City plans $15.5B in downtown projects

March 31, 2009
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN

A draft of Chicago's plans for the city's central area through 2020 calls for $15.5 billion in public works, mostly for transportation improvements, and asserts the projects are attainable with or without the 2016 Olympics.

The projects include a West Loop transit hub beneath Clinton Street with an estimated price tag of almost $6 billion. The hub would connect Metra and CTA rail and bus lines with a proposed Carroll Street rail line, itself a $260 million item, near the north bank of the Chicago River.

» Click to enlarge image (http://www.suntimes.com/business/1503685,033109action.fullimage)

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1503475,CST-NWS-action31.article

City plans $15.5B in downtown projects

March 31, 2009
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN

A draft of Chicago's plans for the city's central area through 2020 calls for $15.5 billion in public works, mostly for transportation improvements, and asserts the projects are attainable with or without the 2016 Olympics.

The projects include a West Loop transit hub beneath Clinton Street with an estimated price tag of almost $6 billion. The hub would connect Metra and CTA rail and bus lines with a proposed Carroll Street rail line, itself a $260 million item, near the north bank of the Chicago River.

» Click to enlarge image (http://www.suntimes.com/business/1503685,033109action.fullimage)

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1503475,CST-NWS-action31.article

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention. So much great stuff in this proposal. If a fraction of this becomes reality by 2016 I will be a happy camper. Shit, even though I hate these emoticons, I think its time for a little :banana::cheers: :carrot:

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention. So much great stuff in this proposal. If a fraction of this becomes reality by 2016 I will be a happy camper. Shit, even though I hate these emoticons, I think its time for a little :banana::cheers: :carrot:

The unforunate by-product/backlash is evident if you look at all of the user-comments attached to the article - Talk about 'critical'! One self-proclaimed 'liberal' who is surprisingly against this, posted something about trying to find a pitchfork..hilarious!

Heck of a list of projects. Hopefully, someone somewhere will explain to me how the "express" airport trains will run on the same tracks as the local trains, yet actually get you there substantially quicker.

Heck of a list of projects. Hopefully, someone somewhere will explain to me how the "express" airport trains will run on the same tracks as the local trains, yet actually get you there substantially quicker.

It's all about scheduling the trains appropriately. The would-be "local" trains aren't running every minute, so that means there are probably gaps in the schedule where an "express" train could run at normal local speeds without having to make stops. This probably just means that the frequency of service for these express trains wouldn't be that high (nor would it really need to be that high). For an anecdotal case study, try riding the purple line north when it's running express to and fro downtown. You'll pass maybe 2, maybe 3 red line trains in the entire route. That's without any coordinated scheduling, and I'd wager (my memory is shaky) that the red line frequency of service in peak hours is way higher than outbound blue or orange line.

Back at UChicago, a friend had a graduation party where his family rented out an entire CTA train (he was a big rail geek). We basically were able to ride all around the city non-stop just with some advance notification and good scheduling (which also led to confused stares from people waiting at stops like on the Green line, which doesn't have "express" trains like the red/brown/purple 4-track).

EDIT: of course, i could be wrong and maybe the money being set aside is to demolish some highway real estate and make the orange/blue lines 4-track (which would be *awesome*). but i doubt it.

^^ If half of that stuff happened, that would be fantastic! My top 3 from that would be:
1. Circle line
2. That west loop transportation hub
3. "Kennedy Cap"

For an anecdotal case study, try riding the purple line north when it's running express to and fro downtown. You'll pass maybe 2, maybe 3 red line trains in the entire route.

If memory serves me, the Purple line has dedicated tracks from Belmont all the way to Howard, making it a true express line. I can't imagine adding another track (or two) along the Kennedy, at the expense of car lanes.

The concept is to add passing tracks or reverse signaling at certain locations so that express trains could pass their local leaders. This probably requires better timekeeping and signaling than CTA currently has. But there's a transportation thread for further discussion.

If memory serves me, the Purple line has dedicated tracks from Belmont all the way to Howard, making it a true express line. I can't imagine adding another track (or two) along the Kennedy, at the expense of car lanes.

I know, I'm saying that with proper scheduling, it'd be relatively easy to schedule a non-stop train. Though Mr.Downtown has some points in his post.^^

The unforunate by-product/backlash is evident if you look at all of the user-comments attached to the article - Talk about 'critical'! One self-proclaimed 'liberal' who is surprisingly against this, posted something about trying to find a pitchfork..hilarious!

There's something about the local paper comment boards that attracts nothing but stark raving lunatics.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?articleId=31610

About-face on housing in the Loop
By: Eddie Baeb April 13, 2009

The Daley administration's new plan for downtown aims to curb residential development in the Central and West Loop, a marked shift from the decades-long push for a "24-7" downtown that doesn't go dormant when the workday is done.

Part of a draft of the so-called Central Area Action Plan, the changes are a bid to preserve sites for new office towers and avoid some of the clashes that have arisen as residents have poured into downtown.
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1305/og041309l.jpg

^ I don't know why Crains is making this sound like such an "about-face". After all, even in the earlier plan the E. Loop, River North, and South Loops were to be heavily residential, while the Central and West Loops would lean towards office development.

I'm guessing that the author of this article simply had never read the 2003 Central Area Plan

This is actually good news for the current developments in central and west loop area. No more competition for them in the next few years.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33862

Foreclosure suit hits Chicago Athletic Assn. hotel conversion
By Alby Gallun, April 29, 2009

The foreclosure wave has crashed over a joint venture that planned to convert the Chicago Athletic Assn. property on South Michigan Avenue into a 300-room Omni hotel.

The partnership of Atlanta-based Songy Partners LLC and Cleveland-based Snider-Cannata Interests LLC failed to pay back a $26.2-million loan when it matured last August, according to a foreclosure suit filed by the lender, Anglo-Irish Bank Corp.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=34021

Reschke planning another LaSalle St. hotel
By Eddie Baeb, May 13, 2009

Developer Michael Reschke is doubling down on hotels in the Loop.

Mr. Reschke is close to a deal to bring a high-end boutique hotel that could have as many as 245 rooms to the historic Roanoke Building at 11 S. LaSalle St., sources say.

The new hotel, an Edition, would compete with a project Mr. Reschke has under way just two blocks south at 208 S. LaSalle, where the chairman and CEO of Chicago-based Prime Group Inc. is developing a 610-room J. W. Marriott hotel.

...Sources say the hotel would be in the upper floors of the 35-story tower and include an outdoor garden terrace atop the low-rise portion of the building.
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/4369/11slasallecostar.gif
----

While I'm not sure if having another hotel next to that new 600 or 700 room JW Marriott and new La Quinta is a good thing at this time, hopefully in the future it will add more life to downtown at night.

Throw the W Hotel into the mix and you have a serious concentration of rooms in that area. JW is not scheduled to open till sometime in 2010 so hopefully we'll see some tourism numbers increase by then.

They key will be if the restaurant/nightlife follow these hotels into this part of downtown.

http://www.skylinenewspaper.com/News/05-13-2009/Plan_for_LaSalle_tower_sparks_disagreement

Plan for LaSalle tower sparks disagreement
Preservationists take different stances on N.Y. Life neighbor
05/13/2009 10:00 PM

By IAN FULLERTON

...The city’s Committee on Historical Landmark Preservation passed a recommendation May 11 to amend the Chicago landmark designation of the New York Life Insurance Building, 39 S. LaSalle. The amendment would permit revised construction plans for the property next door at 29 S. LaSalle, where developer Hamilton Partners intends to build a 51-story hotel/office tower.

...In late 2008, the developer reemerged, this time with a new architect, Goettsch Partners, and a new plan.

The revised design called for considerably less encroachment. Originally set to cover nearly 60 percent of the New York Life footprint, the latest plan scaled back the development to infringe on less than one-third of the property, according to the city.

The architect scrapped initial designs, which would sit the development right on top of the New York Life building in favor of a partially-cantilevered support system, putting a three-story gap between the two skyscrapers. The new plan spared much of the building’s interior features, including its historic lobby.

...“It’s a travesty,” he said. “This can hardly be called an historic preservation.”

According to Fine, Preservation Chicago advocated for a “tall, thinner building” to be built on the property, which would make the encroachment a non-issue.

^So 29-39 not dead after all, huh? I'm a bit confused, though. So the old design was scrapped, Goettsch was brought in in 2008, and a new plan was cooked up? I wonder when and where the Goettsch design was presented. Glad they're on board, though; the old design for this plot was pretty boring and disrespectful of New York Life, and Goettsch has produced some quality buildings, if a little generic and redundant.

I thought we had a seperate thread for the Old Post Office somewhere. Perhaps not.

Back to square one.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-chicago-post-office-auction-jun09,0,2731076.story

Old Chicago post office to be auctioned
By Mary Ellen Podmolik | Tribune staff reporter
1:35 PM CDT, June 9, 2009

The U.S. Postal Service postal service announced Tuesday that, after more than a decade of trying to sell the 3-million-square-foot former Chicago facility through conventional channels, it has decided to auction it to the highest bidder.

While the suggested opening bid for the facility that spans the Eisenhower Expressway is $300,000, there is no minimum bid, and the facility could sell for less said postal service spokesman Mark Reynolds.

Rick Levin & Associates, Inc., will conduct the Aug. 27 auction.

The 14-story, 77-year-old building has been vacant since 1995 when the Postal Service moved to a new building on Harrison Street. Since then, ideas that have been floated for the space have included a casino, a water park and a hotel.

Two years ago, the city gave initial approval to a $300 million plan, including $62 million in local and federal incentives, from investment firm Walton Street Capital to develop the complex into condos, offices and a hotel. However, the Postal Service was unable to finalize a deal with Walton Street, Reynolds said.

Going forward, any buyer's plans will have to contend with a difficult commercial lending environment. "We're not in the real estate business," Reynolds said. "We're not the persons to say what the obstacles to developing it might be. Obviously there's a lot of unique logistics, not to mention a freeway running through it."

mepodmolik@tribune.com

Progress underway on rediscovered Louis Sullivan storefront renovation, 22 S Wabash. Bonus double Sullivan (Jewellers' Building) reflection.

6/14:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3539/3627673182_a62e667ac1_b.jpg

400 W Randolph - 1.2 msf office tower, 20,000 sf retail + riverwalk

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/3736/400wrandolph.jpg
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1197/400wrandolph2.jpg

11 South LaSalle - Edition Hotel - 245 rooms, rooftop bar on 23rd floor, ground floor restaurant and bar
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4325/11slasalle.jpg
"Internationally acclaimed lighting designer Pierre Arnault has been retained to design the exterior lighting system, which will focus on illuminating the window arches and the intricate terra cotta detailing."

^I'm not sure if they mean Pierre Bideau.

400 W Randolph - 1.2 msf office tower, 20,000 sf retail + riverwalk

Proposed? Approved? Random doodles discovered on the interwebbie?

Kinda surprised to even see this after they delayed River Pointe. Maybe trying to time it for when the economy picks back up.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35325

In brief: Willis Tower GM | Wrigley taps Colliers | Strategic Hotels board
By Staff, Sep. 01, 2009

Wrigley hires Colliers to lease former health club

Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc. has been tapped to find a tenant for the 60,000-square-foot building at 441 N. Wabash Ave., formerly home to Lakeshore Athletic Club. The property, which is owned by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. and is in the shadow of the nearby Trump International Hotel & Tower, has been vacant since the fitness center’s lease expired in September 2007. The building could be leased for a myriad of uses, says David Miller, a senior vice-president at Colliers. “We’re looking to see what’s out there,” he says.

I've always thought that site, and the parking lot just to the North, were perfect for re-development (i.e. high rise, hotel, whatever). Too bad we're not in an economy that would favor such a move.

^^ I agree. Even with the horrible design planning (blank wall Nordstroms, blank wall brick base River Plaza) that if decked over that could provide an amazing civic and pedestrian space.

........I have for a while envisioned knocking down that Nordstroms and building an inclined ped street or Spanish steps bisecting two new buildings where Nordstroms is that would lead people up from Grand Ave, up to a new decked plaza connecting Michigan/Wabash.

Even if Nordstrom stays for another few decades that could be worked around however.

http://www.bklarch.com

January 2010
Dutch developer INNO Plan BV has selected Brininstool, Kerwin and Lynch to design a new high-rise housing project in downtown Chicago. Construction is slated to begin in late summer 2010.

...As a result, Brininstool, Kerwin and Lynch is already working with Dutch developer INNO PLAN BV to design a large Chicago housing project.

Yikes! Is the construction pipeline starting to fill up again?

Adler School of Professional Psychology
17 N Dearborn (http://www.adlerspace.com/)
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1850/spacej.jpg

^Wrong address in the link. I thought Adler took over the space at 10 N. Dearborn. 17 would have to be on the east side of the street.
Thanks for the update SG.

OOOPS. Your not wrong SG, but Adlers own map shows their building on the west side of Dearborn where the addresses are Even numbered.

Talk_about_a_hotel (http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/05-12-2010/)
Talk about a hotel
05/12/2010 10:00 PM

Fioretti’s office is also hosting a community meeting May 17 at the Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria, about a 23-story, 615-room hotel that Toyoko Inn Chicago LLC. has proposed for 320 S. Clinton.

The firm filed for a zoning change needed for the project in May 2009.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Things are beginning to percolate. Still not in full recovery mode, but the long range planners are stepping out.

^^hope they get a rendering in and I hope that everybody is in favor of it...

A new high-profile individual to reside downtown: Hank Paulson. Interesting he chose Millennium Park over Trump, Streeterville, Gold Coast, etc. for his pied-a-terre. Anyone venture to guess precisely which "Millennium Park" building?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0516-confidential-mcdonalds--20100516,0,7319343.column

Back home Chicago: Henry "Hank" Paulson, the former U.S. Treasury secretary and Goldman Sachs chief, is moving back to Chicago.

In mid-April, Paulson purchased a three-bedroom pied-a-terre in Millennium Park for $1.45 million, according to property records. He still owns a home in Barrington Hills, on a portion of land where he grew up.

Paulson will be sharing office space here with close friend and former Goldman Sachs colleague Byron Trott, according to a source who declined to be named. The two, however, will not be working together on Trott's new venture, BDT Capital Partners, a private-equity fund built with money from some of the Midwest's wealthiest families.

A Paulson spokeswoman said he is not ready to talk about his plans in Chicago. Paulson has publicly said he wants to spend the rest of his life, and much of his money, on conservation issues.

^ I'm guessing either the Heritage or the Legacy.

Where else would a guy like Hank Paulson live?

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20100616/blue-sky-thinking

Blue Sky Thinking
Though it may serve as a blueprint for the future, SOM’s visionary master plan for greening the Inland Steel Building ran into two insurmountable obstacles: a tough economy and strict historic-preservation restrictions.

By Alexandra Lange
Posted June 16, 2010

What makes a landmark? Is it the stuff it’s made of? Or the goals of the architects who made it? In the case of the Inland Steel Building—a stainless-steel Chicago land-mark from 1958, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—these questions have become both practical and philosophical. In the lead-up to the building’s current renovation, architects, preservationists, and city and state officials all debated the future of the icon and whether continuity with the past meant keeping its material structure or innovating anew. The owner hired architects at SOM to create a master plan for retrofitting the building. They matched its original innovations in today’s terms—sustainability, flexibility, ease of use—and demonstrated the outer limits for LEED in a 52-year-old shell. Inland Steel has become a case study in what you can do to green a midcentury building, as well as what you can’t, economically and legally. As retrofits become more appealing—cheaper, greener—we may need to revisit the rules for bringing old buildings back to life.
---
http://www.inlandsteelbuilding.com/

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/7508/inland.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2602/inland2d.jpg
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4116/inland3.jpg
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/3055/inland6.jpg
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/7858/inland5.jpg

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2010/06/joie-de-vivre-eyes-new-york-chicago-seattle-for-expansion-ceo-says/95945/1

Joie de Vivre eyes New York, Chicago, Seattle for expansion, CEO says
By Barbara De Lollis

Now that California boutique hotel firm Joie de Vivre Hospitality has inked a deal with Pritkzer family scion John Pritzker, the 23-year-old chain's poised to leave its native California for the first time and take its quirky, artistic style across the USA.

Not development that will be seen but pretty awesome IMO

http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/07/korea-to-bankroll-smart-technology-in-chicago-skyscrapers.html

Korea to bankroll ’smart’ Chicago skyscrapers
By Julie Wernau | Posted today at 12:00 a.m.

By dimming lights or lowering water temperature on a massive scale, the owners of some of Chicago’s signature skyscrapers are banking on new technology that would dramatically cut the city’s energy usage and save millions of dollars.

The technology is being bankrolled by an unusual source: The Republic of Korea, which, under a complex agreement to be signed today, has agreed to install energy-saving equipment in up to 14 Chicago buildings during the next few months. Korean officials have pledged to pay millions to Illinois colleges for research and development efforts related to “smart grid” technology.
The Koreans have agreed to invest between $10 and $20 million in the buildings project and upwards of $25 million that would include money for research and development related to smart grid.

The organization that represents most of Chicago’s downtown buildings said if the project were expanded to the entire downtown, the energy savings would be enough to shutter a coal-fired power plant. The project is a first-of-its-kind attempt to position Illinois as an industry leader in smart grid efforts, which some ambitiously predict could become an engine for high-paying jobs.

Korea has already invested billions in the technology and is wiring homes and buildings in the south island of Jeju as a demonstration project and plans to expand its smart grid to the entire country by 2030.

In Chicago, people who work in the skyscrapers might not notice the new automated tweaks. The technology enables buildings to communicate back and forth with operators of the electric grid, drawing down power during peak demand hours that reap payments for “returning” energy to the constantly fluctuating power market, said Michael Cornicelli, executive vice president of BOMA/Chicago, whose members represent most of Chicago’s office buildings.

“This has been done on a very limited basis in campus-like settings or individual office buildings, but not to this scale,” he said.

Between four and 14 buildings will be selected for the pilot, Cornicelli said, mostly commercial office buildings but a smaller portion will be large residential buildings. Korean engineers are evaluating 20 buildings that have volunteered for the project and the selection process could be completed this month. Cornicelli did not provide the names of those buildings that have volunteered but confirmed that the Aon Center is one of the buildings..............


....

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20100830/CRED02/100839993/hot-downtown-apartment-market-piques-developer-interest

Hot downtown apartment market piques developer interest
By: Alby Gallun August 30, 2010

...Mr. Rossi, president of Chicago-based RMK Management Corp., is putting together cost estimates for a 44-story tower in the Loop and expects to start soliciting lenders in the next few weeks.

...Securing construction financing remains a huge obstacle for developers, but Mr. Rossi says he sees signs that lenders are starting to loosen up. He and partner Thomas Moran want to build a 321-unit tower at 73 E. Lake St. and plan to have a book on the roughly $120-million project ready for lenders and equity partners in the next two weeks. If all goes according to plan, they would break ground next year and complete the tower in 2013.

^ Yes more good news. Can't wait to see some renderings (This would be even better if they built it in the South Loop instead. Just too short to be in the Loop IMO)...

from 08/16/2010
http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4776

from 08/16/2010
http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4776

Best quote from above article:

"According to Loewenberg, the build-out of Lakeshore East is on schedule, with eight of the 13 major buildings completed. Though the most recent buildings are smaller scale, such as the Studio Gang–designed townhouses known as the Parkhomes at Aqua, the market is picking up again. “There has been a dramatic turnaround in the last 60 to 90 days,” he said. A new building, likely rentals, is in the works, designed by Brininstool, Kerwin and Lynch (BKL), a firm in which Magellan is an investor. “The condo market is still fractured, but rentals have improved dramatically here,” he said. A condominium building by Arquitectonica is on hold until more financing can be secured. “It will come back,” Loewenberg said of the project."

Renovation of the Bond Building/Benson & Rixon
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1992/gsa1.jpg
Quincy entrance
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/967/gsa2i.jpg
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/508/75407161.jpg

11 South LaSalle - Edition Hotel - 245 rooms, rooftop bar on 23rd floor, ground floor restaurant and bar
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4325/11slasalle.jpg
"Internationally acclaimed lighting designer Pierre Arnault has been retained to design the exterior lighting system, which will focus on illuminating the window arches and the intricate terra cotta detailing."

^I'm not sure if they mean Pierre Bideau.

I wish they would convert all of the floors of the Roanoke Building to hotel usage instead of just the top floors.

Not sure, but it looks like another 'pocket park' might be going in on Randolph, across from the Cadillac Theater. The sidewalk is diverted into the street with barriers, and there are ground-level squares of concrete that look like planting areas. There's also a light pole mount a good 15 feet in from the sidewalk on one side, with more planting areas.

Wasn't sure exactly where to put this. Rush hospital expansion:
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/535/rushexpansion2.jpg

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20101030/ISSUE01/310309940/race-is-on-for-next-loop-office-tower

Race is on for next Loop office tower
By: Eddie Baeb November 01, 2010

...The two are proposing a 1-million-square-foot, 34-floor building across Jackson Boulevard from Willis Tower on what currently is a landscaped front yard of the 65-story 311 S. Wacker Drive building. The developers hope to open their glass-clad tower in late 2013, around the time leases expire for a handful of big companies, including hedge fund Citadel LLC, Fifth Third Bank and law firm SNR Denton US LLP.

...Elsewhere in the Loop, Chicago-based Buck is marketing a proposed 700,000-square-foot building at Randolph and Franklin streets, just east of its newest tower, at 155 N. Wacker. The plan is for 30 to 40 stories, although that could shrink, Buck principal William Rolander says.

Sources say Hines, the Houston-based firm that developed 300 N. LaSalle, is trying to revive plans for a tower at Lake and Canal streets. Despite leasing 60% of a proposed 52-story building to two anchor tenants, Hines scotched the project last year when financing fell through.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1228/ar310309940.jpg
301 S Wacker

http://www.trammellcrow.com/

TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY SELECTED AS DEVELOPER FOR NEW 1 MSF OFFICE
TOWER IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO

Trammell Crow Company announces that it has entered into a
partnership agreement with co-investor Insite Real Estate, LLC to be the master developer
of a new 1 million square foot Class A office tower at 301 South Wacker. Located at the
corner of West Jackson Blvd. and South Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, the 34-story
office tower will feature a sustainable, modern design with efficient 30,000 square foot
floor plates.
“We are fully committed to this project, and confident that 301 S. Wacker will be a great
addition to the Chicago skyline and represent the highest quality of modern architecture
design,” said Shaun Frankfurt, Senior Managing Director and Head of Trammell Crow
Company’s Chicago Business Unit. “There are a number of prospective tenants seeking
large blocks of space and from our discussions with them, we’ve received positive
feedback and hope to break ground as soon as possible.”
301 South Wacker has been designed to provide a cohesive pedestrian experience with
the existing Winter Garden and outdoor plazas built on the master planned city block
and to complement the architecture of the adjacent 311 South Wacker Building. The
buildings glass curtain wall uses pronounced metal mullion detailing to uphold the
Chicago tradition of visually expressing the buildings structure. As the tower rises from its
base, a separate rectangular object sheathed in butt-glazed glass is embedded into the
structure to create a distinct architectural feature that marks the Wacker and Jackson
corner. The tower terminates with a setback that echoes the “shoulders” of the adjacent
311 Building and incorporates a subtly illuminated glass top.
The buildings two-story clear-glass lobby runs the length of Jackson Street and is finished
in back-lit alabaster walls that provide tenants with excellent identification opportunities.
Tenant amenities include parking for over 200 cars, a health club, and conference
center. The building will also feature a variety of sustainable features as TCC plans to
seek LEED Certification.


http://www.rejournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Trammel.jpg

^ I'm with the skeptics. I have a hard time seeing this come to fruition.

But I hope to hell I'm wrong

I would prefer them to build on one of the empty lots, like the 2 on Franklin. But hey, I guess it's something.

On a related note, is the complete rebuild of South Wacker still happening? Is that what all the lower level construction is preparing for?

^http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/01/wacker-drive-overhaul-project-announced.html

Another partial conversion of an office building. This one will also have a restaurant/bar on the first floor and possibly a rooftop bar.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20101104/CRED01/101109922/q-a-with-michael-reschke-on-new-luxury-hotel

Q&A with Michael Reschke on new luxury hotel
By: Colleen Lobner November 04, 2010

...Where does the 11 S. LaSalle project stand?
It's another historic building that we're looking at doing a conversion of that building to a luxury boutique hotel. It'd be smaller, it'd only be 240 rooms. And it would have far less meeting and ballroom space. It'd be more of a luxury boutique hotel.

Has that been on hold?
No, it's not on hold. We're working with the city and our alderman right now on project approvals.

What about financing for that project?
The equity has been committed. We expect that the project will be financed with 50% debt and 50% equity, and myself and my German partner are committed to fund the equity. We'd hope to start construction by second quarter of 2011 with an opening in 2013. That one we think we can hit right at the peak of the market.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9697/editionhotel.jpg

^ Hmmm... LaSalle St looks to be gradually turning into something different than an office corridor, isn't it..?

Office building planned for site owned by Old St. Pat’s

By: Eddie Baeb November 10, 2010

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/CG/20101110/CRED03/101119999/AR-101119999.jpg?ref=AR&maxw=368&q=100
(Crain’s) — Alter Group Ltd. has teamed with two former Fifield Cos. executives in a bid to develop the city’s next office building.

Alter and White Oak Realty Partners LLC, a new firm headed by Richard Blum and Tom Saletta, are courting tenants for a proposed 20-story building at 625 W. Adams St. in the West Loop, a site now owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church that’s currently a parking lot at the southeast corner of Adams and Des Plaines streets.

The project would include as much as 490,000 square feet of office space, a 400-car parking garage and a community center for Old St. Pat’s on the first two levels that could seat as many as 800 people...

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20101110/CRED03/101119999/office-building-planned-for-site-owned-by-old-st-pats

Don't care for the design (obviously) but its better than nothing and its in the west loop!!! So this and a 26 story building will both occupy that section?? I know office towers are taller than residential so I wonder how many feet would they both come out around...

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/12/a-new-lighting-system-in-store-for-state-street-.html

A new lighting system in store for State Street
By Blair Kamin

The Chicago Loop Alliance, formerly known as the Great State Street Council, is planning a new lighting system that will span nine blocks on the downtown portion of State Street, from Congress Parkway to Wacker Drive, Tribune arts reporter Lauren Viera tells me.

The alliance has hired a Chicago landscape architecture and urban design firm, Site Design Group, to design the project.

...It sounds like the architects don't have a big budget--who does these days?---but they are hopeful that they can work some magic with inexpensive LED lights, some of which might go in sidewalks.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20101230/CRED03/101239991/hong-kong-firm-plans-hotel-at-former-ibm-plaza#axzz19clJ6q1b

Hong Kong firm plans hotel at former IBM Plaza
By: Thomas A. Corfman December 30, 2010

A Hong Kong real estate company has acquired the lower floors of the former One IBM Plaza, with plans to open just the third upscale Langham Hotel in the country.

Langham Hotels International is a unit of Great Eagle Holdings Ltd., which on Wednesday bought the second through 13th floors of the 52-story building at 330 N. Wabash Ave. from a joint venture that included LaSalle Hotel Properties Inc. and Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group LLC.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/luxury-langham-hotel-to-anchor-330-north-wabash-redevelopment-on-chicagos-riverfront-112674039.html

Luxury Langham Hotel to Anchor 330 North Wabash Redevelopment on Chicago's Riverfront

...A 9,000 square foot distinguished chef-driven restaurant will also be featured, as well as a wine room, fitness center, indoor pool and Langham's signature Palm Court and award winning Chuan Spa.
---

Afternoon tea in a Mies lobby? Sounds splendid.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/3259873-417/building-bell-million-weather-farbman.html

The building at 79 W. Monroe is no landmark in the records of City Hall, just in the hearts of many Chicagoans. It’s the Weather Bell building, the former home of Bell Federal Savings & Loan, and it’s been looking a little weather-beaten.

The lighted bell sign needs work, although a building engineer still changes it colors to signal the weather forecast. And the building itself is mostly vacant, prompting Loop pedestrians with a few years on them to wonder how much longer before the sign disappears.

But it looks like brighter days are ahead for the bell and the building. They have been sold for just under $10 million to Farbman Group of Southfield, Mich., which promises to bring new tenants to the 13-story building and to renovate the sign.

“We have a soft spot for the Weather Bell,” said Chief Financial Officer Andy Gutman. “We are talking to companies to see who qualifies to work on it as a restoration.”

Bank of America Corp., successor to Bell Federal, sold the building and used to be its biggest tenant. The 200,000-square-foot building is about 70 percent empty.

Nevertheless, the building still came cheap because it sits on a ground lease. The land itself remains under the control of David Friedman, president of F&F Realty Ltd., who in the past has eyed the site for a new office high-rise.

That appears unlikely unless Farbman Group got on board. President Andy Farbman said speculative development isn’t his business. He also said the lease has nearly 100 years to go and that Friedman has no right to cancel it. Friedman could not be reached for comment.

Farbman called the building a “plug and play property” whose interior space is in excellent shape. He said Bank of America made substantial improvements to its floors and even left the furniture behind. Farbman can offer more than 100,000 contiguous square feet to a company that wants lower-cost space in the Loop.

In the fall of 2009, the Daley administration discussed buying the building so it could consolidate city offices now in rented space. The worsening state of city finances sidelined the plan.

GETTING IT DONE: Because of action last week by two City Council committees, Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) can herald progress for a couple of projects in his ward. One is large and the other is small but cool.

The big one is a Costco due to be built in the 1400 block of South Ashland. The City Council on Thursday is expected to ratify a tax break for the site, where Costco Wholesale Corp. proposes to build a 150,000-square-foot store on 16 acres leased from the Illinois Medical District. The break lowers the tax bill for 12 years. Costco plans to break ground in spring 2012 on its $48.5 million building, which puts vacant land on the tax rolls. It promises 250 jobs, half of them part-time.

The council also is expected to sign off on the $320,000 sale of a former firehouse at 1123 W. Roosevelt to Jason Nowak and Jessica Beauchemin. They plan to turn it into a community art studio with kilns, glass ovens and a commercial kitchen. The station, built in 1873, is the city’s oldest fire station and used to be the home of Engine Company 18. It will get solar panels and a green roof with, of all things, a walking path. Work will start this spring and some classes will be offered there in the fall, Fioretti said.

SALE IS DONE: As 2010 closed, so did the sale of 300 S. Riverside Plaza, a 23-story, 1.08-million-square-foot building for about $190 million. Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Fund sold the building to private investors led by Joseph Mizrachi and David Werner. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. brokered the deal and also arranged $120 million in financing from UBS.

Brookfield has owned the glass-curtain-wall building since September 2006, when it paid $135 million for it. It brought the building from a 76 percent occupancy rate to 97 percent.

CALENDAR NOTES: Alison Fisher, assistant curator of architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago, holds forth Jan. 20 on the merits of Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital at 333 E. Superior. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is transferring the site to Northwestern University and it could be demolished. Preservationists think it should be saved. Landmarks Illinois hosts the Fisher presentation at 12:15 p.m. at the Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph.

The Chicago Association of Realtors serves up commentary on the residential and commercial markets in 2011 on Jan. 20. It starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, 350 N. Orleans.

ON THE MOVE: Urban Partnership Bank, the reconstituted ShoreBank, named Levoi Brown its director of commercial real estate. Brown, 33, is a former director of asset management at General Electric Real Estate and is a South Shore resident.

DOING THE DEALS: Premiere Metals Recycling Inc., in a move from 1550 N. Cleveland, leased 168,000 square feet at 4330 S. Racine. Chady Real Estate Corp. and Paine/Wetzel Oncor International were the brokers. ... Magellan Development Group LLC. confirmed that J.P. Morgan Asset Management spend $182 million for a majority stake in the 474 apartments at the Aqua tower, 225 N. Columbus. The proceeds let Magellan pay off the tower’s construction loan. ... Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, a private equity firm, is branching into the securities business by acquiring a unit of Transwestern Investment Co. that analyzes real estate investment trusts. Harrison Street said the analysts will keep a significant equity position in certain REITs.

Interesting article:

Lawyers and real estate experts talk office space
Chicago Lawyer
by Amanda Robert
Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Lawyers who walk the floors of older, conventional buildings see odd partner and associate office sizes, interior spaces that seem to hold more paper than people, and once vital, now outdated amenities like libraries and secretarial stations.

As they approach the end of their leases, they must decide if they want to trade in these traditional offices for something more modern, efficient and flexible. Some law firms choose to simply re-sign their leases, but in recent years, more firms answered the call to revolutionize their current offices or to move to other spaces.

Several such large law firms as Jenner & Block, Kirkland & Ellis and Baker & McKenzie led a growing trend in the law firm real estate market as they each became or are soon-to-become anchor tenants in their new, high-rise office buildings.

In 2009, Jenner & Block moved from the IBM Building at 330 N. Wabash Ave. to a new 45-story, 1.1 million-square-foot tower at 353 N. Clark St. Kirkland & Ellis moved from the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph Drive to a new 60-story, 1.3 million-square-foot tower at 300 N. LaSalle St. Baker & McKenzie plans its own move for 2012 from One Prudential Plaza at 130 E. Randolph St. to the newly expanded 57-story 2.3-million-square-foot Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower at 300 E. Randolph St.

In a recent roundtable discussion, Donald Resnick of Jenner & Block, Jeffrey Sheffield of Kirkland & Ellis and Michael Smith of Baker & McKenzie considered their decisions to move, design elements unique to their new office spaces and lessons learned throughout the process...

http://www.chicagolawyermagazine.com/Articles/2011/03/04/law-firm-real-estate.aspx

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20110316/CRED03/110319905/office-portion-of-oriental-theatre-building-on-the-block

Office portion of Oriental Theatre building on the block
By: Colleen Lobner March 16, 2011

The vintage building that houses the Ford Center for the Performing Arts/Oriental Theatre is for sale, testing investors’ appetite for redevelopment projects in the Loop.

...The Oriental Theatre building is being pitched as a rare redevelopment opportunity by CB Richard Ellis, which was hired in January to market the space. Potential uses include apartment, hotel, student housing and senior housing as well as office.

The building’s central Loop location, directly opposite the Block 37 mixed-use development, makes it well-suited for a boutique hotel, says Susan Tjarksen, managing director of consultant Stabilized Asset Resources LLC, or STAR Resources.

Looks like Willis Tower is starting their "green upgrades" they announced a while back:

Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project. The high-profile project on the south side of the 56th floor will replace the windows with a new type of photovoltaic glass developed by Pythagoras Solar which preserves daylighting and views while reducing heat gain and producing the same energy as a conventional solar panel. The project could grow to 2 MW in size — which is comparable to a 10 acre field of solar panels — turning North America’s tallest building into a huge urban vertical solar farm.

http://inhabitat.com/chicagos-willis-tower-to-become-a-vertical-solar-farm/

203 N Wabash was bought last year and the new owners said at the time that they would continue to operate it as an office building. However, it now looks like they may be trying to convert it into an apartment building with 185 units and retail space.

Looks like Willis Tower is starting their "green upgrades" they announced a while back:



http://inhabitat.com/chicagos-willis-tower-to-become-a-vertical-solar-farm/

I'll have to make sure and keep an eye out for any results they post, thanks for the heads up.

anyone know what the proposed section of of grand park renovation is supposed to look like?

^^
http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galleries/10231994-417/20-acre-grant-park-site-to-feature-hills-climbing-areas-skate-ribbon.html

anyone know what the proposed section of of grand park renovation is supposed to look like?

If you walk in the pedway at Block 37 there are exhibits on display.

^^

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d834518cc969e20162fbf085a8970d-320wi