underway.

Some photos from flickr:
katherine of chicago
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/704/2090845169eb0a91de7fork9.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6262/2082549767af23cc9f0aort7.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/2675/20825497712bf9a3ee80oyf7.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1561/208254974974eb64bb86ofw9.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4729/208254976301837ec8aaocg7.jpg
Suburbanite05
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9639/2085216571422d14591fvc6.jpg

I found this somewhat interesting, especially the parts in bold. It's too bad there isn't an L stop at Damen and Lake, which would make this a great example of TOD:

Westhaven Park heads toward its final phase
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
December 16, 2007
The city has approved the last 203-unit phase for Westhaven Park on the Near West Side.

(Excerpt 1)

The Plan Commission in November approved that phase on 8.35 acres between Lake Street and Washington Boulevard and Wolcott and Damen Avenues.

(Excerpt 2)

A 10-story building at Lake Street and Damen will hold 80 of the last 111 for-sale units. Of those, 16 will be leased to public-housing residents and 64 sold at affordable and market rates.

(Excerpt 3)

The 10-story building and one of the apartments will contain ground-floor commercial space. . Another apartment building will include office and community space on Lake, Levavi said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-westhaven_ja_re_12-16dec16,0,7539123.story

Are the Mods interested in taking "suburban" out of this thread title, since we already have a "suburban development news" thread?

The greening of Kedzie corridor
30 energy-efficient condos, retail space set for E. Garfield
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
December 23, 2007
An $11.5 million, mixed-used project with 30 energy-efficient condos is planned near the Chicago Transit Authority's Green Line Kedzie Avenue Station in East Garfield Park.

Community leaders anticipate that the six-story building slated for the northeast corner of Kedzie Avenue and Lake Street and its 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space will be a catalyst for new investment in the neighborhood's Kedzie Avenue commercial corridor.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-garfield_re_ja_12-23dec23,0,4481894.story

Lots of new development planned for downtown Oak Park.

Sept. 12, 2007 – An agreement has been reached with Morningside Equities Group, Inc. on the terms for a new $30-million mixed-use project at South Boulevard and Harlem Avenue , the Village Board and the Oak Park Development Corporation announced today. The project will be the first redevelopment of Village-owned property specifically planned to take advantage of mass transit literally at the new residents' front door.
http://www.oak-park.us/News/Special_Report_Harlem-South_Planning.htm

This will replace a surface parking lot and will be directly south of the Metra/Green line station. Here is a rendering, viewed from the northwest. The el enbankment is off to the left (sorry, can't figure out how to make the image smaller.)

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc128/sukwoo/harlemandsouth.jpg



Just north of the same Metra/Green line station...
Dec. 7, 2007 – The Village Board has selected three developers to advance in the next round of competition to develop key properties in downtown Oak Park, including the Colt Building. Seven developers responded to a request for qualifications issued in September. The field initially was narrowed to five, each of which presented credentials and general concepts to the Village Board. The three finalists – AvalonBay Communities Inc., Centrum Properties and Mid America Development Partners LLC – were awarded a $10,000 stipend each to develop specific proposals.
http://www.oak-park.us/RFQ/index.html

This development involves the downtown "superblock" bounded by Lake St, North Blvd, Marion St, and Harlem Ave, and is in the heart of downtown Oak Park. One of the proposals involves an urban Target, and all involve mixed retail and residential use.

Some preliminary renderings.
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc128/sukwoo/superblock.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc128/sukwoo/superblockmid-america.jpg

deleted

Im Lovin that first rendering

If these TODs are buillt in Oak Park, it will add considerable mass to the downtown area and increase pedestrian traffic. I think a Target would be a great addition as well, a worthy modern-day successor to the Marshall Fields which used to be in downtown Oak Park.

I don't know many people in Oak Park who have any interest in a giant underground Target in the middle of downtown. It's tacky and at cross purposes with the uniqueness and class they are trying to cultivate there. I'm hoping the Village will toss that proposal.

It's a little unfortunate that that site is being developed without bringing the Pier 1/Gap/Old Navy directly to the west into consideration as well. Some of this new development will be fronting that mistake's parking lot. The plans now involve tearing down some very nice buildings on Westgate when they could be preserved if the properties on Harlem were incorporated into the development as well. (Developing those would also provide the benefit of blocking the view of the nasty strip mall across the street in River Forest.)

I don't know many people in Oak Park who have any interest in a giant underground Target in the middle of downtown. It's tacky and at cross purposes with the uniqueness and class they are trying to cultivate there. I'm hoping the Village will toss that proposal.

I don't understand what's wrong with Target. Is it too low-end for Oak Park? I think it'd be nice to have transit-oriented retail that actually sells useful stuff instead of luxury knick-knacks. Obviously if the design is poor that's one thing, but if its tastefully done, I think it would be a good retail anchor for the downtown area.

I think it'd be nice to have transit-oriented retail that actually sells useful stuff instead of luxury knick-knacks..

^ Absolutely, positively true. I think this is one of the biggest issues I have with the way many people view how transit and pedestrian-oriented development is "supposed" to be. Until you allow stores that attract the mainstream population into "main streets", people will continue to regularly drive to Target or Menards while only visiting these "main streets" on an occasional Sunday for their nostalgia fix.

^ Absolutely, positively true. I think this is one of the biggest issues I have with the way many people view how transit and pedestrian-oriented development is "supposed" to be. Until you allow stores that attract the mainstream population into "main streets", people will continue to regularly drive to Target or Menards while only visiting these "main streets" on an occasional Sunday for their nostalgia fix.

Have you guys looked at this plan or ever been to the area it is proposed for? The plan involves leveling almost an entire block of buildings, many of which are historic and were NOT supposed to be part of the redevelopment plan. The Target is proposed to have a massive parking lot AND a garage, although the other plans for the site only involve a garage. Oak Parkers will reject this plan, and if the Village shows signs of favoring it, they will fight it to the death. It's a bad idea that would effectively kill downtown Oak Park and make it little different from River Forest's "Town Center" or whatever they call their abysmal strip mall across Harlem.

Have you guys looked at this plan or ever been to the area it is proposed for? The plan involves leveling almost an entire block of buildings, many of which are historic and were NOT supposed to be part of the redevelopment plan. The Target is proposed to have a massive parking lot AND a garage, although the other plans for the site only involve a garage. Oak Parkers will reject this plan, and if the Village shows signs of favoring it, they will fight it to the death. It's a bad idea that would effectively kill downtown Oak Park and make it little different from River Forest's "Town Center" or whatever they call their abysmal strip mall across Harlem.

My understanding may be flawed, and all the proposals are preliminary and subject to change, but my reading of the RFQs do not show any evidence of an outdoor parking lot in the Target proposal. All three proposals under review involve roughly the same area (in fairness, the Target proposal involves slightly more teardown), and they all involve teardown of the Colt building and buildings along Westgate. Oak Park has already had a referendum (by proxy) on the Colt building during the last municipal elections, and the party of preservation was decisively defeated.

The three proposals under review:
http://www.oak-park.us/public/pdfs/Planning/Colt%20RFQ/10.24.07_Centrum.pdf (Target + condos plan)
http://www.oak-park.us/public/pdfs/Planning/Colt%20RFQ/10.24.07_AvalonBay_Clark_Street.pdf (retail + condos, no Target)
http://www.oak-park.us/public/pdfs/Planning/Colt%20RFQ/10.24.07_Mid-America.pdf (retail, hotel, and apartments)

Okay, I should have been more specific--the Target plan involves ground-level parking, although it will be in a parking garage. The better plans call for at least some retail or other uses at ground level with parking above. It's important to remember that this property is what you face as soon as you exit the train station--do you really think people should be greeted with blank walls and a driveway into ground-level parking?

Nobody's talking about preserving the Colt Building. That has already been decided. However, the Target plan does not involve "slightly" more demolition, it involves the teardown of, by my rough count, seven or eight additional buildings outside the redevelopment zone! That is a significant chunk of Downtown Oak Park that NOBODY has talked about tearing down!

As for whether Target is the kind of place that should exist in Downtown Oak Park: maybe people in Oak Park would shop at a Target, although I doubt there would be a really great level of interest because, yeah, it is pretty low-end and Oak Park has been moving in the other direction, as is evidenced by the newer and generally more upscale businesses that have opened there--many of which are doing just fine without a Target to draw a population that doesn't align with their demographic anyway. It's not some desolate strip that has no option except bringing in a big box. There is a critical mass there already, and it just plain does not need a Target or any other big box. If that belongs anywhere in Oak Park--and I really don't think it does--it would be on an already unsightly street with the capacity to handle that quantity of car traffic, like Madison, Harlem, or North Ave.

Okay, I should have been more specific--the Target plan involves ground-level parking, although it will be in a parking garage. The better plans call for at least some retail or other uses at ground level with parking above. It's important to remember that this property is what you face as soon as you exit the train station--do you really think people should be greeted with blank walls and a driveway into ground-level parking?

Nobody's talking about preserving the Colt Building. That has already been decided. However, the Target plan does not involve "slightly" more demolition, it involves the teardown of, by my rough count, seven or eight additional buildings outside the redevelopment zone! That is a significant chunk of Downtown Oak Park that NOBODY has talked about tearing down!

As for whether Target is the kind of place that should exist in Downtown Oak Park: maybe people in Oak Park would shop at a Target, although I doubt there would be a really great level of interest because, yeah, it is pretty low-end and Oak Park has been moving in the other direction, as is evidenced by the newer and generally more upscale businesses that have opened there--many of which are doing just fine without a Target to draw a population that doesn't align with their demographic anyway. It's not some desolate strip that has no option except bringing in a big box. There is a critical mass there already, and it just plain does not need a Target or any other big box. If that belongs anywhere in Oak Park--and I really don't think it does--it would be on an already unsightly street with the capacity to handle that quantity of car traffic, like Madison, Harlem, or North Ave.

You make a decent point about the extra teardown proposed for the Target. I personally don't think these extra buildings are all that architecturally significant, but I'm not a professional architect, so what do I know. Of course, these plans are only preliminary, and probably could be modified to save any buildings if deemed necessary.

Target may be low-end, but they've always seemed to me to do a better job than, say Wal-Mart, of keeping their stores clean and classy. I don't think the affluence of Oak Park would prevent locals from taking advantage of bargains. Additionally a big-box retailer like Target will bring in an enormous amount of sales tax revenue to the village. This is no small matter given the rapidly escalating property tax levies in Oak Park, which are some of the highest in the county.

You make a decent point about the extra teardown proposed for the Target. I personally don't think these extra buildings are all that architecturally significant, but I'm not a professional architect, so what do I know. Of course, these plans are only preliminary, and probably could be modified to save any buildings if deemed necessary.

Target may be low-end, but they've always seemed to me to do a better job than, say Wal-Mart, of keeping their stores clean and classy. I don't think the affluence of Oak Park would prevent locals from taking advantage of bargains. Additionally a big-box retailer like Target will bring in an enormous amount of sales tax revenue to the village. This is no small matter given the rapidly escalating property tax levies in Oak Park, which are some of the highest in the county.

It's not just Frank Lloyd Wrights that ought to be preserved. Downtown Oak Park capitalizes on its atmosphere, which is in large part due to all those buildings with solid early 20th-century detailing. It's a pretty safe bet that anything built by Centrum to house a Target is going to be a HUGE step down aesthetically, and in the long run that is going to be much worse for Oak Park because it will make it look like little more than a half-assed Oak Brook Mall. In any case, some of the buildings in question have been very recently rehabbed and repurposed--unlike the Colt Building, they are very functional and still house a lot of activity.

Really the Borders and the Lake Theater are more appropriate downtown anchors than Target and they do their jobs quite well--what downtown needs is probably more businesses to complement them, like some more restaurants to visit before and after movies.

I agree that Oak Park needs to do something about its tax situation, but Target is not the answer. It's not going to draw very many people from outside Oak Park because Target is by its nature a car-oriented store and the area in question just plain can't handle that kind of car traffic. For that kind of shopping, people are going to continue going to Oak Brook or the big boxes on North Ave. or Cermak because they're set up for it. A more appropriate model for Oak Park would be Evanston. Furthermore, the tax situation is more due to bad decisions on the Village's part than any underlying problems with the tax base, and big box stores are by no means guaranteed to have a positive effect on taxes received.

We also shouldn't forget the property at Lake and Forest that is slated for redevelopment. A thoughtful and coordinated redevelopment of that property along with the superblock, hopefully taking into account the potential of future development of the properties fronting Harlem, would do a lot more good for the area than a clear-cutting of downtown for a Target. Unfortunately, all the remaining firms have portfolios composed mostly of schlocky boxes, so we'll see what happens.

^^ I disagree with just about everything you just said.

IMO, big-box stores should be encouraged as much as possible to adopt urban-friendly site plans. Target seems eager to enter urban markets and new-urbanist developments, so I say let them. They are by their very nature a magnet for other development.

Also, I think Oak Park's downtown success has little to do with the "solid early 20th century detailing" and everything to do with the comfortable pedestrian environment, which this project will not change.

I think I'm coming around to a more relative understanding of architecture - most new things are hated by the establishment that prefers the status-quo. Then the new buildings go through a maturing period where they are universally considered obsolete. Finally, if they manage to survive, they enter a golden age where they are seen as valuable and historic.

I don't see how this proposal is "urban" at all. It's set up to allow people to park in Target's garage and go straight into an underground store without ever stepping onto a sidewalk. It's not designed at all to generate foot traffic. You can say that Target is interested in reaching urban markets, but I'm not going to believe that's possible there without an explanation for how this proposal in this location is a good idea. For example, it's going to be a nightmare for anybody trying to get to the train (notice how their new "Station Street" doesn't even go to the station, only to their parking garage, and it adds zero pedestrians to North Blvd. because it turns it into effectively a garage entrance).

Listen, Oak Park is getting plenty of new development, and few people are particularly opposed to that; in fact, even the local paper is vocally in favor of it. In addition to the 14-story Whiteco project on Harlem and Ontario, there's the eight-story development on Harlem and South Blvd., an eight-story apartment building on Marion north of Lake, the YMCA redevelopment, the Schiess building on Oak Park Ave. and South Blvd., and a possible 13-story building on Lake and Forest, and that's just downtown. There will be plenty of new (and therefore expensive) retail space without knocking down another half-dozen relatively affordable buildings that allow a mix of businesses downtown. And that is a whole lot more "new urbanist" than clear-cutting for a Target.

By the way--that rendering for the Harlem/South Blvd. project is probably out of date, as it has increased from six to eight stories. The proposal for that project definitely looks like a class act, and the architecture is even pretty forgivable, if not exactly pathbreaking.

I don't see how this proposal is "urban" at all. It's set up to allow people to park in Target's garage and go straight into an underground store without ever stepping onto a sidewalk. It's not designed at all to generate foot traffic. You can say that Target is interested in reaching urban markets, but I'm not going to believe that's possible there without an explanation for how this proposal in this location is a good idea. For example, it's going to be a nightmare for anybody trying to get to the train (notice how their new "Station Street" doesn't even go to the station, only to their parking garage, and it adds zero pedestrians to North Blvd. because it turns it into effectively a garage entrance).

Listen, Oak Park is getting plenty of new development, and few people are particularly opposed to that; in fact, even the local paper is vocally in favor of it. In addition to the 14-story Whiteco project on Harlem and Ontario, there's the eight-story development on Harlem and South Blvd., an eight-story apartment building on Marion north of Lake, the YMCA redevelopment, the Schiess building on Oak Park Ave. and South Blvd., and a possible 13-story building on Lake and Forest, and that's just downtown. There will be plenty of new (and therefore expensive) retail space without knocking down another half-dozen relatively affordable buildings that allow a mix of businesses downtown. And that is a whole lot more "new urbanist" than clear-cutting for a Target.

By the way--that rendering for the Harlem/South Blvd. project is probably out of date, as it has increased from six to eight stories. The proposal for that project definitely looks like a class act, and the architecture is even pretty forgivable, if not exactly pathbreaking.

Oak Park took a referendum on preservation of the buildings there - preservation lost.

I wouldn't be too concerned about Station Street. It doesn't exist yet, and nobody has trouble getting to the station. Sidewalks along Harlem and Marion are good enough, aren't they?

Also, I 'm not too sure about people only arriving in their cars. People are gonna go to your Targets and Walmarts, whether they are in Oak Park or freakin' Oakbrook Terrace. If they have to travel to Oakbrook Terrace to visit a Target, that means that they most assuredly will drive. Oak Park has the opportunity to capture these shopping trips and tax revenue and bring shoppers downtown, without ruining the urban fabric that currently exists there.

People have never before been given the opportunity to actually WALK to a Target. Where they have, such as in the South Loop, people actually DO. Plenty of South Loopers walk to the Target at Clark and Roosevelt if the weather is tolerable. Who's to say they won't do the same in Oak Park, which already has a strong pedestrian environment and a loyal cadre of pedestrian patrons for the businesses?

Now, if I were Oak Park, I would take my Sharpie and scribble some changes on Centrum's plan. Start with their Plan #2 and move the underground garage entrance to the interior of the property, so that some retail can be shifted to along North Blvd and the curb cut can be narrowed for the loading dock only. With the ramp moved, create a ground-level interior passage through the Target building. This will create a new route to the train stations and provide a southerly entrance for pedestrians.

I could become convinced that downtown is the wrong location for a Target. However, I really don't think that Target is too low-end for Oak Park. Remember, a significant portion of Oak Park is made up of rentals (Off the top of my head, I'd guess 20-30% of the population rents.) Additionally, a Target near the Green line would draw from neighborhoods east of Oak Park, particularly those who lack automobiles and can't drive to the Wal-Mart near North and Cicero. Finally, maybe I'm just really cheap and maybe all my friends are really cheap, but we shop at Target even though we can easily afford to go someplace more expensive. All the Targets I've ever been to have been clean and appealing, in contrast to some Wal-Mart's that I've seen. I still believe there's a niche to be filled in Oak Park for inexpensive household items and consumer goods.

Oak Park took a referendum on preservation of the buildings there - preservation lost.


I'm not sure what you're referring to here. The only building there that was any public discussion of is the Colt, and the engineers have spoken on that one: it's not salvageable, and most of the building is unsightly anyway. The idea that the recent elections were nothing but a referendum on the general virtue of preservation in the village is ridiculous. The old village government was off the wall for a huge variety of reasons, and they got booted because they had no fiscal sense whatsoever.

Regarding Station Street, I don't think it's really necessary at all, although that's debatable. But I do think it's necessary for any development to at least acknowledge that there are going to be pedestrians there, and Centrum seemed unaware that there was even a station there at all. In fact the entire proposal seems oriented toward the garage, not the street--it makes "Station" Street into essentially a driveway off of Lake Street. Now that is ugly.

Sukwoo, I don't doubt that there are a fair number of people in Oak Park who shop (or would shop) at Target. Actually I think the proportion who rent may be higher than 30%, and east of Ridgeland incomes are still more or less working-class. That said, there are business districts that are already suited for, and closer to, that demographic--east Lake St., east Chicago Ave., North Ave., Madison, and Roosevelt--and that have the capacity to accommodate the huge volume of car traffic that a big-box store would inevitably generate, no matter how "transit-oriented" it supposedly is (LOTS of people still drive to the one in the South Loop, you know).

Downtown has narrow streets and a large variety of small storefronts. It's not fundamentally broken, so let's not try to fix it by bringing in a monolithic presence. I'd rather see something like a bigger version of the development across the street with the Lane Bryant--good-sized retailer, not one you need to drive to, complements rather than replaces what's around it, pretty good density, and squarely oriented toward Lake.

Edited to add: actually, if it's so important to have a big box like Target in downtown Oak Park, why not level the properties to the west of the Colt rather than the ones to the east?

For what it's worth, Westgate was on Landmarks Illinois' Ten Most Endangered List in 2005:
http://www.landmarks.org/images/ten_archive/west_2005_archive.jpg

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4799/230516147431bf502bdabde8.jpg
katherine of chicago

Looks like a movie scene or a war zone.

I saw some interesting blueprints for this guy just randomly lying on a table at Salvage One, dated 1988, ink on vellum.

Is there even a plan for what will replace the pavilions, Childrens' Hospital, and power plant? I drove past the medical center yesterday. The amount of new buildings there is staggering, but they're all so spread out, with gigantic unused fields and random parking lots separating everything. If the city wants to plan a world-class medical district, they need to make it compact as well as comprehensive, and allow private development to come in and fill the gaps that make the surrounding neighborhood look like a war zone.

Eminent domain swallowed up a much larger chunk of land on the Near West Side than the IMD is ever going to use in the remotely near future. There's still over a dozen blocks south of Roosevelt and west of Ashland just sitting empty; it's close to the size of the built-up portion of the IMD. There's such an obnoxiously large amount of land there, I don't understand why it was necessary or financially advantageous to knock all these buildings down. Because of the total absence of anything at all besides the hospitals, the place is just creepy after hours. The politics of the place is something I will never understand.

http://wjinc.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10625&TM=54992.15

All my fretting for nothing. Centrum pulled out of the competition, citing Target's lack of interest in expansion plans given the economy. But, "Also, Centrum planned to use downtown TIF dollars and acquire a bigger piece of land than the 81,000-square-foot parcel the village was offering. The village wasn't interested in either."

The finalists are AvalonBay and Mid-America. Mid-America claims they can't make it work without subsidies. The number of apartments could be as high as about 270 in AvalonBay's proposal, fewer in Mid-America's.

Also, the project on Harlem and South Blvd. is on hold because of the economy. Too bad.
http://wjinc.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10627&TM=54651.35

Bummer about the Harlem and South project delay. On the other hand, I park in one of the lots that the project will be built on, so I get bit of a reprieve. Cautiously optimistic about the remaining Superblock plans.

So I was dismayed to read in the local Oak Park paper that both remaining proposals will require significant village subsidies, in the range of 30-40 million dollars. Is this routine for developers to ask for subsidies? Do they ask for subsidies because they can't make the project work otherwise, or do they ask because they can?

I wasn't around when the Whiteco development was approved, but it seems like a similar subsidy was approved for that project.

http://wjinc.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10687

3/18/2008 10:05:00 PM
Colt redo could cost village millions
Some Oak Park trustees troubled by fund requests

By MARTY STEMPNIAK

If Oak Park wants something spectacular to be built on a village-owned piece of land in the heart of downtown, then it needs to contribute tens of millions to make it happen.

Yes, developers often help themselves to huge subsidies. I have to say $40 million in subsidies for maybe a $150 million project does seem pretty huge, doesn't it? I also find it pretty interesting that part of Mid-America's proposed subsidy would come in the form of hiding part of the hotel charge in a "tax" that will go straight back to them.

I wonder how much of the subsidy is because of the enormous garage each project includes. Oak Park has to be the most parking-paranoid town I've ever heard of. Downtown Oak Park is an absolute breeze to park in, yet the village feels the need to spend vast sums of money it doesn't have to accommodate armies of cars for free. It's just ridiculous, and it's a substantial part of the reason the Village has to have outrageous taxes.

What's really sad about this, though, is that the one group that had the honesty to say from the outset that subsidies would be necessary for the project to be viable was eliminated from the competition for just that reason. I think they also had the best plan for the project.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/922444,CST-FIN-roeder30.article

26th Street to get taste of Beverly Hills
REAL ESTATE |
California-based developer partners with local firm to bring movie theater, housing, grocer to Little Village

April 30, 2008Recommend

DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com

A little bit of Beverly Hills is coming to 26th Street, an important commercial corridor to Little Village.

But this isn't gentrification gone crazy. It's a developer based in Beverly Hills, Calif., taking the wraps off a project proposed for 4400 W. 26th St. Primestor Development Inc. wants to build about 100 housing units, and approximately 190,000 square feet of commercial space, including a movie theater.

The property covers about 15 acres near the city's boundary with Cicero. Primestor and a local partner, the Little Village Community Development Corp., have worked through the planning process for a couple years and has now introduced an ordinance to rezone the site with the support of Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd)...............

Renderings of the above development. I like the southern half of the project, but the northern half, not so much.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5655/primestor1pj7.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4384/primestor2ou6.jpg

Article about Colt building in Oak Park:

http://wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=11501

New proposals submitted for Colt building
One revamps architecture, other cuts down on apartments

Two developers competing to reinvent a key piece of downtown Oak Park property have revamped their ideas for the site.

These revisions come two months after the village board and various volunteer commissions criticized the earlier proposals for their uninspired architecture and dependence on local subsidies.

------------------------------------------------------------

^^ So, I'm partial to Avalon's project. There is a slide show linked from the above article showing the designs.
http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=11503&TM=45369.87
I HATE Mid-America's design. :ohno:

I like it! :cheers:

For those interested, there is an update to the Colt Project occurring in
Oak Park. Mid-America, which had an "edgy" design, is dropping out of the
bid process.

Developer drops out of Colt competition
Cites economy: These are factors beyond our control

By MARTY STEMPNIAK
Staff Reporter

Web Extra!
With the economy continuing to tank, a developer unexpectedly dropped out
of competition to win a key piece of downtown Oak Park.

Mid-America Development Partners announced at a public hearing Thursday
night that it is "gracefully withdrawing" from the competition, which has
been going on since late last year.

"In this current economic environment, we really don't see us moving
forward," said John Melaniphy III, vice president of Mid-America.

His company's proposal included a 120-room hotel, almost 50,000 square
feet of retail space and 182 luxury apartments. The development would have
been in a large village-owned piece of land, which stretches from Lake
Street to North Boulevard, just east of Harlem Avenue.

Melaniphy said the finances of a hotel would not work in Oak Park and that
the retail climate across the country is struggling. He pointed both to
Starbucks' recent announcement of 600 stores closing nationwide--including
one in River Forest--and to Walgreens announcing cutbacks.

Yeah, I think Oak Park missed the boat on this. I blame the misguided efforts of the previous Village Board which wasted two years trying to save the Colt Building. We may have to wait a few more years now till the economy turns around.

625 apartments planned for West Side
By Alby Gallun, July 23, 2008

South Loop condominium developer Keith Giles plans two large apartment developments totaling about 625 units on Chicago’s West Side.

Kargil Development LLC, a firm run by Mr. Giles and partner Jerry Karlik, plans to break ground early next year on the smaller project, a 12-story, 225-unit building on the northeast corner of 15th Street and Blue Island Avenue, according to a person familiar with Kargil’s plans.

Designed by FitzGerald Associates Architects, the building is expected to cost about $70 million and is to include about 12,000 square feet of retail space, according to the person. Mr. Giles did not return phone calls for comment.

Kargil also wants to build roughly 400 apartments at the southeast corner of 15th and Blue Island, the current headquarters of Testa Produce Inc., the person says. Given the property’s proximity to the University of Illinois at Chicago, student housing is another possibility under consideration.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

If the 225-unit building is 12 stories, I can only imagine how tall the 400-unit building will be. Since its site is smaller, we could be looking at a 20-25 story building. Maybe they can call it SoRo. :lol:

^^ Does that region count as Pilsen? I've been over in that area and was quite surprised to see how much development that is going on. It's a nice area, quite underrated. The draw back is limited access to the train system.

That is just north of Pilsen. The border is the train tracks along 16th, and it's a hard border--south of them is definitely Pilsen, north of them is definitely not. That location is kind of close to the Pink Line, but commuters to the Loop would probably use the #60 bus, which stops right on Blue Island.

That is just north of Pilsen. The border is the train tracks along 16th, and it's a hard border--south of them is definitely Pilsen, north of them is definitely not. That location is kind of close to the Pink Line, but commuters to the Loop would probably use the #60 bus, which stops right on Blue Island.

Thank! I thought the tracks were the boundary.

I'm glad to see the added density.

Panel OKs TIF money for Little Village project (http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=30599)
By Eddie Baeb, Aug. 14, 2008

(Crain’s) — A city panel signed off on a $24.8-million subsidy for a mixed-use development in the Little Village neighborhood that’s to include a grocery store, movie theater and apartments.

The Chicago Community Development Commission voted Tuesday to approve the tax-increment financing (TIF) grant for the $132.7-million project on a 16-acre site at 4400 W. 26th St., near the border of Cicero. The subsidy now must be approved by the City Council.

http://www.primestor.com/images/LittleVillage.jpg

Little Village Re-development Project
26th Street and Kostner, Chicago, IL

The Little Village project is a 40 acre mixed-use development that includes residential, retail uses, and public areas.

The site is located at the western terminus of a 2-mile stretch of 26th Street, which is the commercial heart of the Latino community in Little Village and one of the most vibrant and dense communities in the Midwest. It generates the second highest sales tax revenue in the City of Chicago.

The development will consist of a neighborhood shopping center and several hundred new residential units, with a mix of affordability and density, along with open space amenities. The shopping center will feature striking architectural appointments, as well as plaza open space for neighborhood shoppers and community events.

Demographics
Population: 54,368 within a 1-mile radius.
Average Household Income: $45,373

Forgive me. I'm totally out of the loop on this one.

What exactly are the current plans for Cook County Hospital and what is all the current construction (demolition?) leading to?

^ Daley had the whole place demolished in a midnight raid as an Easter present to Todd Stroger last spring. You didn't hear?

^ Daley had the whole place demolished in a midnight raid as an Easter present to Todd Stroger last spring. You didn't hear?
thanks, Urban. I don't know how I missed that.

Does that mean based on what is down now that all hope is lost? I mean, the demoliton isn't complete obviously; are there still salvagable parts?

^ I was just joking.

The awesome people at Preservation Chicago have fought to save that building and appeared to have won over the County's support.

What worries me is that as long as that building doesn't make itself economically productive it will always be seen as a financial burden and remains at risk for demo.

What ever happened to the plan to convert it into medical office space? Is a residential conversion possible? I imagine that a lot of students/housestaff/nurses/medical assistants, etc and their families who work in nearby hospitals need a place to live within walking distance.

^ I was just joking.

The awesome people at Preservation Chicago have fought to save that building and appeared to have won over the County's support.

What worries me is that as long as that building doesn't make itself economically productive it will always be seen as a financial burden and remains at risk for demo.

What ever happened to the plan to convert it into medical office space? Is a residential conversion possible? I imagine that a lot of students/housestaff/nurses/medical assistants, etc and their families who work in nearby hospitals need a place to live within walking distance.

I am gullible.:)

As for your observation here: I wonder if the real issue is that huge amount of space and the difficulty of retrofitting something of that magnitude. You know, as in the old post office.

The west side has numerous great areas that are overshadowed by old generalizations about the west side in general.

The Austin area which is the largest neighborhood in Chicago by population standards and come second in size has very nice areas. Its a forgotten part of the city. Two of the nice areas are Galewood and the Island. Galewood is the northernmost section of Austin along the northern border with Oak Park but south of the Galewood railyards. The Island, a square mile in the extreme southwest corner of Austin, which is bordered by Cicero to the south and Oak Park to the west and which is isolated from other residential area in the city by the Eisenhower Expressway and Columbus Park to the north and an industrial area to the east.

Anyway, the island area might be the most diverse community in Chicago. There are whites, blacks, latins and yes a huge Asian population all living together on the west side of Chicago. We have restaurants, stores, shopping strips, medical facilities, Chicago film studios and transportation. Blue line, Pace and CTA buses are less then three blocks away. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to work down town in rush hour traffic. If I jump on the blue line from Austin its 20 minutes from my doorstep to my jobs. Its a block from both Oak Park and Cicero but not directly connected to Chicago. Yes, the Eisenhower expressway and an industrial corridor disconnects this area from Chicago itself.

The Beast which is a new Oxygen show featuring Patrick Swayze and others is frequently filmed in this area. The neighbor watch is excellent and we work well with the cops to stop even petty crime.

I am just sick and tired of people generalizing and giving me looks of disgust when I tell them where I live. My neighborhood is one of the best in Chicago and if you think otherwise please come by for a visit.

The west side has numerous great areas that are overshadowed by old generalizations about the west side in general.

The Austin area which is the largest neighborhood in Chicago by population standards and come second in size has very nice areas. Its a forgotten part of the city. Two of the nice areas are Galewood and the Island. Galewood is the northernmost section of Austin along the northern border with Oak Park but south of the Galewood railyards. The Island, a square mile in the extreme southwest corner of Austin, which is bordered by Cicero to the south and Oak Park to the west and which is isolated from other residential area in the city by the Eisenhower Expressway and Columbus Park to the north and an industrial area to the east.

Anyway, the island area might be the most diverse community in Chicago. There are whites, blacks, latins and yes a huge Asian population all living together on the west side of Chicago. We have restaurants, stores, shopping strips, medical facilities, Chicago film studios and transportation. Blue line, Pace and CTA buses are less then three blocks away. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to work down town in rush hour traffic. If I jump on the blue line from Austin its 20 minutes from my doorstep to my jobs. Its a block from both Oak Park and Cicero but not directly connected to Chicago. Yes, the Eisenhower expressway and an industrial corridor disconnects this area from Chicago itself.

The Beast which is a new Oxygen show featuring Patrick Swayze and others is frequently filmed in this area. The neighbor watch is excellent and we work well with the cops to stop even petty crime.

I am just sick and tired of people generalizing and giving me looks of disgust when I tell them where I live. My neighborhood is one of the best in Chicago and if you think otherwise please come by for a visit.

What effect...if any...does Oak Park's organized and proactive philosophy and program to promote diversity and prevent segregation have when you cross neighboring Austin Blvd into Austin?

Oak Park, IMHO, serves as a great model...it would be nice to think that its philosphy could spread into adjacent areas.

Oak Parks diversity philosophies has minimum affects to the other side of Austin blvd. The areas that are a few blocks from Oak Park I would have to say have that Oak Park feel. The architecture is the virtually the same, the neighborhoods is just as clean and there is not a lot of crime until you get to Central avenue generally speaking. The closer to Central avenue that you get the less diverse the area gets. Everyone wants to associate themselves with Oak Park in these areas and not the west side of Chicago.

The city needs to continue to invest in this community because it has so much potential. New stores, restaurants, and condos are popping up in Austin but the city has neglected this area for too long. Dont understand why the most populous and second largest neighborhood in the city can go ignored for so long? I wonder how many people even know what or where Austin is?

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=6877&TM=45984.64

^Woah - this is the first time I've seen you post in about a year. Is the Chicago section coming back to life? Now all we need is edsg, danthediscoman, and geoff (although I've seen him post a couple of times recently).

^ Add to that dancethingy, Blackbelt Jones, and azn chi boi and we'll have a regular reunion of sorts

^Don't forget Krzycho - he still posts in the photo contest but I miss his massive photo threads - those were the best inventories of new mid and lowrise construction in Chicago on the web.

HA, I check for updates about once a day, just been lazy about posting.
Of course, with the lousy economy there is less to report on. :(

This was posted at SSP. Does anybody know what this is all about?

..On the corner of 18th and Ashland there's a public notice of Alderman Solis's request to "remove pedestrian street designation" from 18th St. (The address written on the notice is 1800 S. Ashland and the notification simply says "along W. 18th St." without anything more specific.) What does this mean? What is pedestrian street designation? On the surface it sure sounds like a bad thing... 18th St. is definitely a pedestrian street. There may have been more of these notices elsewhere but I didn't happen to see them.

^ Answer found. Nothing to worry about.

It was posted at the Yo that "several tall, mixed use buildings" have been proposed in Logan Square (near Milwaukee and California) and that Ald Flores is holding community hearings to consider them.

The proposed development is supposed to take up "several lots", as per their reporting, and the developer will seek TIF funds. About 25% of the units will be designated as "affordable".

The hearing will be open to the public and held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Urban Vineyard Church, 2145 N Maplewood Ave in Logan Square.

Ald Flores seems to be reasonable when it comes to TOD, so this is great news so far.

http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=15783

Madison 1; Commission 0
Village board OKs Madison project over advice of volunteer panel

By MARTY STEMPNIAK

A group of local volunteers called the Oak Park Plan Commission recently spent seven meetings - about 24 hours total - deciding whether the village should allow a four-story office building to be built at the corner of Highland and Madison. They decided no. But that advice was thrown out the window Monday night: The village board OKd the proposal anyway.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1678/15783a.jpg

^ :lol:

When NIMBY's lose, society wins

^ :lol:

When NIMBY's lose, society wins

Yeah, I wish our NIMBYs were that interesting and entertaining. At least I'd get some enjoyment out of the ukulele songs.

Walgreens - Madison and Oak Park Ave
Basically they're going to demolish all of the existing buildings on this site except the facade of the corner building. The corner space will be leased to a different retailer. Better than the original plan of just getting rid of everything completely.

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1039/19634530.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9641/87366552.jpg

http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=16206

River Forest seeks developer for Lake and Lathrop site
By BILL DWYER

The River Forest village board's planning and development committee is recommending the board take the first step toward possible redevelopment of property on Lake Street between Lathrop and Ashland.

The committee also went into closed session after public discussion Tuesday evening to discuss the purchase of property on or next to the Lake and Lathrop site.

Controversial tower gets Oak Park plan commission OK

After four hours of debate, the Oak Park plan commission voted 6-3 Thursday night to recommend approval of a controversial 20-story glass tower for a busy corner in the near west suburb's downtown area.

Some village residents and commissioners praise the unique architecture while others detest the modern slim building that will tower over its neighbors. Some of those neighboring buildings are in a section of the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District. The development includes a 140-room hotel, 85 high-end condos, retail space and a public/private parking garage.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/oak-park-officials-recommmend-approval-of-glass-tower.html

Controversial tower gets Oak Park plan commission OK



http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/oak-park-officials-recommmend-approval-of-glass-tower.html

The opponents are mobilizing.

http://www.oakparkcitizens.com/
http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=16334&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=17&S=1

I have long been critical of the west loop west of Halsted, but I have to say that last time I was in the neighborhood (about a week ago), I noticed that it is starting to come around. The retail/pedestrian scene is slowly starting to pick up. Anybody else notice the same?

http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/January-2010/New-Life-for-Dr-King-rsquos-Lawndale-Dream/

New Life for Dr. King’s Lawndale Dream
By Dennis Rodkin

In Lawndale, at the site of the Chicago apartment where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived with his family in 1966, work has begun on the Dr. King Legacy Apartments, a $17-million complex that, when finished, will have 45 units of affordable rental housing, retail space, and a mini-museum dedicated to the efforts of King and others to provide equal access to housing in Chicago.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/8413/12756mlkrendering16thst.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2933/12747croppeddistrictren.jpg

Not sure where to put this comment, but this thread seems to be as good a place as any. Here's the comment. The new Rush University Medical Center building looks fantastic.

I have no connection to Rush, but I want to commend them for the space-age design of their new patient tower. Looming over the Eisenhower, it is one of the most prominent projects under construction on the West Side right now. If anyone with a camera could post a photograph, please do so.

^^Amen brother - I think that building is stunning and a great addition to the skyline, considering it's HUGE lol.

...now if they could only deck over the whole Eisenhower with a linear, urban park...and maybe renovate and expand the old Cook county hospital into some, new U.N./NATO or even U.S. Federal office, or start building foreign embassies near the Medical district.....:nuts:

http://wjinc.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=16884
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/oakpark/news/2092000,oak-park-lakeforest-031110-s1.article

Last night the Village Board unanimously approved the project.

Madison and Kostner
40k sf retail + residential
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/7262/madisonprj.jpg

Obviously not going to happen anytime soon, if ever. Still, I'm pretty happy that they're even thinking this big.

where'd you read that? is that just a vision or an actual proposal?

^ Does it matter?

Actual proposal or not, it has no choice right now but to be a "vision"

Yeah, it is good to include development from west side. I really like staying here I'm getting lot of information from different development.

Yeah, it is good to include development from west side. I really like staying here I'm getting lot of information from different development.

^ I see that you're new here. Welcome to the forums.

A bit of info on etiquette:

1. Don't respond to posts made 4 years ago just to say "oh, really? Wow, can you tell me more about that?"

2. People look forward to updates, so when you bump up a thread there is a bit of a disappointment to see that the latest post was just from the new guy saying "wow, that's cool!" or something similar.

Anyhow, just wanted to give you a heads up. :)

^^ +1

Glad to always have a new member in the boards, but it was a bit bumming to see an update for 375 east wacker and only see a "wow that's pretty".

http://www.wednesdayjournalonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=17265

Nonprofit moving forward with affordable housing on Madison
By MARTY STEMPNIAK

...Interfaith Housing Development Corp. hopes to buy the now-vacant Comcast building, 820 W. Madison, gut it, and transform the property into 51 apartments. The development would include retail on the first floor and make use of a former Comcast parking lot across the street on Grove.

...They plan to strip off the Dryvit façade and restore the property to some semblance of its original appearance. The building was originally built as a Cadillac dealership in 1927. It was designed by architect Albert Kahn.
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/5470/17265a.jpg
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/7056/9154a.jpg

Madison and Kostner
40k sf retail + residential
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/7262/madisonprj.jpg

Obviously not going to happen anytime soon, if ever. Still, I'm pretty happy that they're even thinking this big.

I'm glad this will never happen because it's garbage (if they double or tripled the height then maybe I would like it)

I'm glad this will never happen because it's garbage (if they double or tripled the height then maybe I would like it)

A seven story development in this location is garbage? We're not talking State and Madison you know.

^^ I know but I think a 14 story building would be nicer because It'll help give a density feel to the westside aside from seeing all the different vacant lots :)

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd/provdrs/ec_dev/news/2010/jun/city_council_approvesordnancessupportingbusinessimprovementandaf.html

Park Douglas ― Phase I

The next ordinance authorizes the issuance of $8.3 million in loans, the sale of 27 City-owned parcels and fee waivers for the construction of Park Douglas Phase I in the North Lawndale community.

B-M Ogden, LLC plans to construct 19 mixed-income buildings with 137 units of new rental housing with a mix of one to four bedroom apartments. All the buildings will be three-stories and offer 28 market rate, 49 affordable and 60 replacement units for former CHA residents. The building types will range from two- to 17-unit structures.

The $ 43.9 million development will provide housing for the former Lawndale Complex and Ogden Courts public housing developments and is part of the CHA’s Plan for Transformation.

Park Douglas is the first phase of a larger development which will include 300 units of rental housing on the 28th Ward.

The development will be located in the area bounded by Roosevelt Road, California, Talman and Ogden avenues.

City financing will also include $2.7 million in low-income housing tax credits, generating $21.9 million in equity and the writedown of City-owned land valued at $774, 696 along with $1.1 million in donated land from the CHA will generate $724,000 in donations tax credit equity for the project.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/682/pd1.jpghttp://img811.imageshack.us/img811/563/pd2w.jpg
http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/2076/pd4.jpghttp://img25.imageshack.us/img25/2660/pd3a.jpg

nice apartaments :)

Love how they are sticking with the original design of present apartments/homes on the westside instead of bringing in some more carrott orange brick crap or dull modern designs.:)

$43.9M / 137 = $320K per unit. Affordable housing indeed.

I'm glad this will never happen because it's garbage (if they double or tripled the height then maybe I would like it)

While I dont think its the best looking piece of architecture ever, its proposed for a fairly depressed area. That area NEEDS development and a big (for the area) project that rises to 7 floors, which incidentally is taller than everything around it for blocks.

$43.9M / 137 = $320K per unit. Affordable housing indeed.

this is by the CHA, no? so it stands to reason that for the affordable housing, the prices will be heavily subsidized. see:

City financing will also include $2.7 million in low-income housing tax credits, generating $21.9 million in equity

Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy
2520 S Western
600 students
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/5221/467396f3.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8821/20115ef0.jpg

^ Which replaces an existing building.

Yay.

^ Which replaces an existing building.

Yay.

Actually, I don't think the original building is being replaced:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2520+s.+western+ave,+c&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=52.815565,114.960938&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=2520+S+Western+Ave,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60608&ll=41.845976,-87.685511&spn=0.001541,0.00453&z=19&layer=c&cbll=41.846082,-87.685513&panoid=r8ppWjYzkm_Q3owvG2BAZQ&cbp=12,226.15,,0,-13.44
this is the current building, and judging by the extreme similarity in massing to spyguy's rendering
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/5221/467396f3.jpg
I wonder if the original building is being re-clad & re-purposed...
any more info. on that spyguy?

^Yeah, that's just copper rainscreen cladding applied to the existing building. More info here (http://www.morenoarchitects.com/index/pages/projects/NOW/educational/instituto-ihsca-1.html).

^Yeah, that's just copper rainscreen cladding applied to the existing building. More info here (http://www.morenoarchitects.com/index/pages/projects/NOW/educational/instituto-ihsca-1.html).

This approach is what ruined many vintage Chicago buildings in the 1950's and 1960's, i.e., the recladding of sold brick buildings. To make them modern. And fancy.

Here, at this Western Avenue location, we have a very nice brick building that oozes character. Chicago-style character.

Yet the building is going to be hopelessly mutilated in the name of "science." How stupid.

This approach is what ruined many vintage Chicago buildings in the 1950's and 1960's, i.e., the recladding of sold brick buildings. To make them modern. And fancy.

Here, at this Western Avenue location, we have a very nice brick building that oozes character. Chicago-style character.

Yet the building is going to be hopelessly mutilated in the name of "science." How stupid.

:ohno:

Because the oozing character of a potentially underutilized building doesn't require a shit load of money for extensive tuck-pointing, new windows, new flashing, doors, new hardware...

Just because a building EXTERIOR alone might have character doesn't mean that a simplified, contemporary design isn't just as good or even better for a re-purposed building. Let's please move into the 21st century people and realize that early, to mid-century red-brick building facades, while attractive and evocative of a simpler time, might not always be the most practical solution for a renovated building.

New plans unveiled for downtown Oak Park high-rise

http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/08-02-2011/New_plans_unveiled_for_downtown_Oak_Park_high-rise

Some news on a long-dormant development in downtown Oak Park. Was originally planned as hotel and condos, now recycled into apartments. Difficult to tell if this plan will also fail due to lack of financing. Both funny and sad to see the NIMBYs go wild.