The Metro. 950 W. Monroe.

http://www.atproperties.com/devImages/img_full/METRO.jpg

Lofthaus.

http://www.atproperties.com/devImages/img_full/dbf9f5aab4d8f156c73c8972958c3d83.jpg

909 W. Washington.

http://jameson.com/909washrend.jpg

Odyssey Lofts. 775 W. Jackson.

http://homepagesusa.com/altthumbs/hpmain/997/103997.jpg

Zen Condos

http://www.oculus-development.com/zen/imagesT/B_render_nite2.jpg

One of my favorites in the neighborhood is the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center. From their site (http://www.hellenicmuseum.org/index2.html)

The Museum is pleased to announce the completion of our architectural design competition for the Museum's permanent home! Our competition began in 1999 with a request for interest from architectural firms, which generated a terrific response from 31 firms across the country. All firms were mailed a comprehensive request for qualifications that described what the Museum was looking for in a building. Eleven firms responded with highly professional profiles and it was the difficult task of the Museum architectural committee to narrow the applicants down to five.

The five firms chosen were BLDD Architects, Cordogan, Clark & Associates Inc., De Stefano & Partners, Pappageorge/Haymes, Ltd., and RKK&G Museum and Cultural Facilities Consultations, Inc. Each were given a competition program, which gave detailed information about our ideas for the permanent home. The firms were asked to complete and submit a model design and complimentary descriptive panels. On September 25, 2000, all five firms anonymously submitted models and panels. To ensure fairness, nowhere on the panels or designs were the firms identified.

On October 5, 2000, Museum board and staff members met in Greek Town with five jurors chosen to pick the winning design. The distinguished jurors were: Calvert Audrian, Vice President of Operations at the Art Institute of Chicago, George J. Efstatniou, partner in charge of project administration in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP, George Thomas Kapelos, Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Science and Landscape Architecture at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, John Marks, chairman and CEO of Mark IV Realty Group and current vice president of the Museum in charge of financial affairs, and Lynne Warren, curator at the Museum Of Contemporary Art, Chicago. On October 6, 2000, the jury met from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and at the end of the day a winner was announced:

Pappageorge/Haymes, Ltd a Chicago based firm.
The design is a collaboration between firm architects George C. Pappageorge and Demetrios Stavrianos.
From this beautiful model we look forward to a permanent home that presents and perpetuates the Hellenic heritage.

The Museum would like to thank all of the architects who participated in the competition, our esteemed jurors, the architectural committee, Jerry Johnson (architectural advisor), and, of course, our members for their continued support.

And an image from Pappageorge/Haymes' site (http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com) :
http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com/images/Leisure/Hellenic_Museum/1_Hellenic_Museum.jpg

^ Wasn't a groundbreaking ceremony recently held for that?

Not sure about a ground breaking ceremony, but the site has been cleared of the hardware store that used to sit there.

Just curious, what ever happened to that project (by Smithfield, I believe?) to develop a row of about 4 industrial buildings into rentals for UIC students? If I recall, 1 of the four buildings would be demolished and replaced with new construction, and the rest would be rehabbed.

If I'm correct, it was on west Van Buren. Did this project ever happen?

Couldn't figure out the best thread to put this in, but it's a small new rendering of the GrandStation development planned at Grand, Halsted, and Milwaukee:

http://www.grandstationchicago.com/images/homepic.jpg

THis goes back at least two years (if not more)....

there was one high rise condo that was planned to stick out among the mid rise lofts and condos in the westgate area. i'm not sure of the exact location although I know it was directly on the Eisenhower, right north of UIC...I believe it probably was around Morgan.

I haven't seen a thing written about this project in over a year. I suppose it is dead. Does anyone know anything about it?

Couldn't figure out the best thread to put this in, but it's a small new rendering of the GrandStation development planned at Grand, Halsted, and Milwaukee:

http://www.grandstationchicago.com/images/homepic.jpg

If that Grand Station logo doesn't win an award for "Logo of the Year", what would?????????????

Couldn't figure out the best thread to put this in, but it's a small new rendering of the GrandStation development planned at Grand, Halsted, and Milwaukee:

http://www.grandstationchicago.com/images/homepic.jpg

I think this development is a fantastic idea....that corner has been screaming for developmetn for years.....iI just hope it doesn't affect two of my fav bars.....Emmitts and richards

THose poor buildings have been totally greyed over for atleast TEN YEARS,
YEESH!
not all of them look terrible, but it will be nice to give this already great area MORE LIFE and more continuity between downtown and ukrainian village.
I mean people should be able to walk from this area to downtown, but you dont really see it happening because of the gaps in retail and dead zones in between,

I dunno if this has ever been posted here. I got it from the FRDA website - a rendering of the planned Jewel at Desplaines/Kinzie.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/1878/jewelcw1.jpg

Apparently, the parking garage is built OVER the train tracks, which you can sorta see in the lower right of the lower right view.

Oh, and one more thing: don't look too hard at the buildings in the background. You'll give yourself a headache trying to figure out how their positions are possible. :lol:

^^^Whoa, that image is WAY out of date. The second Kinzie Station tower has been cancelled since about 2002. The Jewel store will go forward, but the surrounding neighborhood will look different. The project has been held up over railroad ROW, which CDOT is trying to preserve for a future high speed rail corridor that would begin tunneling at this location and arrive at the West Loop Transportation Center in a subway.

THis goes back at least two years (if not more)....

there was one high rise condo that was planned to stick out among the mid rise lofts and condos in the westgate area. i'm not sure of the exact location although I know it was directly on the Eisenhower, right north of UIC...I believe it probably was around Morgan.

I haven't seen a thing written about this project in over a year. I suppose it is dead. Does anyone know anything about it?

The loft buildings are finishing renovation into student housing. The high-rise is likley dead.

Wait... The high-speed trains would go where....?

I don't picture the first phase of the Midwest High-Speed Rail going to any cities lying to the north of us.

The loft buildings are finishing renovation into student housing. The high-rise is likley dead.

1035 West Van Buren?

Are you saying this because you feel it won't get approval or something else? If it helps, Winthrop Properties still lists the building under "Featured Properties"

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/5314/1349wvanburenvc3.jpg
Hopefully it goes through

MetraMarket to open in phases starting this year. Lars Sorenson in the Journal <http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=2866>

Minor construction is underway and three leases, including a French Market, have already been signed in a joint effort by Metra and U.S. Equities to develop two city blocks in the viaduct leading into Ogilvie Transportation Center. The 100,000-square-foot development, titled Metra Market, to be built within the two-block-long viaduct running from Lake St. to Washington Blvd., between Clinton and Canal Streets--long considered an eyesore--currently divides the West Loop neighborhood from the Chicago River and the restaurant and theatre corridors of the Loop.

The project is a public/private partnership between Metra and U.S. Equities, and has been ongoing for the past six years, according to Cassandra Francis, who worked for Metra before moving to U.S. Equities nearly 12 years ago. "We are currently putting the final stamp on financing," she said, "and expect to begin major construction within the next month or so."

It's been decided - I'm buying a condo unit at the 565 W. Quincy development!

There's a lot of stuff going on in this area (Metra Market, Old Post Office, etc.), and I'm always surprised that I don't see more posted on this site. I think Greektown has a lot more potential, as places like Meli (an amazing new breakfast/brunch place on Jackson and Halsted) open up and the hip and trendy restaurants of Randolph begin to spread south throughout the West Loop.

Take a look at Quincy: http://belgraviagroup.com/565quincy/index.php

May you have many years of enjoyment! :cheers:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/400500,052407redford.article

Redford eyes Fannie May site for theater

May 24, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER Staff Reporter

Robert Redford’s theater chain that specializes in independent films said Thursday it plans to open an eight-screen operation on Chicago’s Near West Side.

Redford’s Sundance Cinemas has signed a lease to occupy 40,000 square feet in a new building developers hope to put up at 1137 W. Jackson.

The property is the site of old Fannie May candy factory, which closed in 2004. The size of the building is still to be negotiated with the city.

The plan is for the theaters to be part of commercial space on the lower floors, with residential floors on the upper levels, said Gary Pachucki, president of IBT Group, one of the developers. Pachucki said he hopes the theaters can open in 2009.

The property extends a full block south to Van Buren, where it has frontage along the Eisenhower Expressway. Its expected the Sundance Cinemas space will face the expressway.

Pachucki said it will be on the building’s third floor and that a related bar and restaurant will occupy a mezzanine.

It would be the fourth location for Sundance. The company opened May 11 in Madison, Wis., and is renovating a location in San Francisco.

It announced this week plans to open in Denver. Founded by Redford, Sundance has financial backing from Oaktree Capital Management.

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=25246

Developer switches to apartments for West Loop site

By Alby Gallun

Adjusting to the shifting currents of the Chicago housing market, Evanston developer Robert Horner has dropped a plan for a condominium high-rise on a West Loop site next to the Eisenhower Expressway, deciding to build apartments there instead.

Renting apartments is much easier than selling condos these days, a big reason for the change, Mr. Horner says. He aims to break ground by early fall on the $80-million, 325-unit rental building at 1035 W. Van Buren St.

Amid a sluggish condo market, it would have taken a lot longer to sell enough units to secure financing for a condo project. Lenders generally won’t loan money to a condo development until buyers have signed contracts for about half of its units.

“We just felt that though there probably would be a market for this building as condos, it would probably be a very long presale period and (buyers) would be waiting for a long time” to move into their units, Mr. Horner says.

The apartment market, by contrast, is the best it has been since the beginning of the decade. Demand for apartments is strong amid a healthy job market, and supply has shrunk as developers have converted thousands of units into condos. Rents are rising and occupancies, though lower than a year ago, remain high by historical standards.

Though he has yet to secure a construction loan, Mr. Horner says he has received a term sheet for the project from HSBC Holdings PLC. With the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rush University Medical Center and the downtown financial district nearby, "We think there's a strong market, a consistent market that will support a building like that," he says.

Mr. Horner’s firm, Winthrop Properties LLC, has developed condos in Evanston and Chicago and owns about 2,000 apartments in both cities as well. Mr. Horner recently proposed his most ambitious project ever, a 37-story condo tower in the heart of downtown Evanston.

The West Loop project, designed by Chicago-based Fitzgerald Associates Architects, would be 23 stories under a zoning change approved by the Chicago City Council. A company led by Mr. Horner paid $8.2 million for the development site in March 2006.

The project has moved forward despite initial opposition from West Loop Community Organization, because the tower exceeds the 115-foot height limit the neighborhood group favors.

“The battle’s over on that one,” says Eric Sedler, the organization’s president.

Mr. Sedler also notes that the group has become more amenable to taller buildings that, like Mr. Horner’s, are near the neighborhood’s borders.

Hi, new to the board, but a West Looper for almost 4 years now.

I'm confused about the apartment building planned for 1035 W Van Buren. Isn't the Automatic Lofts student housing building (currently under construction) right there?

I was wondering about what was going on at the Fannie May site so I was glad to read the article about Redford's proposed theater.

I'm confused about the apartment building planned for 1035 W Van Buren. Isn't the Automatic Lofts student housing building (currently under construction) right there?

It's right next to those converted buildings.

Thanks, spyguy. Seems to me that site isn't quite big enough for such a massive building, but I could be misjudging.

Does anyone know what the small, 3-4 story building is a little further down on Van Buren, just east of the car wash (across from the Fannie May site)? It's a bit of an eyesore :) and I'm wondering if it's slated for any kind of redevelopment.

Either I've been living in a cave the past month or so, or this just hasn't been terribly well-publicized, but I've just learned that the development slated for the former Fannie May site has a new name: West Loop Promenade.

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=25187

http://www.chicagoagentmagazine.com/news/index.asp?id=818
Sales Start at 33Six: Condos Offer High Tech, Low Prices in Popular West Loop Location

http://www.33sixchicago.com/images/body.jpg

Chicago-based Irongate Land Company has announced the start of sales for 33Six, a new 70-unit condominium mid-rise, located at Morgan and Van Buren streets in the West Loop.

33Six will feature one-bedroom, one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den floor plans in a contemporary 11-story building designed by Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. Homes range in size from 690 to 1,220 square feet and are base-priced from the low $230,000s to the mid-$400,000s. There is also a selection of penthouse floor plans offering up to 1,685 square feet. Secured, indoor parking will be available for $35,000.

“33Six has an incredibly convenient location just two blocks from the Blue Line ‘L and Eisenhower Expressway, and within walking distance of UIC, the Illinois Medical District and Greek Town,” said Anthony Tiritilli, president and CEO of Irongate Land Company. “We’re also hitting a price point from the low $230,000s that’s going to be very attractive to first-time homebuyers. And we’re including a number of upscale features – both in terms of style and technology –these buyers will really appreciate.”

Residences at 33Six will offer open, loft-style floor plans with 10’ concrete ceilings and exposed ductwork, a balcony or terrace, hardwood flooring, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

Another carefully selected feature is 33Six’s home technology package. Each home will include structured wiring for an MP3 docking station, two built-in speakers, and high-speed phone, cable and Internet lines. Irongate will also include a reinforced mounting location for a flat-panel TV, and Wi-Fi access will be available throughout the building.

“As far as our customers are concerned, technology infrastructure in the home is not a luxury anymore; it’s a necessity. Whether they’ve got their whole life inside their iPhone or iPod, or they’re permanently attached to their BlackBerry, Gen-X and Gen-Y need their home to integrate with their personal technology. And we all know how quickly that technology will change,” said Tiritilli.

“It has to be frustrating to feel like your new home is outdated the day you move in, but that’s what’s happening with a lot of new construction. 33Six is designed from the inside out to keep up with technology and be functional years down the road,” he said.

While Irongate has put an emphasis on luxury appointments within the home, it has purposely held back on common-area amenities, like a doorman, swimming pool or resident’s lounge, which drive up the cost of assessments, Tiritilli noted.

Instead, 33Six will feature a phone/video entry intercom and cardio room, as well as an 11th-floor sundeck and convenience retail at street level.

“Our target market has told us they don’t want to pay for amenities they’re only going to use twice a year. They’d rather have an assessment that’s a few hundred dollars less, so that they can go out on the weekends and enjoy themselves or take a trip or pay for grad school,” said Tiritilli. “A pool and doorman sound great until you open up your assessment bill, and you’re looking at $500 or $600 on a two-bedroom condominium. That’s a car payment and then some.”

Other features at 33Six include ceramic floor and wall tile in the bathroom; cultured marble vanities with integral bowls; and designer chrome faucets. Select plans include separate, walk-in showers.

33Six is a pet-friendly building with a number of parks located nearby. The building is also within walking distance of some of the best dining, nightlife and cultural offerings in the West Loop, such as Randolph Street’s “Restaurant Row” and Greek Town. Residents are in proximity to transportation options including the Ogilvie Transportation Center, Union Station, the CTA Green and Blue Lines, and Interstates 290 and 90/94.

Sales are being conducted by @properties. For more information, visit www.33sixchicago.com, or contact exclusive listing agents Rick DeMaria, (312) 492-0008, and Marty Winefield, (312) 669-9205.

Irongate Land Company is a Chicago-based developer specializing in city and suburban infill communities and regional secondary markets. Led by an executive team with more than eight decades of combined experience in development, architecture, construction, appraisals and real estate finance, Irongate is committed to building a legacy through thoughtful design and customer advocacy.

33Six was marketed for a while as "The Morgan" by Keating Development (IIRC). Then the signage went down a year or so ago, and just recently popped back up with the 33Six info. I wonder what happened in between. The building design appears to be the same as the original.

Nothing more than a simple re-branding. They did it to Aristocrat Tower in the South Loop, which is now HOM Chicago. They're just trying to appeal to a different market segment, after the first marketing campaign didn't work.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/08/prweb545355.htm

IBT Group Announces Partnership with Blackrock to Build Project in Chicago’s West Loop

August 7, 2007

IBT Group LLC, a real estate and asset management firm and advisory client of BlackRock Inc., one of the world’s largest investment management firms, have announced a partnership that will provide capital for a new mixed-use development in Chicago’s West Loop.

“Our partnership with BlackRock represents a significant step forward in our growth,” said IBT Group President Gary Pachucki, who founded the company in 1999. “It not only secures capital for West Loop Promenade, but also provides access to Wall Street, and the capital that will allow us to pursue larger, more complex transactions.”

“We are pleased to become a capital partner to IBT Group and its West Loop Promenade development, which has already secured a lease with Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinemas,” said Erik Grabowski, BlackRock Vice President. “We view the West Loop as one of the fastest-growing areas of Chicago and are excited about the opportunity to bring a high quality retail/entertainment project to the neighborhood.”

West Loop Promenade is a $240 million retail and residential project being developed by IBT Group on Chicago’s Near West Side. Scheduled for a spring 2009 opening, it will include 285,000 square feet of retail space on three levels, including the eight-screen Sundance Cinemas theaters.

---------
http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/9470/metrocenter2901xx1.jpg

VOID

West Loop Promenade is a $240 million retail and residential project being developed by IBT Group on Chicago’s Near West Side. Scheduled for a spring 2009 opening, it will include 285,000 square feet of retail space on three levels, including the eight-screen Sundance Cinemas theaters.

Hmm, well I can't say I'm jumping up and down about the design, but it's not bad. It resembles Skybridge to me. Do we know how tall the "tower" component is going to be? And will that be condos, apartments, hotel?

At any rate, it will be nice to have some additional retail, dining, and entertainment options in the area.

VOID

Emerald
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6028/p1000812ju7.jpg
Odyssey Lofts
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3642/p1000806zg9.jpg

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?id=2166

Chicago — Madison / Fed Ex Redevelopment, 1260-1300 W Madison St., 11-story and four-story mixed-use buildings, June 2008, $32 million.

------
http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26491

Developer plans boutique hotel in West Loop
By Alby Gallun

An affiliate of Greenville, S.C.-based JHM Hotels Inc. has paid $4.1 million for an 11,700-square-foot parcel at 150 N. Jefferson St. near the Ogilvie Transportation Center, according to documents filed with the Cook County Recorder...It’s a small site and given current zoning, “I can’t see a monstrous building going in there,” says Mr. O’Flaherty, president of Palos Hills-based O’Flaherty Realtors & Builders Inc.

Maybe it's just me... does anyone else recognize the "near west side" (west of the river / east of expressway) as becoming the new River North? It seems like one of the best locations in Chicago.

River North isn't full yet. When Walgreens and Hard Rock Cafe can come in and build locations with parking lots, it's not done yet. There are still a ton of standalone parking lots, too.

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26623

2-building condo project planned for Greektown

By Thomas A. Corfman
Oct. 05, 2007

Jos. Cacciatore & Co. is gearing up for a rebound in the condominium market next year with plans for two 12-story condo buildings in the Greektown neighborhood on a site owned for more than 20 years by Victor Cacciatore, the patriarch of the Chicago real estate and banking family.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/595931,CST-FIN-roeder10.article

Curtains for Sundance?
Project underwhelms West Loop panel

October 10, 2007
DAVID ROEDER

Last May, one of the lead developers of the old Fannie May candy factory at 1137 W. Jackson gladly announced the signing of Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas LLC as an anchor tenant. But when asked about prospects for a residential high-rise abutting the theater, the developer, Gary Pachucki, said, "Don't go there."

----
Love this quote:
"We would love to see first-class retail in the West Loop," Sedler said, "but at the same time we have to see something that benefits the area."
Basically they want all the benefits of density but without density. Smart.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/page.pl?id=2166

Chicago — West Loop Promenade, 1137 W. Jackson Blvd., 266,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use building, February 2008, $40 million.

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=26770

Roundy’s plans upscale West Loop store

By Eddie Baeb

Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. is close to signing a lease for a 60,000-square-foot upscale grocery store at a development site in the West Loop at Madison and Halsted streets.

Roundy’s, a Milwaukee-based chain that earlier this year announced ambitious plans to open 12 stores here in the next three years, would anchor a $100-million mixed-use development that is to include an additional 60,000 square feet of retail space and a residential tower with about 230 units.

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8229/halstedmadisonoa7.jpg

^ That rendering leaves out the residential tower that those WLCO assholes will surely protest

Oh my god, that grocery store looks AWESOME. One of the glassiest retail buildings downtown. It reminds me of the Crate & Barrel on North Michigan a little bit.

The article also mentions a possible store at Webster and Ashland, which is along the Elston Corridor, on the west side of the river. Hopefully Roundy's won't see this location as an excuse to build a suburban bigbox-style store.

Emerald (South Tower) TO
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1210/p1000854vj9.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1323/p1000852mk9.jpg

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=27194

Fund plans to convert West Loop building to dorm
By Alby Gallun

The fund has paid $16 million for the White Tower Building, a 225,000-square-foot property at 847 W. Jackson Blvd., according to a deed filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Though still in the preliminary stages, current plans call for redeveloping the property into student housing with about 440 beds, says Blue Vista Vice-president Greg Adler.

I hate those red railings over the highway :wallbash:

Hello! Does anyone have any information about the Catalyst condos to be built at Washington and Desplaines?

Construction has started on the Jewel at Kinzie and Desplaines. The progress looks pretty substantial - they have erected probably 1/3 of the steel so far.

The Jewel there will really boost pedestrian traffic at Milwaukee/Kinzie/Desplaines, which so far is kind of a dead intersection that doesn't have much except a CROWDED little bar.

I'm wondering about the viability of all these new grocery stores proposed though. There's a Roundy's proposed for Halsted in Greektown, where a Dominick's already exists. Throw a large Jewel into the mix and you have quite a lot of grocery stores into an area (West Loop) that seems to be resisting density. To make matters a little bit worse, Grand Station up at Grand/Halsted/Milwaukee is planning to have a grocery as their anchor store. I love retail density, but this is pushing the demand envelope.

And MetraMarket, if that ever happens.

I'm wondering about the viability of all these new grocery stores proposed though. There's a Roundy's proposed for Halsted in Greektown, where a Dominick's already exists. Throw a large Jewel into the mix and you have quite a lot of grocery stores into an area (West Loop) that seems to be resisting density. To make matters a little bit worse, Grand Station up at Grand/Halsted/Milwaukee is planning to have a grocery as their anchor store. I love retail density, but this is pushing the demand envelope.

Well, competition is always a good thing, I say...

And MetraMarket, if that ever happens.

interesting to note, MetraMarket was originally planned during the time Chicagovius was a Roman colony. It was supposed to be a market place in the Chicagovius Forum to sell the oil olive of Greece, the cheeses of Gual, the figs of North Africa, and the goats and pigs from Spain. Of course, those original plans have been altered and revised quite a bit now that we are on Plan MMMCDXLVIII and anxiously awaiting Plan MMMCDXLVIV.

interesting to note, MetraMarket was originally planned during the time Chicagovius was a Roman colony. It was supposed to be a market place in the Chicagovius Forum to sell the oil olive of Greece, the cheeses of Gual, the figs of North Africa, and the goats and pigs from Spain. Of course, those original plans have been altered and revised quite a bit now that we are on Plan MMMCDXLVIII and anxiously awaiting Plan MMMCDXLVIV.

^ MetraMarket received full Chicagovius city council approval in 19 AD. The council was wearing white robes back then, and at that particular time the Mayor was trying to distract the public from his corrupt, patronage Government by holding gladitorial combats on the lakefront (at a site that would later become Soldier Field)

^ MetraMarket received full Chicagovius city council approval in 19 AD. The council was wearing white robes back then, and at that particular time the Mayor was trying to distract the public from his corrupt, patronage Government by holding gladitorial combats on the lakefront (at a site that would later become Soldier Field)

fine and well, but please hurry up and get to the good stuff, the gorry part where the council members all stabs him in their chambers. Et tu, Dorothy Tilghman?

Hello! Does anyone have any information about the Catalyst condos to be built at Washington and Desplaines?

Just drove by and saw the signs today.

http://www.chicagocatalyst.com/


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j63/creilmann/building-6.gif

interesting to note, MetraMarket was originally planned during the time Chicagovius was a Roman colony. It was supposed to be a market place in the Chicagovius Forum to sell the oil olive of Greece, the cheeses of Gual, the figs of North Africa, and the goats and pigs from Spain. Of course, those original plans have been altered and revised quite a bit now that we are on Plan MMMCDXLVIII and anxiously awaiting Plan MMMCDXLVIV.
If only your politics were as awesome as your humor ;)

And I believe the Market was originally part of the Etruscan plan for the area.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/2008/0108/News01081.htm

Former Fed Ex site redevelopment plan meets community opposition
By Miriam Cintron

The proposed plan to redevelop the former Fed Ex site at 1260 and 1300 W. Madison St. in the West Loop into mixed-use buildings has met with opposition from area residents, who cite everything from parking issues, population density, and traffic congestion to aesthetic concerns as reasons for their disapproval.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/2008/0108/News01081.htm

Former Fed Ex site redevelopment plan meets community opposition
By Miriam Cintron

The proposed plan to redevelop the former Fed Ex site at 1260 and 1300 W. Madison St. in the West Loop into mixed-use buildings has met with opposition from area residents, who cite everything from parking issues, population density, and traffic congestion to aesthetic concerns as reasons for their disapproval.


Spy guy thanks for the insight on that developement. I cannot believe how stupid these people are, you have a 7 story developement across the street and they are complaining about a building across the street that is 4 storys taller......... unbelievable. I was at the west end bar right there at ADA and madison just few weeks ago and I dont see why those morons would complain. I dont think that people understand what prosperity means and what it does to the community.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/2008/0108/News01081.htm

Former Fed Ex site redevelopment plan meets community opposition
By Miriam Cintron

The proposed plan to redevelop the former Fed Ex site at 1260 and 1300 W. Madison St. in the West Loop into mixed-use buildings has met with opposition from area residents, who cite everything from parking issues, population density, and traffic congestion to aesthetic concerns as reasons for their disapproval.

Found some updated renderings. I can see why the West Loopers oppose it - this is way more urban than I expected.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3650/1260madison1qh8.jpg

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/149/1260madison2jp5.jpg

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7236/1260madison3xt7.jpg

interesting to note, MetraMarket was originally planned during the time Chicagovius was a Roman colony. It was supposed to be a market place in the Chicagovius Forum to sell the oil olive of Greece, the cheeses of Gual, the figs of North Africa, and the goats and pigs from Spain. Of course, those original plans have been altered and revised quite a bit now that we are on Plan MMMCDXLVIII and anxiously awaiting Plan MMMCDXLVIV.

edsg25, you have just been inducted as an honorary Greek. All you have to do is imitate the belly dance (or tsifteteli as we Greeks call it) of this video, and your in :)


057OgdRN4hM
0EZcPaaVTuM

I found this image for a Greektown condo project called "Iliad". I assume the developer is the same one who's doing "Odyssey Lofts" across the street, named "W Developments". They have done several other West Loop projects as well.

Anyway, it appears to contain the Hellenic Museum that held a design competition years ago. Strangely, Iliad's architects (Hirsch Assoc.) were not in the design competition, which was won by Pappageorge/Haymes (big surprise there). Is this a more recent plan?

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7624/iliadkb0.jpg

I like the cartoon skyline in the background of that Hellenic Museum rendering. It reminds me of when Magilla Gorilla would drive his way-too-small car down the street as the skyscrapers scrolled by in the background.

Funny how Magilla passed the same set of buildings every few seconds.

^^ Need some coffee? :lol:

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/2008/0308/UD0308.htm

Communication cutoff worries West Loop Residents
Miriam Y. Cintron

Already concerned over proposed development plans for the former Fed Ex site at 1260 and 1300 W. Madison St., West Loop residents grew even more anxious recently after developer The Pickus Companies abruptly stopped communicating with them. Residents previously had experienced frequent contact to address their concerns about construction plans, said Laurie Gentle of the West Loop Concerned Citizens group.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2594/ud030824eq7.jpg

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=4350&TM=47860.43

Mr. Redford's picture show could arrive in West Loop
$240 million mixed-use project

BY MICAH MAIDENBERG

The IBT Group wants to build twin 21-story towers above a mixture of small retail shops and larger commercial tenants, including an eight-screen theatre showing independent film operated by Sundance Theatres, at the former Fannie Mae factory site in the West Loop.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/791/4350aue5.jpg

Adams Street Park (Adams/Sangamon/Peoria/Monroe)

The site currently includes the old infirmary owned by UIC, which will be demolished. Supposedly the terra cotta will be used as seating.
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/5717/41098717ic4.jpg

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/920/aerialperspective4editup6.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/8168/plannotext4editht6.jpg

Why do planners like creating these parks with illogical and useless sidewalks? People are just going to create a mud trail cutting diagonally across the park.

I'm wondering about the viability of all these new grocery stores proposed though.

The Dominick's is by all reports going gangbusters -- the whole Near West is very much under-served -- so I'm not too worried about the competition from Roundy's MetroMarket. (The Jewel is not all that close by and in its own Fulton Market/River West enclave, and Grand Station is off the table for now.) Halsted will be an interesting corridor with the supermarkets so close by, though.

So I was in Greektown today eating in the Greek Islands and I wanted to look for the site where the new Hellenic Museum would be, but I couldn't find it! All I could see were those Odyssey buildings, but nothing else! Can you guys tell me where exactly it will be located and which project they're creating, because the one mentioned first looks amazing, because the one with the Illiad buildings is not as impressive!
Now the park looks like it's going to be great! The area does need some green and hopefully some more pillars and statues decorate the place to give it that Greektown feeling, even though it's in West Gate! Good luck with those projects!

http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com/images/properties/cultural/HellenicMuseum/image-1.jpg
http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com/images/properties/cultural/HellenicMuseum/image-2.jpg
http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com/images/properties/cultural/HellenicMuseum/image-3.jpg
http://www.pappageorgehaymes.com/images/properties/cultural/HellenicMuseum/image-4.jpg

Are these still the plans for the Hellenic Museum, or is it going to be in the basement of The Illiad building?
Because this building is gorgeous, I hope they will make this a reality because this is such an amazing piece of art that deserves to be built!

Wow... I sure hope so. That's about 100x better than the "basement" concept!

Why do planners like creating these parks with illogical and useless sidewalks? People are just going to create a mud trail cutting diagonally across the park.

Exactly. The planners have this idea that they are smarter than the rest of us and can control the feet of future pedestrians.

Why do planners like creating these parks with illogical and useless sidewalks? People are just going to create a mud trail cutting diagonally across the park.

^ Because parks are supposed to be a relaxing respite from the rigid streetgrid of the city. The sidewalks in parks are not supposed to act as the shortest distance between two points. That's the phisophy of Olmstead when he designed one of the most successful urban parks on earth--Central Park.

But it looks like Site Design Group has done exactly what you ask: they've put diagonal paths from corner to corner (without making it look like a St. Andrew's Cross).

^ Exactly. Not very relaxing and bucolic, eh?

But not all great parks have curving paths. Dupont Circle in DC is one of my favorite parks as well, and it basically consists of a central fountain with paths radiating in straight lines out from it

Construction has started on the Jewel at Kinzie and Desplaines. The progress looks pretty substantial - they have erected probably 1/3 of the steel so far.

The Jewel there will really boost pedestrian traffic at Milwaukee/Kinzie/Desplaines, which so far is kind of a dead intersection that doesn't have much except a CROWDED little bar.


It looks like construction on this site has stopped. Most of the construction equipment has been removed and there has been no progress over the last month.

Does anyone know whats going on? Despite the lagging economy, with all the nearby condos completing soon there is still be a good market for this store.

_Am

Where did you hear construction stopped? I live right next door to it and it appears to be moving along just fine. I don't know all the proper terms, but most of the support structure seems to be up and they just started to enclose the building.

Where did you hear construction stopped? I live right next door to it and it appears to be moving along just fine. I don't know all the proper terms, but most of the support structure seems to be up and they just started to enclose the building.

I haven't heard anything at all, that's why I'm asking.

I also live in the neighborhood, and haven't seen much progress, nor much equipment on site for a while.

I hope I'm wrong. :)

_Am

^ Because parks are supposed to be a relaxing respite from the rigid streetgrid of the city. The sidewalks in parks are not supposed to act as the shortest distance between two points. That's the phisophy of Olmstead when he designed one of the most successful urban parks on earth--Central Park.

But it looks like Site Design Group has done exactly what you ask: they've put diagonal paths from corner to corner (without making it look like a St. Andrew's Cross).

It's a minor gripe, just kind of an annoyance. Regardless of what parks are "supposed to be," people will use a small park like this one to cut diagonally across. In an apparent effort to make the park look distinctive from above (surely the single least important vantage point), they've put in paths that kind of allow for that, but not quite. A tour of a college campus or a vacant lot-filled neighborhood on the West Side will show that people just cut across the grass anyway, which just makes a big mess.

The weirdest and silliest example of this that I know of is the Chinatown development just southwest of where the Orange and Red Lines cross. The sidewalks appear to be designed for some kind of drunken stumble.

It's a minor gripe, just kind of an annoyance. Regardless of what parks are "supposed to be," people will use a small park like this one to cut diagonally across. In an apparent effort to make the park look distinctive from above (surely the single least important vantage point), they've put in paths that kind of allow for that, but not quite. A tour of a college campus or a vacant lot-filled neighborhood on the West Side will show that people just cut across the grass anyway, which just makes a big mess.

The weirdest and silliest example of this that I know of is the Chinatown development just southwest of where the Orange and Red Lines cross. The sidewalks appear to be designed for some kind of drunken stumble.

The comparison to the Chinatown development is apt - the same architect did both sites. It should be noted that the Chinatown park has won awards internationally. As a West-Looper, I'm hopefull our little park may get similar attention!

Secondly, as a defence of the design (and the process!) - the city Parks District has done an excellent job of consulting the neighbourhood about the park design.

Several hundred people showed up for meetings at the Merritt School of Music, and then later at Jack's tap. The architects submitted 3 different designs. The first was a classical design reminiscent of Versailles, the second was very curvy with hills, the third is the once that you see discussed here. There was a very clear consensus from the public that this is the design that they wanted. The city has done an excellent job of involving the community in this process. As a nearby resident, I wish all my city interactions were this positive (they are not).

Rather then slamming the city for trying to build an awesome park, why not show up at one of these community meetings and actually do something constructive?

It's a minor gripe, just kind of an annoyance. Regardless of what parks are "supposed to be," people will use a small park like this one to cut diagonally across. In an apparent effort to make the park look distinctive from above (surely the single least important vantage point), they've put in paths that kind of allow for that, but not quite. A tour of a college campus or a vacant lot-filled neighborhood on the West Side will show that people just cut across the grass anyway, which just makes a big mess.

The weirdest and silliest example of this that I know of is the Chinatown development just southwest of where the Orange and Red Lines cross. The sidewalks appear to be designed for some kind of drunken stumble.
When the Univ. of Michigan built their Ann Arbor campus, they waited a few years until the students had created their own pathways before paving. Ingenious.

The comparison to the Chinatown development is apt - the same architect did both sites. It should be noted that the Chinatown park has won awards internationally. As a West-Looper, I'm hopefull our little park may get similar attention!
...

Oops, I was being confusing. I wasn't talking about the park--the paths there make sense in its setting. I meant the residential development just east of it, which has amusing squiggly sidewalks running along the houses. Anyway I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it, I was just noting a kind of silly tendency of developers right now. Glad that the under-parked West Loop gets to have a new one.

Regarding showing up to community meetings, if the city ever showed any interest in creating a park in my own neighborhood, I would be happy to join the process.

Frumie, that is pretty brilliant. It seems that colleges should generally plan on making a sidewalk connecting every pair of buildings on campus; minimizing the total sidewalk length would then be a task for the mathematics department.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/907500,CST-FIN-fannie22.article

Sweet spot for retail
WEST LOOP | Homes, health club also planned at former Fannie May site

April 22, 2008 Recommend (2)

BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN droeder@suntimes.com fspielman@suntimes.com

Developers of the old Fannie May site on the Near West Side are forging ahead with plans for two residential towers now that the neighborhood has softened its opposition to new high-rises.

The investors have asked city officials for zoning authority to build two 21-story buildings at 1137 W. Jackson. They would include 380 homes, either condominiums or apartments.
Also part of the project is a nine-story commercial building that would include actor Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas chain, which shows independent films and documentaries..................................

I was just looking at the Central Area Action Plan PDF again... Here is the biggest question I have:

What do you think the chances are of the "Kennedy Cap" taking place?

Don't you think this is one of the most phenomenal projects Chicago could undertake?

The chances are very slim, due to the huge cost of construction and ventilation. I think we'll definitely see some covering of the highway once the West Loop is filled with office towers east of the Kennedy, with WLCO fighting tooth and nail to keep towers out of areas west of the Kennedy. Once that happens, land will be scarce enough to justify building towers over the highway, as they are fond of doing in Boston or Atlanta.

But covering it with parkland? I honestly can't see where the money for that is gonna come from, especially since Millennium Park came in WAY over budget and even now still relies on huge corporate subsidies and advertising revenues. Of course, MP has also brought in untold millions in tourism for the city, so make of that what you will.

Over the years, it's been mentioned on and off as a possibility, along with the Eisenhower between Halsted and Ashland, or something like that. Honestly, I'd rather see the Metra Electric tracks covered through Grant Park before we cover the expressways.

^ Yeah, I only see that happening with private money and with a profit incentive (ie land being used for office space, etc). I just don't see anybody coughing up the money to build this huge project just to create enormous swaths of trees & grass, and to be frankly honest, I'd rather see this area be developed into highrises

I think if Daley makes it a priority, it can happen.

Although MP was a huge cost overrun, only a small portion of the $500M price tag was linked to the superstructure. About $100M was tagged for the garage and about $60M for Metra superstructure. Landscaping was about $40M - so the project cost about $200M without the bells and whistles. With soft costs bringing it up to $240M, the project cost about $10M an acre, or $225/SF. That is pretty cheap for land in this area.

I could see a joint venture with Old St. Patrick's Church (Daley loves this place) help push this forward. As they have been selling off their land to developers, they will need open area for the school and functions. They have been making a fortune selling off their land so they could turn around and use the money to buy the created open space. Old St. Pat's sold one of their surface lots for $400/SF about a year ago. I think they can make something work here.

The empty lots flanking the expressway between Adams and Madison could really benefit from the park, which could help offset costs for the development (they can work out a deal to count the area in their FAR). Maybe a trial portion between Adams and Madison could be developed?

A few ways they can offset costs:

- Parking - they could put angled parking in and lease the spots to a company to meter/charge for parking
- Corporate sponsors
- Sell land to adjoining property owners, place a type of conservation easement over the land, and let them use in their FAR. Similar to the Chicago Spire with DuSable Park - they can be developed together. Benefits would be a square with fountains for employees to enjoy such as at the Chase building.
- Lease to restaurants on the park
- Park District Capital Funds (they get a $400M budget every year).
- Rental of facilities to corporations
- TIF funds (which would be ironic because the increased taxes would be taken away from the park district).

[QUOTE=PrintersRowBoiler;21124083]I think if Daley makes it a priority, it can happen.

Although MP was a huge cost overrun, only a small portion of the $500M price tag was linked to the superstructure. About $100M was tagged for the garage and about $60M for Metra superstructure. Landscaping was about $40M - so the project cost about $200M without the bells and whistles. With soft costs bringing it up to $240M, the project cost about $10M an acre, or $225/SF. That is pretty cheap for land in this area.

I could see a joint venture with Old St. Patrick's Church (Daley loves this place) help push this forward. As they have been selling off their land to developers, they will need open area for the school and functions. They have been making a fortune selling off their land so they could turn around and use the money to buy the created open space. Old St. Pat's sold one of their surface lots for $400/SF about a year ago. I think they can make something work here.

Planning commission.....

"A proposed Business Planned Development Application submitted by FRC-MJ,
L.L.C., for the property generally located at 601 West Monroe Street. The
applicant proposes to construct two office buildings of 27 and 30 stories with
ground-floor retail space and 460 off-street parking spaces. The Applicant
proposes to change the zoning of the site from DC-12 Downtown Core District to DC-16 Downtown Core District prior to establishing the Business Planned
Development. (2nd Ward)"

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/1034973,CST-FIN-roeder02.article

GREEKTOWN HOTELS?
July 2, 2008
DAVID ROEDER

David Wallach, principal of W Development LLC, has been showing to community leaders plans for a hotel at 123 N. Sangamon, a site previously earmarked for new homes. Wallach also has shifted plans for a nearby location, the northeast corner of Halsted and Van Buren, where he now wants to combine a hotel with a relocated Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center.

Has anyone been to the new Jewel-Osco at Kinzie & Desplaines yet? I shopped there last night for the first time. It's a beautiful store, and much easier to navigate (both parking-wise and within the store) than the Skybridge Dominick's. I think it's a nice addition to the West Loop/River West area.

Jefferson and Randolph
Architect: SCB
12,000 sf of retail
5 floors of parking (~250 cars)
5 floors of office space (~100k sf)
300+ units.

The height is somewhere around 450 ft IIRC.

They're planning to start construction in late 09 and the building should be LEED certified.

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/2378/108jeffme7.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8646/108jeff2ek5.jpg

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8711/image4kf5.jpg

The rendering looks to the southeast, although the Chicago skyline is not shown, and the other K Station towers are shown only in tan.

Very nice!

Does anyone know if 33Six (336 S. Morgan) is officially "dead"? The on-site billboard for it has been replaced with an ad for the VB1224 development down the street. I think the sales center that was on the ground floor of Automatic Lofts is closed as well.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=6554&TM=544.452

A Green Line station at Morgan
Would serve new residents and longtime businesses

By MICAH MAIDENBERG

A new el station will be built on the Green Line at Morgan Street in order to serve an increased population in the northern part of the West Loop. The station, expected to cost between $35 million and $40 million in tax increment financing dollars, will be built despite a feasibility study that found more potential riders for a Western Avenue stop on the Green Line.

Steele said construction on the station will begin in 2009, with an opening expected in late 2010 or in the early part of 2011.
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/3003/6554aux8.jpg

^^ Good to hear! :cheers:

I bet they're kicking themselves for tearing down the old Halsted station, but this is indeed great news!

Updated Metra Market renderings
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2237/xy9c4b4376237045e9b4ffexo0.jpghttp://img247.imageshack.us/img247/873/xyfda31e746496470288574cn5.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7965/xyf3d0591bedf948ddbfb14do8.jpghttp://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6282/xy78b1119ff977459b9dbfarq3.jpg

^ Dude, the people they put in these renderings crack me up. They all look like a bunch of well-dressed hipsters who are so sexy and chique that they belong in a Paris fashion show. You'll never see a hairy fat dude wearing a Cubs hat in one of those pics.

The woman in that first pic is especially entertaining, looking up to the sky dreaming of meeting the man of her dreams...at MetraMarket

^^ lol

Did the Metra station ever have this market before? I've been using Olgilvie to come into Chicago for ~10 years now and I can't remember not seeing the Metra Market flags outside, yet I've never seen the market...how long have they been there? When will this happen (if ever)?

^ The market supposedly has financing, at least for a portion of the project. Wasn't there an article posted about that recently?

The interior renderings are very mall-like. Not the open-air market that the original plan claimed it to be.

It actually looks like an airport food court to me. Blah.

That's because you're looking at the concourse, not the actual market.

Has anybody heard anything about the big mass of abandoned, grey buildings on Grand and Milwaukee? There has to be some sort of plan for that corner.

^There was a proposal a while back called Grand Station, IIRC.

Here it is: http://www.grandstationchicago.com/

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=58&ArticleID=6883&TM=85825.98

Project shakin' in the West Loop?
1/21/2009 10:00:00 PM

From the newsletter of FitzGerald Associates, the architecture firm: "We have two exciting projects that are working their way through the Chicago approvals process. One is a 48-story tower in the West Loop and adjacent to the Kennedy Expressway. The impetus for the project was a need to expand banquet and conference facilities for the adjacent hotel. Atop this podium (which will also contain ground-floor retail and six levels of parking) will rise a stunning tower containing luxury rental units that will have all of the amenities that the hotel provides."

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=58&ArticleID=6883&TM=85825.98

Project shakin' in the West Loop?
1/21/2009 10:00:00 PM

From the newsletter of FitzGerald Associates, the architecture firm: "We have two exciting projects that are working their way through the Chicago approvals process. One is a 48-story tower in the West Loop and adjacent to the Kennedy Expressway. The impetus for the project was a need to expand banquet and conference facilities for the adjacent hotel. Atop this podium (which will also contain ground-floor retail and six levels of parking) will rise a stunning tower containing luxury rental units that will have all of the amenities that the hotel provides."

^ Interesting. What project could it be? I can't remember the name, but there is a hotel along Halsted that has retail facing a giant parking lot. I've always hated that big swab of surface parking, and am hoping that this project will replace that.

Also, they never mentioned the second project they're working on.

^ Interesting. What project could it be? I can't remember the name, but there is a hotel along Halsted that has retail facing a giant parking lot. I've always hated that big swab of surface parking, and am hoping that this project will replace that.

Also, they never mentioned the second project they're working on.

That would be the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro. On the outside, it looks like a cheap, old, Vegas hotel.

Yes, that Crowne Plaza in Greektown, for decades the tallest building in the area, is a crude relic built in the 1970's. It's exterior has undergone more face lifts than Marilyn Miglin.

Looks like David Wallach is proposing another hotel, this one might encounter less obstacles than his Greektown Site.

Developer plans hotel on failed condo site
By Eddie Baeb, Jan. 30, 2009

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32817

(Crain’s) — Developer David Wallach wants to bring a Gen X-oriented hotel to a West Loop site where he faces an overdue construction loan on a failed 100-unit condo project.


Rendering of NYLO hotel proposed for the West Loop.
Mr. Wallach has an agreement with NYLO Hotels LLC to develop a 179-room hotel for the upstart Atlanta-based company. The NYLO (pronounced Ny-low) hotel would be in two buildings: a seven-story brick warehouse at 123 N. Sangamon St. that Mr. Wallach was converting into loft condos and a new building that would be just south at Sangamon and Washington Boulevard.

Like all developers these days, Mr. Wallach, a principal with W Developments LLC, faces an uphill battle to land financing. Mr. Wallach also has an overdue construction loan of more than $11.3 million on the project and is facing more than a half-dozen contractor liens on the 123 N. Sangamon building, where interior renovations are nearly completed for what were to be the project’s first 45 condos.

Mr. Wallach says he is in talks with the project’s lender, Midwest Bank & Trust Co., and says it’s possible Midwest would finance the hotel. A spokesman for Melrose Park-based Midwest didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Mr. Wallach is among a host of condo developers now considering other uses for their projects, such as hotels, apartments or student housing, to salvage their investments. He says he can’t predict when he’ll be able to secure a loan and begin construction.

“The timing, hopefully, is quick,” Mr. Wallach says. “We live in challenging times with the credit markets now.”

Mr. Wallach bought 123 N. Sangamon in early 2006 for $5.1 million. That spring he secured a construction loan for the project of $11.3 million, and the loan’s payoff date was later extended to January 2008, according to documents filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

“Without question this is the right product for the site,” Mr. Wallach says. “This would be killer.”

The hotel would feature 41 suites, housed in the 123 N. Sangamon building, as well as a rooftop restaurant and bar.

Mr. Wallach is also still vying to bring a hotel to another West Loop site, at 333 S. Halsted St. in Greektown. The proposed tower, where Mr. Wallach originally had planned condos, would sit atop a new home for the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center. Mr. Wallach first proposed the hotel development last spring and says he continues to work with hotel operator Dolce International on the project.

NYLO, which was founded in 2005 and has two locations, near Dallas and Providence, R.I., announced franchise agreements at a trade show this week for the West Loop project and new locations in Frisco, Texas, and New York’s Financial District. NYLO is also building a third company-owned hotel in Las Colinas, Texas.

“The new franchised properties will offer the style and amenities of boutique hotels with a wallet-friendly twist,” the company says in its press release. “These hip hotels will feature the brand’s dramatic urban loft design, the latest tech-friendly comforts and unique restaurants/bars as high-energy social hubs.”

^Here's the rendering in the article
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8483/nylorenderingmi2.gif

Might be good for Randolph Street and useful for Harpo Studios. Anyway, I'm more interested in the hotel and museum plans for Halsted.

Looks good. I hope to see a lot more neighborhood hotels.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32883

Roundy’s exits West Loop lease, in talks on 2 other sites
By Eddie Baeb, Feb. 04, 2009

Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. has pulled out of a lease in a West Loop development and is now in talks for another site nearby along with one downtown in the Lakeshore East complex.

...In Mr. Taxman’s West Loop development, the grocer had leased roughly half of the planned 120,000 square feet of retail. Mr. Taxman recently began marketing Roundy’s space to other retailers, including grocery stores he wouldn’t name.

Mr. Taxman also has a tentative agreement for a Hyatt Extended Stay hotel that would be built atop the retail building, and is still planning a 200-unit apartment building at the corner of Madison and Green Street.

...The site Roundy’s is now considering just to the southwest, at Jackson and Aberdeen, was once home to a Fannie May factory and is being developed by Chicago-based IBT Group LLC.

Wow, what's up with the proliferation of hotel proposals for the West Loop?

The site Roundy’s is now considering just to the southwest, at Jackson and Aberdeen, was once home to a Fannie May factory and is being developed by Chicago-based IBT Group LLC.

This is the West Loop Promenade, yes? I'm hoping this gets off the ground soon, as well as the Hellenic Museum + hotel project at Halsted & Van Buren.

565 Quincy
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/27/p1000933ua8.jpg

http://www.globest.com/news/1348_1348/chicago/176912-1.html

Developers To Sell Site, Plans for 325-Unit Development
By Cari Brokamp

Van Buren Financial LLC has plans to sell 1035 W. Van Buren, a 32,000-square-foot site with zoning and entitlements for a 23-story multifamily development. The property is within a fully-approved planned development for a 325-unit apartment tower, with parking and retail.

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=7181&TM=84622.94

48-story West Loop tower pitched
Developer says he wants to be ready when economy improves

By KATE SHELLNUTT

A developer has announced plans to build the tallest building west of the Dan Ryan Expressway, a $150 million, 48-story apartment-hotel tower at West Madison and North Halsted streets. The announcement met mixed responses at an initial West Loop community meeting Tuesday night.

The development includes 48 floors of apartments atop a base with ground-level retail, six stories of parking and a ballroom that bridges to the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel at 733 W. Madison St. David Friedman, the developer and hotel owner, has a target completion date of 2011 for the project.

Friedman, whose company FF Realty Inc. owns four luxury apartment buildings and five hotels - including the West Loop's Crowne Plaza - will continue to hold meetings to gauge community reaction before applying for a new zoning designation that would allow the 500-foot structure. The proposed location, the Crowne Plaza parking lot, is currently zoned for buildings up to 300 feet in height.

...The elliptical-shaped glass building would serve as an apartment-hotel...

Emerald Press Release (http://www.emeraldchicago.com/press/releases/emerald_prices_stable-traffic_brisk.pdf) (***PDF Warning***)

...T Mobile and GameStop will soon join Fifth Third Bank and Starbucks which have for the past year occupied Emerald's Halsted Street retail space.

There are much fewer posts here compared to other community. I am coming to add some color~

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=7181&TM=84622.94

48-story West Loop tower pitched
Developer says he wants to be ready when economy improves

By KATE SHELLNUTT

A developer has announced plans to build the tallest building west of the Dan Ryan Expressway, a $150 million, 48-story apartment-hotel tower at West Madison and North Halsted streets. The announcement met mixed responses at an initial West Loop community meeting Tuesday night.

The development includes 48 floors of apartments atop a base with ground-level retail, six stories of parking and a ballroom that bridges to the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel at 733 W. Madison St. David Friedman, the developer and hotel owner, has a target completion date of 2011 for the project.

Friedman, whose company FF Realty Inc. owns four luxury apartment buildings and five hotels - including the West Loop's Crowne Plaza - will continue to hold meetings to gauge community reaction before applying for a new zoning designation that would allow the 500-foot structure. The proposed location, the Crowne Plaza parking lot, is currently zoned for buildings up to 300 feet in height.

...The elliptical-shaped glass building would serve as an apartment-hotel...


Let's get more retail here in WL!

does anyone know when IBT will start the project on former fannie mae site?

Hopefully soon, I would love to have a closer grocer

$15.5 billion in downtown spending?
4/1/2009 10:00:00 PM
----------------------------
from: http://chicagojournal.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=7291


Plan imagines a burst of transportation projects through 2020

By MICAH MAIDENBERG
Editor

A draft city plan envisions $15.5 billion in spending through 2020 on a range of transportation, infrastructure and open space projects in the neighborhoods in and around the Loop.

The Chicago Central Area Action Plan, which needs approval by the Plan Commission and city council, focuses on transportation, offering a detailed list of projects that would remake how residents and visitors would move through the Loop and its nearby environs.

The plan is not a binding document, but does set out specific priorities for Near Loop neighborhoods. A previous plan guiding downtown development passed in 2003.

http://chicagojournal.com/ftp/classimg/downtown_040109.jpg
A rendering of the West Loop transportation hub near Clinton Street, a project imagined in the city's new draft downtown plan.
City of Chicago

Potential projects include spending $500 million to cap the Kennedy Expressway between Monroe and Washington streets, creating green space; spending $2 billion for a West Loop Transportation Center, described as a "four-level intermodal transfer center" beneath Clinton Street; and using $3 billion for a new north-south subway line connecting the Chinatown and North/Clybourn stops on the Red Line with the new West Loop transit hub.

Other projects imagined include the modernization of nine CTA stations, construction of four new CTA stations and new bridges over Taylor, Polk and 16th streets.

The Plan Commission was set to vote on the document in March, but Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) said he and Reilly asked for the item to be deferred until more public input could be gathered. At least one community meeting, sponsored by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), was held March 16 at the Cultural Center, and Friends of Downtown held a lunch session about the draft this March.

Dennis McClendon, a South Loop resident who tracks urban planning issues, said he hadn't seen the plan. McClendon is listed on the acknowledgments page in the draft. He said he had been to a couple of meetings in 2007.

"I think there should have been public discussion. The neighborhood groups were really closed out in the original Central Area Plan," he said, referring to the 2003 document. In that case, McClendon said, "the city really feared what would happen if they allowed neighborhood groups to come in and squabble instead of having a nice comfortable meeting with the downtown development community."

Enrique Perez, a Printers Row resident who also watches development closely, criticized the city for not publicizing the work they were doing on the plan sooner. "According to the document ... this has been in the works for 18 months, which is fine for a plan of this scope. But why wasn't this process rolled out to the public 18 months ago? At least, 'Hey, we're working on it.'

"What I see is there is a seeming lack of transparency," Perez went on to say.

Karen Bates, with the Dept. of Zoning and Land Use Planning, wrote in an e-mail that the city has worked closely with civic and business groups, city agencies and residents on both the '03 plan and the latest draft. She named the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents and city-funded delegate agencies like the Near South Planning Board and the West Loop Community Organization as examples of groups involved. Outreach efforts included various steering committees and a task force, Bates wrote.

The projects, according to the document, will be paid for by a mixture of local taxpayer dollars, money from the state and federal governments as well as "public-private" partnerships.

The city's share of the spending is estimated to be $6 billion to $8 billion, an average of $500 million to $667 million annually between now and 2020, raised through tax increment financing and general obligation bonds backed by property tax revenue. The document notes the "sum of total budgets for the Central Area TIF districts over their 23-year life span is $3.2 billion."

TIF districts freeze property taxes within specific boundaries, diverting any new property taxes back into projects within the district instead of to taxing bodies like the Board of Education or park district. In 2007, more than $555 million was collected in the city's TIF districts, according to Cook County Clerk David Orr.

Fioretti called the draft "pie in the sky," with vague funding mechanisms.

"Do we have enough money generated by TIF funding? The answer is no. What is realistic over the next 10 years, and what's not? There's no explanation of federal funding," Fioretti said.

Fioretti said the plan earmarked too much money for downtown projects and for transportation infrastructure, and not enough for parks and schools.

Some of the projects listed in the draft were discussed throughout last year, such as new CTA station at Morgan Street serving the Green and Pink lines and the Congress Parkway Streetscape.

The plan covers neighborhoods bound by North Avenue, Interstate 55, Lake Michigan and Halsted Street, as well one area that juts further west, to Ashland, between Lake and the Eisenhower Expressway.

Sub-districts in the plan include the South Loop, West Loop, Near South Side, Near West Side, Chinatown and other areas that cover other neighborhoods in and around the Loop.

The Fulton River District Association is scheduled to host a meeting about the plan on April 2, and Fioretti said he's organizing one for later this month.

There's room to be skeptical of the plan, regardless of the final language in the document, some observers said.

"It seems that if we go to all the trouble to write a community plan that everyone agrees to, the Plan Commission pays not a bit of attention to it anyway," McClendon said.

This is really similar to an article posted in the sun-times? But something caught my eye here that wasn't in the sun-times:
Potential projects include spending $500 million to cap the Kennedy Expressway between Monroe and Washington streets, creating green space; spending $2 billion for a West Loop Transportation Center, described as a "four-level intermodal transfer center" beneath Clinton Street; and using $3 billion for a new north-south subway line connecting the Chinatown and North/Clybourn stops on the Red Line with the new West Loop transit hub.

Is the first one what I think it is? There was a call for some design proposals or some such (maybe even in the central area plan) to cap off the free way, and is this the actual realization of such a plan??? That would be great! You'd get a vast stretch of parkland in primo urban territory.

And is the second a round-about way of saying "The Circle Line?" I guess I'm not too clear where the West Loop transit hub is, but a connection going from Chinatown to North/Clybourn by way of (what I assume would be) the Paulina Connector sounds a *lot* like the circle line's proposed rail routing.

You'd get a vast stretch of parkland in primo urban territory.

I read the actual plan, and while there would be green space, there would also be additional office towers as well. Best of both worlds, and probably easier to justify the expense.

This is really similar to an article posted in the sun-times? But something caught my eye here that wasn't in the sun-times:


Is the first one what I think it is? There was a call for some design proposals or some such (maybe even in the central area plan) to cap off the free way, and is this the actual realization of such a plan??? That would be great! You'd get a vast stretch of parkland in primo urban territory.

And is the second a round-about way of saying "The Circle Line?" I guess I'm not too clear where the West Loop transit hub is, but a connection going from Chinatown to North/Clybourn by way of (what I assume would be) the Paulina Connector sounds a *lot* like the circle line's proposed rail routing.

nope, not the circle line. it is mentioned in the pdf of the subway to be built under clinton from lake to roosevelt and then from there down to china town.

nope, not the circle line. it is mentioned in the pdf of the subway to be built under clinton from lake to roosevelt and then from there down to china town.

excuse my ignorance but.... what the hell is the point of that? so, it'd go from N/Clybourn down to Clinton street, where it would go under all the way down to Roosevelt over to Chinatown? It seems kind of redundant. It's not like the area is underserved by transit, and there's already going to be some connection for the express trains beween O'Hare and Midway, no? I mean, I guess it's useful for people arriving int he West Loop transit hub if their destination is not in the loop, but is it really worth that kind of cost?

excuse my ignorance but.... what the hell is the point of that? so, it'd go from N/Clybourn down to Clinton street, where it would go under all the way down to Roosevelt over to Chinatown? It seems kind of redundant. It's not like the area is underserved by transit, and there's already going to be some connection for the express trains beween O'Hare and Midway, no? I mean, I guess it's useful for people arriving int he West Loop transit hub if their destination is not in the loop, but is it really worth that kind of cost?

I agree, that is a lot of coin for that new subway. The plan also specifically says that zoning will not be changed down Clinton from light industrial to commercial/residential. I live right at Clinton and Harrison and was hoping that the growing Roosevelt cooridor would spread north to me. Looks like I am out of luck on that one.

4/15/2009 10:00:00 PM

Montessori school moving to West Loop

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=60&ArticleID=7348&TM=6391.009

By MICAH MAIDENBERG
Contributing Reporter

An Oak Park-based private Montessori school is moving its elementary level classes from the bucolic suburb to the West Loop, with the expectation of enrolling its first classes in the city next fall.

Intercultural Montessori Language School teaches kids between the ages of 3 and 12, or preschool and sixth grade, using a dual-language program where half of the school day is taught in either Spanish, Japanese or Chinese Mandarin.

"If you have a child in this program and they're starting at three, they're getting the dual language," said Intercultural executive director Edina McGivern. "By the time they get in the elementary level, they're quite good at both languages."

The school will be located on the ground floor at 14 S. Racine. The school has signed a 15-year lease for the space, which will be built out to offer 14 classrooms. The school plans to use nearby Skinner Park for its recreation needs.

Next year, Intercultural hopes to enroll three preschool classes of 22 students each, and however many students who are currently studying in its elementary school in Oak Park follow the school to the West Loop.

The initial class of preschool students will then fill in the upper grades, with the school expanding as more students sign up. Ultimately, five of the 14 classrooms will be reserved for preschoolers, with the remainder serving elementary age students.

The school could attract students from any neighborhood in Chicago, but McGivern said the Intercultural chose the West Loop because of local demand for elementary level education.

"It was really the elementary program that acted as the impetus for us to move into where there was actually a demand for elementary education," she said. "When we did research, and talked with other Montessori schools, they seemed to have a waiting list. And there seems to be that demand in the West Loop."

The school's main preschool will stay in Oak Park.

The Montessori Academy of Chicago already operates in the West Loop, at 1335 W. Randolph.

Suder Montessori, a magnet public school, is open at 2022 W. Washington.

Contact: mmaidenberg@chicagojournal.com

Not sure if the school/education development in west loop is one pieces of the development news that should be posted here. But anyway, I just came across this article and thought it good for west loop community.

I think this posting is very relevant. It's one thing to get people to move back into the city. It's another thing entirely to get them to stay. Improving or building new schools is one of the major missing pieces of urban redevelopment puzzle. I have a lot of friends who have left cities after having kids because the schools were so bad.

I think this posting is very relevant. It's one thing to get people to move back into the city. It's another thing entirely to get them to stay. Improving or building new schools is one of the major missing pieces of urban redevelopment puzzle. I have a lot of friends who have left cities after having kids because the schools were so bad.

^^

Agreed. Judging from my own anecdotal evidence, along with affordability, the other reason for families to suburbanize is quality of schools. I know a lot of urbanites who really have no choice - they can't afford private schooling and a place in the city, so they go where the schools are good. Especially since the west loop is seeing a lot of redevelopment, it's good that educational infrastructure is kicking in, to help make the area more attractive for families.

^^

Agreed. Judging from my own anecdotal evidence, along with affordability, the other reason for families to suburbanize is quality of schools. I know a lot of urbanites who really have no choice - they can't afford private schooling and a place in the city, so they go where the schools are good. Especially since the west loop is seeing a lot of redevelopment, it's good that educational infrastructure is kicking in, to help make the area more attractive for families.

True. I was happy to know the news as well.

West Loop Community Organization is holding a centeral area action plan presentation on May 11, 2009.

See http://www.westloop.org/news/contentview.asp?c=220535

^Thanks for the heads-up. I'm supposed to be getting email alerts about upcoming Central Plan Meetings, but I haven't been notified of this one yet (I'm sure one will show up eventually...). I'll definitely come to this one more equipped than the last one for mostly South Loop people, especially considering WLCO is going to be there. Can't wait to give those jack-asses a piece of my mind. I encourage EVERYONE who can make it to show up and speak up; otherwise, the same idiotic people who always show up and always complain at these meetings will continue to try to turn Chicago into suburban, parking-glutted bliss.

^Thanks for the heads-up. I'm supposed to be getting email alerts about upcoming Central Plan Meetings, but I haven't been notified of this one yet (I'm sure one will show up eventually...). I'll definitely come to this one more equipped than the last one for mostly South Loop people, especially considering WLCO is going to be there. Can't wait to give those jack-asses a piece of my mind. I encourage EVERYONE who can make it to show up and speak up; otherwise, the same idiotic people who always show up and always complain at these meetings will continue to try to turn Chicago into suburban, parking-glutted bliss.

:cheers::banana:

excuse my ignorance but.... what the hell is the point of that? so, it'd go from N/Clybourn down to Clinton street, where it would go under all the way down to Roosevelt over to Chinatown? It seems kind of redundant. It's not like the area is underserved by transit

This serves several markets:
- A western distribution route for north-south trains. Downtown has shifted west since the State Street subway was built, and for many people a Clinton subway would be closer to their jobs. There's also a bottleneck downtown for north-south trains: both the Loop and State Street subways are at/near capacity, but several of the branches have unused capacity. (Dan Ryan has new signals, the four-track North Side Main, the excess Congress ROW.)
- Distribution of passengers arriving at the commuter rail terminals, which currently don't have any rapid transit access. Similarly, it gets more transit passengers into the WLTC -- which, as noted above, is where the downtown busways will meet and where high-speed trains will circulate.
- Fostering additional new high-rise development in the riverside corridor from North Ave south to Cermak. This, more than anything else, would get Franklin Point and Riverside Park and Wolf Point and the rest of those vacant parcels finally built, and provide access to the Kingsbury Park area.

That's just off the top of my head, since I haven't read the plan. I think it's a far more worthy corridor than the Circle Line, especially #3 (which the Circle Line can't do).

^^
thanks for the explanations

is there any east-west connector from the WLTC to the east end of the loop? I'm wondering if there's a potential for jeopardizing the competitiveness of the loop itself (since the west loop generally seems like it has better transit connectivity.

This serves several markets:
- A western distribution route for north-south trains. Downtown has shifted west since the State Street subway was built, and for many people a Clinton subway would be closer to their jobs. There's also a bottleneck downtown for north-south trains: both the Loop and State Street subways are at/near capacity, but several of the branches have unused capacity. (Dan Ryan has new signals, the four-track North Side Main, the excess Congress ROW.)
- Distribution of passengers arriving at the commuter rail terminals, which currently don't have any rapid transit access. Similarly, it gets more transit passengers into the WLTC -- which, as noted above, is where the downtown busways will meet and where high-speed trains will circulate.
- Fostering additional new high-rise development in the riverside corridor from North Ave south to Cermak. This, more than anything else, would get Franklin Point and Riverside Park and Wolf Point and the rest of those vacant parcels finally built, and provide access to the Kingsbury Park area.

That's just off the top of my head, since I haven't read the plan. I think it's a far more worthy corridor than the Circle Line, especially #3 (which the Circle Line can't do).

Once again, to me it makes more sense to extend the Clinton Subway to McCormick Place either with an extended east/west subway line below Cermak or by using the elevated St Charles Air Line (my preference).

And if you're going to build this subway, then use the Western Ave plan for the Circle Line instead of Ashland.

The Gateway - Halsted and Monroe - Taxman's Hyatt Extended Stay hotel
Chitown- Diamond JV along with Antunovich Associates has developed a quintessential mixed-use urban infill project adding additional life and excitement to a vibrant and growing neighborhood fabric. The Gateway is an exciting new development leading the way into Chicago's Greektown neighborhood. The redevelopment of an existing surface parking lot along legendary Halsted Street will offer retail tenants varying sized floor plates of flexible and contemporary space with ample covered parking on the "main street" of this electrifying near west side neighborhood.
This city block project consists of a 30-story 228 unit luxury residential tower rising from a landscaped pool deck, multiple parking levels and ground floor retail space. Adjacent to the residential tower parcel is the proposed hotel / retail block fronting on Halsted Street and wrapping the corners at Monroe and Green Streets. The retail block consists of multiple tenant spaces on the ground floor with a half city block space on the second floor suitable for a major grocery store or other large tenants. A 175 room five-story U-shaped hotel building sits amid a landscaped swimming pool terrace on top of the parking decks. The hotel building offers spectacular views of the loop skyline and is just around the corner from the lively Greektown entertainment district.
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6451/gateway1b.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5198/gateway3.jpg
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8879/gateway2.jpg

^ Sigh....

Damn this economic slowdown. This is a great project density-wise, if a bit lame architecturally

^ Sigh....

Damn this economic slowdown. This is a great project density-wise, if a bit lame architecturally

right now, beggars can't be choosers. right? right?

right now, beggars can't be choosers. right? right?well... there are a lot of architects looking for work... i would think we could have out choice of a better design right now then in the boom times when everyone has work...

^ Sigh....

Damn this economic slowdown. This is a great project density-wise, if a bit lame architecturally


Same here. I hate this economic slowdown.

Supposedly they're considering closing down parts of Clinton on weekends to have an outdoor market.

Bensidoun brings French style, open-air markets to the U.S. (http://www.metramarket.com/dl/articles/SCT%20-%20Bensioun%20brings%20French%20Markets.pdf) (**PDF**)
...Currently, Bensidoun’s most-ambitious American
plans are for a year-round French market at Ogilvie
Transportation Center (Northwestern Station)
in downtown Chicago. As the retail anchor of the
station’s MetraMarket redevelopment, the market
will occupy about 15,000 square feet, enough
room for about 25 vendors selling goods in the
market itself, with eight or so more at a kiosk in
the station concourse. The ground-breaking was in
September, and the market is likely to be up and
running this coming summer.

...Not all the vendors at the downtown Chicago
market are in place just yet, but the mix will stress
meat, fish, cheese and baked goods, as well as
prepared meals and probably a few nonfood items.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3969/metramarket.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2971/p1000953w.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9294/p1000954n.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/753/p1000955v.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5099/p1000956x.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5448/p1000957r.jpg

^ Am I the only person out there who kind of likes overhanging balconies?

^It's not the overhanging balconies that bother me. As I said on SSP (hopefully that PR person doesn't follow me here :)), it's a visual mess.

For example, look at the west side of the building. First, you have the clash between the new and old building, which I normally like. But in this case I don't think it works. The old building looks especially bad IMO - some sections have glass windows but are surrounded by recessed terraces (like in the 4th pic) that lack glass and create awkward gaps that make the building look incomplete. Then there are ugly garage screens (3rd pic) on the corners of the 3/4th floors which are very visible to passersby. The new part has some weird arrangement of metal panels that again make it look as if they aren't finished yet.

^ Am I the only person out there who kind of likes overhanging balconies?

for me, it depends on how they're handled. when they're done well, they can add nice visual activity to an otherwise bland generic facade. when they're done poorly, it looks like someone took aerosol to a mondrian.

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2971/p1000953w.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5448/p1000957r.jpg

I like the location of 565 quincy condos. very close to transportation center, easy access to most major areas in downtown.

West Loop Community Organization is holding a centeral area action plan presentation on May 11, 2009.

See http://www.westloop.org/news/contentview.asp?c=220535

So did anyone go to this last week? Was WLCO on some BS again, did anyone have anything interesting to bring to the table other than parking issues?

Saw this on an architect's website - not sure if it's an active proposal - but it looks like it's at 312 S Green
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9473/312sgreen.jpg

^^ a bit overly generic post-modern, but nice nonetheless. hope it's a real project.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1595785,CST-FIN-hotel28.article

Japanese chain plans budget hotel in W. Loop
May 28, 2009
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN

A Japanese chain of budget hotels, Toyoko Inn Co. Ltd., has filed a zoning application to build 23 stories in the West Loop, at 320 S. Clinton. The mid-block site has a surface parking lot wedged between two high-rises.

Property records show the company acquired the land in late 2006 for $4.76 million. The proposal calls for a 615-room hotel with 123 parking spaces. Kenshiro Oshima, a U.S.-based property adviser for the firm, said he's unsure how quickly the company will pursue construction given the recession's impact on lodging. But he said the company wants to expand in the U.S.

Toyoko Inn bills itself as a "western-style" hotel chain that favors locations near rail stations. The site is close to Union Station.

A Japanese chain of budget hotels, Toyoko Inn Co. Ltd., has filed a zoning application to build 23 stories in the West Loop, at 320 S. Clinton.

It's the oddly shaped parking lot just behind Metra's offices. It owes its shape to some prior railroad tracks, I think. 615 rooms is a lot, but these prefab Japanese budget hotels* are super-efficient with space (and everything else). I sure liked it, but I'm not sure what the average American will think.

* Okay, it's "western-style," but in Japan that means that they have beds and not futons. So far, Toyoko only operates in Japan, Korea, and China.

Okay, it's "western-style," but in Japan that means that they have beds and not futons.

Oh. Darn. I was thinking tie-up posts for horses and a saloon with player piano...

For some odd, naiive American reason, I have always wanted to sleep in one of those pod hotels where your bed is stacked on top of other ones. BUT, I'm sure I would get over that desire pretty quickly. Haha.

http://chicagoismynewblog.wordpress.com

So did anyone go to this last week? Was WLCO on some BS again, did anyone have anything interesting to bring to the table other than parking issues?

I wanted to go to that session, but had to work late that night... :(

I was thinking tie-up posts for horses

Speaking of horses, I was wondering what was up with the huge tents that recently popped up on the old Fannie May factory property at Jackson & Racine. I got my answer: Big-top show 'Cavalia' gallops into West Loop this summer (http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0604-cavalia-chicagojun04,0,5201784.story)

The story says the show could potentially run through Labor Day. I guess that means construction on the West Loop Promenade (or whatever that proposed development is going to be called) won't be starting any time soon.

Speaking of horses, I was wondering what was up with the huge tents that recently popped up on the old Fannie May factory property at Jackson & Racine. I got my answer: Big-top show 'Cavalia' gallops into West Loop this summer (http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0604-cavalia-chicagojun04,0,5201784.story)

The story says the show could potentially run through Labor Day. I guess that means construction on the West Loop Promenade (or whatever that proposed development is going to be called) won't be starting any time soon.

Right. But I also saw two 'retail space leasing' signs were up in the block. So hopefully 'Cavalia' would help promote this land. I can't wait to have the retail mall in west loop. Once built, this mall will earn a lot of money i thinks. All the west loopers will just swarm in, and never bother to travel to south loop...

Saw this on an architect's website - not sure if it's an active proposal - but it looks like it's at 312 S Green
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9473/312sgreen.jpg

Have the developers realized that very few people will buy the condos close to the highway? it is really noisy!

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=34658

MetraMarket signs Italian coffee cafe

An Italian coffee company will lease 2,045 square feet at MetraMarket for a café, replacing Caffe RoM, a Chicago coffee bar that had previously planned a larger location. Turin, Italy-based Lavazza plans to open the Espression by Lavazza café this fall, according to U.S. Equities Realty LLC, which is developing MetraMarket, a 100,000-square-foot restaurant and retail center within the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the West Loop. Lavazza has other Chicago locations, including one in the John Hancock Observatory. Lavazza is taking different space at MetraMarket than Caffe RoM, which had planned a 2,900-square-foot coffee bar. Caffe RoM made a decision not to expand now, a U.S. Equities spokeswoman says. MetraMarket’s other tenants are the 15,000-square-foot French Market, which is to sell baked goods, fresh produce, meat, fish and other items, and a 14,000-square-foot CVS drugstore.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35101

Retail leases launch Presidential Towers redevelopment
By Eddie Baeb, Aug. 12, 2009

A health club and a trendy breakfast restaurant have signed leases to become the first new retail tenants at Presidential Towers in the West Loop, paving the way for a major redevelopment to take place beginning later this year.

Chicago-based Fitness Formula Ltd. has leased 52,043 square feet that will be spread over two levels along Clinton Street, where a glass-enclosed, three-story atrium will be built to replace a loading dock there now.

The restaurant Yolk has leased 4,200 square feet just south of the new gym that will also front Clinton between Madison and Monroe streets.
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4892/5801health.jpg

That looks like a nice development to right some of the wrongs of Presidential Towers terrible street-level design.

I agree. And this project brings up a question. Is there an opportunity to do the same thing on one or two of the other sides of Presidential Towers?

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-19-2009/0005079967&EDATE=

Diverse Local Artisans to Make Chicago French Market an Enticing Culinary Destination

From locally grown fruits and vegetables to freshly-baked breads to artisanal made cheeses, Chicago will finally have a year-round, European-inspired fresh market to call its own. To be comprised of more than two dozen individual vendors, Chicago French Market is poised to become Chicago's newest and most enticing culinary destination, featuring Pastoral, Espression by Lavazza, Sweet Miss Giving's, Flip Crepes and the award-winning Vanille Patisserie, among many others.

Chicago French Market is the heart of MetraMarket, a new vibrant, street-level restaurant and retail complex developed by U.S. Equities Realty, a full-service real estate firm based in Chicago. Connected to Ogilvie Transportation Center's suburban commuter concourse, MetraMarket will enliven two underutilized city blocks bounded by Lake, Canal, Washington and Clinton Streets in Chicago's West Loop. Six days a week, alluring aromas from fresh baked goods and other delectable items will fill Chicago French Market at 131 N. Clinton Street, making it an exciting fresh food destination for local residents, downtown office workers, commuters, tourists and Chicagoans alike.

Managed and operated by the Bensidoun family, the largest market operator in and around Paris, Chicago French Market is the latest in a growing number of Bensidoun French Markets throughout the Chicagoland area. To date, the family manages eleven weekly outdoor markets throughout Chicagoland during the summer.

The combined passion and vision for Chicago French Market has enabled the Bensidoun family and U.S. Equities to assemble a unique collection of local vendors that were hand selected for their individual passions, high-quality products and competitive prices. Bringing together the best-of-the-best from Chicago neighborhoods and outlying areas, Chicago French Market will be largely comprised of entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and accomplished purveyors, including:

* Albano's Deli: Recently voted as "Favorite Deli" by West Suburban Living Magazine readers, Albano's Deli, an authentic Italian specialty store, will provide Chicago French Market customers with imported and domestic meats, tomato products and other Italian favorites. It will also offer an assortment of freshly made sub sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as deli tray catering.
* Canady Le Chocolatier: Professional chocolatier, Michael Canady, who attended Richemonte School in Lucerne, Switzerland and studied in Antwerp, Belgium, will be offering his broad selection of delicious rich dark, milk and white chocolate creations. Headquartered in Chicago's South Loop, Canady Le Chocolatier will boast mouth-watering specialties such as truffles, chocolate-coated orange slices, marzipan, nougat, ginger slices and a variety of ganache.
* Chicago Organics: An organization dedicated to the expanded production, marketing and distribution of locally grown and responsibly produced products, Chicago Organics will offer an exceptional array of fresh and certified organic produce, meats, dairy and other local delicacies.
* Completely Nuts: Completely Nuts began as a small roaster at a local fair back in 1991 and evolved into one of Chicago's most renowned nut shops. It will offer a variety of roasted almonds, cashews, pecans and peanuts, as well as scrumptious candied options.
* Espression by Lavazza: In addition to its 2,045-square-foot space within MetraMarket, the 114 year old, family-owned Italian cafe will also offer its award-winning espresso and coffee drinks, as well as authentic gelato, at its French Market location.
* Flip Crepes: For breakfast, lunch or dinner, the tastes of authentic France can be found in Flip Crepes, a creperie offering a variety of healthy and original recipes wrapped in an all-natural wheat crepe. It's traditional French food at its best: chocolate, dulce de leche, fresh fruits, goat cheese, roasted mushrooms and caramelized onions are among the palette of flavors that will please food connoisseurs at Chicago French Market.
* Fraternite Notre Dame: The nuns of the Fraternite Notre Dame have created a loyal following for their sweets and baked goods. A large selection of handmade items will be available, including fresh breads, creme brulees, quiches and beignets, among dozens of other sweet and savory baked goods. Additionally, a portion of their profits will fund the Fraternite Norte Dame's charitable work with families in need throughout Chicago.
* Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine: Chicagoans Ken Miller and Greg O'Neill own and operate this European-inspired, authentic neighborhood cheese shop, offering the highest quality fine and artisan cheeses from America and around the world, select small production wines and freshly baked breads, along with a full complement of related items such as charcuterie and olives. Pastoral also offers custom gift collections, gourmet sandwiches and salads, picnics and catering. Pastoral operates successful locations in Lakeview and in the Loop and is known for its approachable and knowledgeable staff.
* Sweet Miss Giving's: Sweet Miss Giving's Bakery and Gifting is a premier bakery and jobs program that offers rich, decadent baked goods while providing a new reason to feel good about sweet indulgences: more than 50 percent of all profits go to help the formerly homeless and HIV/AIDS-affected men, women and children of Chicago House. Opened in November 2008, this new bakery with a great story has garnered attention from local foundations and news outlets as an innovative business with a social mission.
* Vanille Patisserie: Owned by Dimitri Fayard, the World Pastry Champion of 2008, and Keli Fayard, an accomplished cake designer, this husband and wife team has built an award-winning French pastry shop that melds classic European traditions with modern flavors. Appealing to the contemporary palette, Vanille Patisserie specializes in wedding and special occasion cakes, handmade chocolates and candies, mousse cakes and luscious tarts.
* Wisconsin Cheese Mart: Headquartered in Old World Third Street in downtown Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Cheese Mart is a 70 year old tradition. Offering a wide collection of Wisconsin-produced sheep, cow and goats milk varieties, Wisconsin Cheese Mart's hand-crafted offerings will appeal to cheese lovers in search of the Midwest's finest cheeses.

"Chicago French Market has assembled the area's best vendors to create a dynamic market experience that boasts a range of local and international flavors," said Sebastien Bensidoun, executive vice president of Bensidoun Investment LLC and a fourth generation Bensidoun market expert. "With its collection of vendors and a public space for cooking demonstrations, events, mingling and dining, we're certain that Chicago French Market will be solidified in the minds of Chicagoans as a culinary and shopping destination unlike anything else in the city."

"Chicagoans will finally have a true marketplace right in the heart of downtown offering the exciting experience of a farmers' market six days a week, 52 weeks a year, rain or shine," said Camille Julmy, vice chairman of U.S. Equities. "From a Metra commuter or nearby worker looking to pick up a healthy, fresh meal on-the-go to a city resident looking to pick up ingredients for a tasty, home cooked dinner, Chicago French Market will appeal to a broad range of consumers looking for a unique shopping experience and high-quality products."

Set to open this fall, Chicago French Market will be open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For additional information on joining Chicago French Market, please contact Katherine Loring, leasing associate for U.S. Equities' MetraMarket and Chicago French Market leasing team, at 312-456-7061. To stay up-to-date on the latest news on Chicago French Market, join the e-mail list to receive details on opening festivities and additional vendor information at www.chicagofrenchmarket.com.

Pastoral Press Release (***PDF***) (http://www.pastoralartisan.com/Pastoral_MetraMarket.pdf)

PASTORAL® ARTISAN CHEESE, BREAD & WINE WILL OPEN THIRD LOCATION
AT THE FRENCH MARKET, PART OF METRAMARKET IN THE WEST LOOP

...In addition to PASTORAL’s prominent location at the French Market, customers can enjoy indoor
dining tables, plus outdoor café tables adjacent to PASTORAL’s location near the French Market
entrance on Clinton Street. The new shop will reflect the same distinctive PASTORAL style
featured at the stores on Broadway in East Lakeview and Lake Street in the East Loop. Local
farm antiques, including a functional 1918 McCray solid oak cooler and a barn door made from
reclaimed wood, will complement PASTORAL’s pastel color palette, soapstone counters, custommade
millwork and additional design elements drawing on inspiration from Pike’s Market in
Seattle, Reading Market in Philadelphia and Atwater Market in Montreal while still remaining
authentic to PASTORAL.

Offerings will include PASTORAL’s full line of fare including approximately 75 small batch wines
and 150 artisan cheeses, charcuterie, organic breads from the award-winning Jory Downer of
Bennison’s Bakery, sandwiches, salads, cheese & charcuterie plates-to-go, picnics for one or
more, signature and custom gift collections and an expansive variety of accompaniments, sweets,
small batch beers and spirits, non-alcoholic drinks and distinctive side dishes. To meet the needs
of busy commuters and area workers, PASTORAL will also offer an enhanced focus on fast
convenience and accessibility specialty grab-and-go options for lunch and dinner, light snacks,
picnics for Millennium Park, Ravinia and other outdoor festivals, easy party planning and lastminute
gift ideas.

PASTORAL’s catering options, including gourmet sandwich platters and cheese trays, will also be
available for the rapidly growing business and residential market in the West Loop and beyond.
The French Market location will also host in-shop events and free tastings, plus offsite private
parties for area businesses, residents and all Chicagoans interested in exploring wine, cheese
and specialty food.

Metra Market seems like it is going to turn out pretty nice. I'm a big fan of Pastoral. It should do pretty well considering the residences close by, office workers, and commuters.

And Vanille is also an exciting addition. If you haven't tried out their croissants, make your way over to their north clyborne shop... NOW!

Not sure if the news i saw from the following website is real. But the park looks really cool.

http://www.thecoolist.com/chicago-west-loop-parks-green-urban-design/


Chicago West Loop Park’s Green Urban Design

Posted by thecoolist

31/08/2009

http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chicago-west-loop-gardens-project_1.jpg

If you’re like us, most of the time you’ve spent in Chicago’s West Loop has been stuck in traffic on the Kennedy Expressway. Thanks to a design by Perkins + Will Architects, that West Loop –and the Kennedy itself– are due for a green upgrade. Perkins + Will have designed a green urban park spanning many city blocks in the West Loop, zig zagging over the freeway below it and skirting up to the highrises throughout. It is designed to give the West Loop’s patrons a green front yard with plenty of park space to escape the hustle-and-bustle of the busy work week. Additionally, this park will naturally clean the pollution rising from the expressway, both for the inhabitants above ground and the travelers below. This is still just a proposed design, but knowing Chicago’s focus on green architecture– you never know, this could one day be a reality. [thanks inhabitat]

http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chicago-west-loop-gardens-project_2.jpg

http://www.thecoolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chicago-west-loop-gardens-project_3.jpg

it's not really news since it's not a formal plan but just some concept sketches. where would the city get the money for something that intense? already too stretched out.

also, i love how that map misses highlighting the actual highway by a block or two.

After many, many years of delays, MetraMarket's first tenant finally opened a few weeks ago.
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3387/p1010028r.jpg
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7043/p1010030r.jpg

565 Quincy
Empty retail spaces
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/7057/p1010025ym.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1462/p1010023o.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5681/p1010020dd.jpg

^The red brick building (former CHA headquarters) in the last photo of the last post has been rehabbed and turned into office space. IDEO moved their offices here from Evanston, and a few other deal were mentioned some months ago. The ground floor consists of a new modern lobby as well as yet to be filled retail space.

The old Igoe Building on Van Buren is slowly being renovated. Unfortunately, the fire escapes have been removed in the process. Apparently Panera is opening on the first floor, which is good news for the area but strange considering a)the general dearth of retail nearby b) this is Panera's only location west of the river (not including the South Loop).
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/8948/igoebuilding.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8223/p1000999u.jpg

Tailor Lofts aka International Tailoring Company Building aka White Tower Building
847 W Jackson
Student housing and retail
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9006/tailorlofts1.jpg
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5937/p1010019t.jpg
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/7581/p1010010z.jpg
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8602/p1010011a.jpg
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/8083/p1010016m.jpg

The new Adams/Sangamon park's groundbreaking ceremony was about a week ago
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5894/p1010013r.jpg

And finally the Hellenic Museum site
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/7569/p1010007y.jpg
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2346/p1010006e.jpg

http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/dl/vendors.pdf

SIXTEEN NEW VENDORS JOIN CHICAGO FRENCH MARKET AND
CVS/PHARMACY OPENS AT METRAMARKET IN THE WEST LOOP

Abbey Brown Soap Artisan
Founder and proprietor Deborah Kraemer brings handmade cold-pressed olive oil soaps, soothing body
oils and relaxing bath essentials to Chicago French Market. All products are made in-house at the first
Abbey Brown location in Chicago with fair trade ingredients including herbs grown organically and locally
by Smits farm. Abbey Brown soaps and bath products are truly 100% natural, and are balanced for all
skin types. Abbey Brown also offers classes on soap making, plus makes most packaging in-house.

Bowl Square
Young Sun Jang and her husband, Gwang Ho Jang, will make traditional Korean dishes such as
Bibimbap (seasoned beef and white rice topped with namul / sautéed vegetables and gochujang / chili
pepper) and Bulgogi (marinated barbequed beef). The Jangs will offer a simple menu that gives
consumers an opportunity to sample and experience Korean fare, widely viewed by top chefs and food
trend experts as one of the hot new cuisines in the U.S.

Buen Apetito
Buen Apetito is a family owned taqueria that specializes in traditional Mexican favorites with modern flair
and a focus on healthy, fresh and flavorful ingredients. The menu features grilled steak, chicken, salmon
and vegetarian tacos and tostadas, plus burritos. All dishes are flavored with fresh herbs and distinctive
spices of Latin America. For a sweet side of Buen Apetito, guests can also enjoy Dona Mona’s signature
cheesecake flan.

Chundy’s Gourmet
David Chundy will bring Indian-fusion dishes, plus a variety of quality grab-and-go meals, salads, snacks
and drinks to Chicago French Market. Menu highlights include cold sandwiches, meat and vegetarian
Panini, soups such as green curry coconut, traditional Indian mulligatawny and lentil, salads, side dishes,
a selection of chutneys and slaws. Chundy’s Gourmet will also serve a collection of fruit and vegetable
sweet breads, flatbreads, plus fresh fruit smoothies, milkshakes and iced fruit teas.

City Fresh Market
Brothers Danny and Ray Kovacevic opened the first City Fresh Market location in 2004, a Europeanstyled
grocery shop in Chicago. Now both brothers will open a second, smaller location within Chicago
French Market with a focus on fresh poultry and grass-fed beef raised without antibiotics and hormones,
plus a variety of other meats, fruits, vegetables, cheese and meat pies, grab-and-go salads, freshsqueezed
orange juice and a selection of grocery items including olive oils, vinegars, salad dressings and
more.

Delightful Pastries
In 1998, mother and daughter Stasia Hawyrszczuk and Dobra Bielinski opened the first Delightful
Pastries bakery in Chicago and now will open another location within Chicago French Market. The bakery
specializes in authentic European pastries, using local, natural and sustainably grown ingredients. The
majority of Delightful Pastries’ products are also made low-sugar and include seasonal breads, cookies,
bars, cakes and morning pastries, plus traditional Polish and French savory specialties such as pierogi
and quiches.

Frietkoten
Netherlands-native Jeroen Hasenbos will bring Amsterdam’s traditional Frietkoten ‘fry shack’ experience
to Chicago for the first time, with Belgian fries that are served in a cone and distinguished by a crisp
outside and soft, delicious potato inside. In keeping with the popular ‘fry shacks’ in Amsterdam, Frietkoten
will offer these traditional Belgian fries with up to 20 different sauces and aiolis to choose from on any
given day. Soon after the grand opening, Frietkoten will also offer Dutch and Belgian beers to
complement these traditional grab-and-go Belgian fries of the Netherlands.

Fumare
Dick McCracken left banking to pursue his love of good food and sharing his culinary finds with others.
Fumare ('smoke' in Italian) brings traditionally cured and smoked meats from local producers to Chicago
French Market. Items include locally made prosciutto, hams, smoked sausages, bacons and other
delights. Menu highlights include an old-fashioned, Montreal-style smoked meat (think pastrami) cured
and naturally smoked, peppered and slow-cooked to a well-marbled tenderness. Sandwiches and sides
are also available.

Juicy Orange
The Gasienica family, who moved to the U.S. from Germany in 2001, will serve fresh, squeezed-to-order
fruit and vegetable juices, plus smoothies homemade with seasonal fruits. All juices are 100% juice, with
zero added sugar or concentrates.

Les Fleurs
With more than 35 years in the floral business, Les Fleur proprietor Dean Futris will bring a colorful
collection of fresh-cut flowers, potted plants, orchids and European-style floral arrangements to Chicago
French Market. Les Fleurs will offer grab-and-go bouquets, plus custom arrangements. The Les Fleur
team works with area residents and companies throughout Chicagoland, including well-known movie
production teams that have trusted the Les Fleur team with floral arrangements for various film sets.

Necessity Baking Company
Chicago-born Ellen Carney Granda enjoyed a successful career in non-profit fundraising and a brief stint
in corporate America before turning her love of artisan bread baking into a growing bread company
serving North Suburban farmer’s markets and now Chicago French Market. Ellen and the Necessity
Baking Co. ‘Hive’ (a team of bakers, market tote makers and worker bees) bring the art of old-fashioned
bread baking techniques back to bread making, delivering hand-shaped and seasonally flavored breads
to market goers. Specialties include sweet and savory French boules, olive oils from around the globe,
aged balsamic vinegars and market bags constructed from oil cloth and vintage linens. Necessity Baking
Co. uses only natural ingredients and infuses flavor through the most premium ingredient: time.
‘Hive-made’ fresh pasta will also be available everyday soon after the market opens.

Pop This!
Lauri Bourgeois was inspired to launch her Pop This! popcorn business by her dad, Art Hixson (aka ‘The
Popcorn Man’), who started his own popcorn business in the 1980s selling at Chicago art festivals, Navy
Pier, Taste of Chicago and eventually at his own storefronts in Chicago and Denver. The Pop This! team
will make their gourmet popcorn onsite at Chicago French Market. They will offer more than 17 flavored
popcorn varieties, and specialize in personalized, custom popcorn creations.

Produce Express
Fourth generation farmers in Chicagoland, the Jeffrey family will offer a variety of seasonal and locally
grown fruits and vegetables, plus grab-and-go and made-to-order fruit baskets for holiday gifts and
throughout the year.

Provo’s Village Bake Shoppe
After immigrating to the United States in the 1980s and working for several bakeries, Wesley Kuras
purchased the Village Bake Shoppe in 2000. Now focused on selling his family’s homemade baked goods
at farmer’s markets throughout Chicago, Wesley will open a year-round location at Chicago French
Market with a variety of breads, coffee cakes, sweet rolls, pastries, cookies, cakes and pies made with
seasonal ingredients from local farmers. Provo’s offerings are all free of high fructose corn syrup and
preservatives.

RAW
Raw food-enthusiasts Polly Gaza and Carole Jones will offer a variety of meals, drinks and snack items,
all made onsite at Chicago French Market and based on a raw food diet of uncooked and unprocessed
vegan foods. Featuring all organic ingredients, RAW’s menu highlights include fresh salads, pizzas,
pastas, muffins and granola, with a focus on nut-free. RAW will also offer a selection of super food
smoothies, sunflower sprouts, vitamins, wheat grass shots, coconut water and rejuvelac, plus host onsite
classes.

Saigon Sisters
Two sisters, Mary Nguyen Aregoni and Theresa Nguyen, along with their mother Suu Nguyen will offer
signature Vietnamese cuisine with French accented flavors. The menu includes traditional summer/spring
rolls (Goi Cuon), the quintessential Pho soup, salads and Banh Mi, Vietnamese sandwiches which have
garnered significant attention in Los Angeles and New York City. The ingredients will focus on healthful,
flavorful and aromatic herbs, spices, vegetables, seasoned meats and seafood from locally sourced
farmers and purveyors.

Jefferson and Washington rental tower
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4608/108njefferson.jpg

^^ I like

Presidential Towers retail redevelopment (excuse the crappy pics)
McDonald's, Potbelly, and the Thai restaurant will be joined by Yolk, Fitness Formula, and others.
Clinton & Monroe
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4749/p1010034lo.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7946/20090729aldermanc314.jpg
Jefferson & Monroe - they've cut down some small trees to make way for the retail addition. A Crain's article mentioned they were talking to a gourmet market for this space, although Presidential Market could renew and expand.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3543/p1010032pz.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/7108/20090729aldermanc318.jpg
Clinton side - horrible loading dock will be replaced by this 3 story gym atrium/ entrance
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/779/p1010034lb.jpg
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/277/20090729aldermanc312.jpg

oh god, what a much needed street-level upgrade that would be.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/12-02-2009/Through_the_looking_glass

Through the looking glass
By MICAH MAIDENBERG
12/02/2009 10:00 PM

A commercial glazier with headquarters in South Suburban Alsip will continue its foray into retail glass products in the West Loop.

Trainor Glass bought land at 938 W. Lake this summer, spending $2.5 million for the purchase, according to property records.
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/1875/rendering120209.jpg

The French Market in MetraMarket has finally opened!
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9870/p10100362.jpg
A cold, grey, slightly snowy day is the perfect time to try an indoor market. Even though I didn't get much time to spend inside, it was pretty cool to see this thing come to fruition. There was a steady stream of customers and curious onlookers, and even a giant mural of the Eiffel Tower in case you forgot where you were. I also noticed several new LED display boards mounted to the ceiling in the concourse level. Should be interesting to see how this all develops in the years to come.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/12-02-2009/Through_the_looking_glass

Through the looking glass
By MICAH MAIDENBERG
12/02/2009 10:00 PM

A jpg[/IMG]

Your photo didn't show up for me Spyguy. Anyone else have that problem?

Clinton Street has changed dramatically within the last year or so:


Powerhouse became New Line Tavern and Prairie Fire
MetraMarket is now open with the French Market, CVS, and soon Lavazza
Presidential Towers redevelopment with FFC and Yolk so far
Chipotle replaced White Hen at Clinton and Monroe. While not exactly exciting, it's probably needed since it's the only one west of the river. Specialty's Cafe and Bakery will open their second store in Chicago in the same building
547 W Jackson's first floor went from empty just a few years ago to now having a Potbelly, Dunkin' Donuts, and Beggars Pizza


Also, the ugly yellow West Loop Cafe on Jefferson is becoming an Al's Beef.

There's room for improvement though. There are still vacancies at the USG and Quaker Oats buildings. It would also be nice to see Union Station redeveloped somehow, and longer hours at night for all of these places.

^Great update and synopsis SpyGuy. This is one of the less glamorous stories of the Greater Loop. It has been a long time coming, but it continues the trend of making the Loop a livable, 24hr community. The residential density continues to increase. Even more so with the coming of 225 W. Wash., 200 W. Lake, 565 Quincy, Tailor Lofts and the pending Jefferson/Washington rental tower. All will contribute to the 24 hr pedestiran community.

I'm not sure when, but the Expression by Lavazza cafe is open in MetraMarket. Didn't try the coffee but it basically has the same look as the ones in Streeterville.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1992112,CST-NWS-tower15.article

Investors to be ready to build if market improves
January 15, 2010
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN

An investor team that includes two Bridgeport businessmen and a specialist in industrial cleanups is trying its luck with high-rise housing. They have proposed a 33-story building at 519 S. Clinton, just west of the vacant Old Main Post Office.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8467/011510towercstfeed20100.jpg

235 West Van Buren and TheWit are proud to announce the arrival of their first child, 519 S. Clinton.

^^ Bahahahahahahaha!

Is that a garden on the parking podium? Or a non-accessible green roof?

After being hidden for many years, Tailor Lofts' clock tower has finally been revealed. I believe it's also illuminated at night now, but I'll have to check again some other time.

Before:
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4285/tailor.jpg
Bing Maps
Another photo by YoChicago (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65968862@N00/320517419)

After:
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/9079/p1010639.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/1725/p1010641r.jpg

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/02-10-2010/Tower_pitch_near_post_office

Tower pitch near post office
Permission for 33 stories, 276 units sought

02/10/2010 10:00 PM
By MICAH MAIDENBERG

A Bridgeport-based trucking magnate wants permission to build a 33-story tower just west of the old and new main post office. Eventually.
---
http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/02-10-2010/New_owner_at_1260_W._Madison

New owner at 1260 W. Madison
Records show Jameson founder Huzenis bought parcel

02/10/2010 10:00 PM
By MICAH MAIDENBERG

A giant of the Chicago real estate world has taken control of an empty parcel on a prominent West Loop business corridor, the plans for which sparked a contentious debate in the neighborhood several years ago.

Costa's - goodbye
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7745/p1010644g.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6598/p1010648h.jpg

809 W Randolph - office conversion
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/226/8091vz.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8223/8092u.jpghttp://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5066/8093.jpg

YoChicago made a mention of Catalyst (http://www.areyoucatalyst.com/) and it's the first i've heard of it. Anyone have any more info?

Costa's - goodbye
http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7745/p1010644g.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6598/p1010648h.jpg

809 W Randolph - office conversion
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/226/8091vz.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8223/8092u.jpghttp://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5066/8093.jpg

The building itself looks bland and easy to miss, but the section and rendering looks really impressive...there is a good chance this little building will have some great interior spaces to it.

YoChicago made a mention of Catalyst (http://www.areyoucatalyst.com/) and it's the first i've heard of it. Anyone have any more info?

Not much to say about it - a condo tower designed by Lagrange with a Walgreens at the base. A case where, sadly, the second design turned out to be worse than the first (http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=244035).

In other news, it looks like the Hellenic Museum is starting construction in earnest. Good timing now that the other side of Halsted is a vacant lot.

Any word on what's going to happen to the Costa's site?

http://chicagoismynewblog.wordpress.com

i've been a long time lurker on this site, but decided to register finally

anyone ever hear of The Gateway? there's a WLCO meeting for this new development on the block of Madison-Halsted-Monroe-Green for a new retail-hotel development

saw it on westloop.org

anyone else have any info on it?


also, gotta say this cuz it's been bugging me, but since i live near Pure, i gotta say that is one of the most hideous buildings i have ever seen, some developer needs to go in, get rid of all the now dirty white cladding and put some glass on that building or something

i've been a long time lurker on this site, but decided to register finally

anyone ever hear of The Gateway? there's a WLCO meeting for this new development on the block of Madison-Halsted-Monroe-Green for a new retail-hotel development

We'll see what they present at that meeting, but this was the old proposal:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=36002780&postcount=138

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1992112,CST-NWS-tower15.article

Investors to be ready to build if market improves
January 15, 2010
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN

An investor team that includes two Bridgeport businessmen and a specialist in industrial cleanups is trying its luck with high-rise housing. They have proposed a 33-story building at 519 S. Clinton, just west of the vacant Old Main Post Office.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8467/011510towercstfeed20100.jpg

^^ Bahahahahahahaha!

Is that a garden on the parking podium? Or a non-accessible green roof?

Yeah, it's quite silly, isn't it? What they could have done, was place the parking garage underground somehow, and cover it with a walkable garden open to everyone. But then that would deprive them of street-level retail space? I don't know, I can't really tell from the picture, is the first floor of the parking building supposed to be retail space? (Aside from the portion directly beneath the tower, which is obviously retail space).

I'm not too crazy about this development, because when you think about the perspective of the pedestrian walking alongside it, you don't really experience any architectural value of the building, unless you're across the street. But I do like the proposed color scheme.

In any case, I welcome development and densification in West Loop-West Gate-Greektown, and I can't wait until the day that this area is a contiguous dense area with Little Italy/Taylor St and Pilsen, including somehow covering that portion of the Eisenhower Expressway. Long shot?


809 W Randolph - office conversion
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/226/8091vz.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8223/8092u.jpghttp://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5066/8093.jpg

I love developments like this...take an older building with gorgeous brick, even if the shape of the building overall is a bit bland, and put it to new use. I'd rather work in this type of office than a skyscraper.

I'm guessing that the entire front wall of the first floor was, at some point during the middle of the 20th century, knocked down to create that commercial all-glass wall. It would be nice if the renovators planned to reintroduce some brick into the lower front facade as part of the building's renovation, in order to restore some of that original charm of the building.

Community meeting on:
The Gateway - Monroe & Halsted
A retail and hotel development

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
6-7:30 PM
Merit School of Music
38 S Peoria
---

This is what was originally planned:

Chitown- Diamond JV along with Antunovich Associates has developed a quintessential mixed-use urban infill project adding additional life and excitement to a vibrant and growing neighborhood fabric. The Gateway is an exciting new development leading the way into Chicago's Greektown neighborhood. The redevelopment of an existing surface parking lot along legendary Halsted Street will offer retail tenants varying sized floor plates of flexible and contemporary space with ample covered parking on the "main street" of this electrifying near west side neighborhood.
This city block project consists of a 30-story 228 unit luxury residential tower rising from a landscaped pool deck, multiple parking levels and ground floor retail space. Adjacent to the residential tower parcel is the proposed hotel / retail block fronting on Halsted Street and wrapping the corners at Monroe and Green Streets. The retail block consists of multiple tenant spaces on the ground floor with a half city block space on the second floor suitable for a major grocery store or other large tenants. A 175 room five-story U-shaped hotel building sits amid a landscaped swimming pool terrace on top of the parking decks. The hotel building offers spectacular views of the loop skyline and is just around the corner from the lively Greektown entertainment district.
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6451/gateway1b.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5198/gateway3.jpg
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8879/gateway2.jpg

I think this development is a fantastic idea....that corner has been screaming for developmetn for years.....iI just hope it doesn't affect two of my fav bars.....Emmitts and richards

Yeah your right. It is really a good news to hear that that place will going to be develop.

[QUOTE=spyguy;54316585]Community meeting on:
The Gateway - Monroe & Halsted
A retail and hotel development

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
6-7:30 PM
Merit School of Music
38 S Peoria
---
QUOTE]


Good news.

Haymarket Pub and Brewing

at the old location of bar louie on halsted and randolph

...I wonder if they're tearing it down, or building a new building there. I walked by there today and noticed that all the old windows on the 1st floor are now bricked up.

...and btw, Rock Bottom beer is delicious :cheers:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/gyrobase/haymarket-pub-and-brewing-rock-bottom-chicago-beer-microbrew-gastropub/Content?oid=1629580&showFullText=true

Pete Crowley's been a craft brewer all his adult life, but he was weaned on Milwaukee's Best Light and Keystone Light. In college, he says, "I thought Spaten Oktoberfest was craft beer. That was the special beer I would drink when I wasn't drinking garbage."

After graduating from South Carolina State in 1993, he hitched a ride with a friend to Colorado, "just to do it." For their first outing in Aspen they picked Flying Dog Brewpub out of the Yellow Pages because they thought the name was funny. "I'd never had a hoppy beer, I'd never had a craft beer," says Crowley. "I had no idea, and I was blown away. I absolutely fell in love with it."

He wasn't planning to stay in Colorado, but then he befriended the bar manager at Flying Dog, who gave him a job as a bartender and waiter. Soon Crowley was helping out in the brewery, cleaning out the mash tun, carrying bags of grain, and finally actually making beer. He didn't leave Aspen until 1997, when he took a job at Broadway Brewing Company in Denver. Less than 24 hours later he was offered an assistant brewing position at the Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Denver; from there he moved to the Cleveland location as head brewer, and then to the downtown Chicago location, where he's spent the past ten years as senior brewer.

His last day there will be May 1. Crowley's in the process of launching his own place, Haymarket Pub and Brewing, in the West Loop. The 250-seat brewpub, in the former Bar Louie space at 741 W. Randolph, will include a bar, a beer garden, a dining area, an open kitchen, an open brewery, and an events space that will be the new home of the Drinking & Writing Brewery, a currently itinerant theatrical group.

Crowley and John Neurauter, his friend and partner in the venture, had been searching for the right space for more than two years. When they toured the Randolph Street location, "it just clicked that it was also part of the old Haymarket Square," Crowley says. "The whole labor movement and fair labor practices started there . . . and the wives of a couple of the martyrs became very famous civil rights activists. The history of the square is so rich that it really made the location and the space fit perfectly."

In keeping with that history, Crowley and Neurauter plan to serve "food for the working classes." There'll be pizza, rotisserie chicken, and sausage, plus plenty of vegetarian options. "We want to be the casual hangout pub where you get off of work, and whether you dug holes all day or worked in the financial district, you go and sit and have a pint and be relaxed," Crowley says.

As for the beer, they'll be serving about 12 of their own brews, focusing on classic Belgian and contemporary American styles as well as hybrids of the two. About a decade ago Crowley traveled to Belgium and became fascinated by the beers there. "They're very delicate, very complex . . . the use of spices, the use of candy sugars, the use of odd, fun things that you can put in beer is really interesting. A lot of lager yeasts and ale yeasts are just kind of straightforward neutral; the malt and the hops contribute the flavor to the beer. Most Belgian yeasts contribute a lot of flavor, a lot of aroma, so it makes the beer really complex."

After he came back he began experimenting with the style. "And then as I became comfortable with Belgians, I started falling in love with hops," he says. "I've never made more IPAs in a year than I did in 2009." Belgian beers, which tend to be light and yeasty, aren't traditionally heavy on the hops, but Crowley has started combining the two styles to make hoppy Belgian ales. He likes the way that, for example, the bitter hops balance out the citrusy yeast in the Crow and the Sparrow, a beer currently on tap at Rock Bottom that he'll be taking with him to Haymarket.

Crowley's creations for Rock Bottom have won top honors at national and international beer festivals, and he bristles at any suggestion that because it's a chain it might be inferior to smaller breweries. He recalls a recent discussion on Beer Advocate's Web site: "Someone didn't like an IPA that Brian Shimkos from Flossmoor Station had made. And they said, 'What do you expect from an ex-Rock Bottom brewer?' I said, 'That's funny, because the two top-rated breweries on the Web site are Surly and Three Floyds, and they're both run by ex-Rock Bottom brewers. It was like, dude, you're not making any sense."

Crowley, who currently serves as president of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, is passionate not only about Rock Bottom's products but also other local beers. In fact, at Haymarket he's planning to have about eight "guest taps" to spotlight other area brews. "There's a lot of local beer now," he says, "and it's good. So I don't want to have ten beers on tap from overseas when there's great beer right here."

"Right here" increasingly means the city of Chicago rather than the suburbs. The last two years have seen the launch of Metropolitan Brewing in Ravenswood, Half Acre in North Center (which contract-brewed in Wisconsin for about two years before building a facility in town), and Logan Square's new Revolution Brewing; a brewer called Pipeworks is looking at locations in Garfield Park and hopes to start selling beer in the next six to nine months.

Crowley thinks that's just the beginning. Partly, he says, the recent surge is due to the recession: declining rents and property values have made it feasible to build in the city. Brewing equipment takes up a lot of room, and square footage in Chicago hasn't always come cheap. But more than that he sees a general upswing of interest in craft brewing: "Craft beer was really the only part of the entire beverage segment that showed growth in 2009. Craft beer is hot."

Crowley and Neurauter plan to expand their brewpub into a brewing and bottling facility, the way Goose Island has. But about a third of their 8,000-square-foot space is already devoted to the brewery, and there's no room to grow. So if and when it gets to that point, they'll have to find another location for the production arm.

They're also scouting locations for another brewery and restaurant, this one in a LEED-certified building that uses reclaimed and recycled materials. The place will be "much more driven by zero waste, green building, ecofriendly practices—everything from composting all the food waste and grains to reusing the gray water for other functions in the restaurant," Crowley says. "But that's down the road."

Chicago Journal article on The Gateway project. I'm sure you'll be surprised to read that some residents are complaining about the height, but I'll only post the part about the corner bank building.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/04-14-2010/A_familiar_critique

A familiar critique
By MICAH MAIDENBERG

What about the existing building?
...The property is owned by Nebel Inc., according to public records, a Illinois-registered entity that lists Alexandre Bavastro as its president and Frederick Bavastro as its secretary.

Sy Taxman didn’t name them specifically at last week’s meeting, only referring to “two brothers” who live in Monaco and who rebuffed his firm’s attempts to involve them in the Gateway project.

Taxman said his team had given up on incorporating their building in the plans. “They’re very unrealistic,” he said, especially about parking issues.
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8729/11671l.jpg

updates on the new Adams-Sangamon Park

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6754/img1190a.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4755/img1188l.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6451/img1189a.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3672/img1191y.jpg

^Great perspective. The park looks like it will be an asset for the area but I wish the infirmary building was still there.

Presidential Towers redevelopment
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4679/j275j44m.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7121/p10106791.jpg

519 S Clinton
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/542/519sclinton2zoom.jpg
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/9209/519sclinton3zoom.jpg
http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/4061/519sclinton1zoom.jpg

I like the 519 S Clinton, the base of it is the best part of it though.

^ Hey, spyguy, who's the architect for that project?

^Hartshorne Plunkard.

1260 W Madison
A commercial development

Community meeting
Monday, May 3, 2010
6 PM
Skinner Elementary School

^ No strip centers please!

I like the 519 S Clinton, the base of it is the best part of it though.

What? The fact that an entire city block will be one giant monolith without any street presence?

What? The fact that an entire city block will be one giant monolith without any street presence?

Meh, what difference does it make in this part of the city? I'm just wondering how many parking spots it will have since it's right next to the blue line.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/05-05-2010/Threadless_eyes_West_Loop

Threadless eyes West Loop
By MICAH MAIDENBERG

The T-shirt retailer Threadless plans to shift its headquarters from Ravenswood to the West Loop, taking over a vacant, 45,000-square-foot property at 1260 W. Madison last used by FedEx.

Meh, what difference does it make in this part of the city?

Things will never improve if no one tries... and honestly, how hard is it to just make an effort?

i love that 519 s clinton building but that park is stupid to me. I would prefer another highrise right there considering the location. can't wait for the building to start/finish (or whatever)

http://www.suntimes.com/business/2267612,CST-NWS-target13.article

Robert Redford out, Target in: Alderman has new W. Loop plan
BY DAVID ROEDER

A Near West Side tract has come down in the real estate world. Gone is its developers' promise of swanky residential towers over an arthouse cineplex affiliated with actor Robert Redford.

It was called the West Loop Promenade, but the recession made its ambition impossible. In its place is something simple but more commonplace.

It's a Target store.

^^ NOOOO:down::down::down::cry::cry: I would prefer for atleast 1 tower...

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/05-19-2010/Price_point

Price point
Hotelier would offer $100 per night no-frills rooms, a concept that worries some neighbors

05/19/2010 10:00 PM
By IAN FULLERTON

... Others at the meeting said they expected the hotel to be occupied instead by transient guests, pan-handlers and commuters who miss the last trains at nearby Union Station.

“We think that [the residents] have a legitimate concern … that this could become a transient location,” said Larry Gage, president of the Fulton River District Association...
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8205/12811m.jpg

A hundred bucks isn't much cheaper than currently available downtown options. Here's the minimum prices that Orbitz just returned, for a random Thursday evening a few weeks out:

The Loop, Grant Park, Millennium Park - $109
River North - $87
Museum Campus, McCormick Place - $109
Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park - $96

Anyways, is the average panhandler going to be spending this kind of cash? I doubt it.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-x-c-west-loop-hirise-20100519,0,1107356,full.story

A vision blocked by high-rises
By Paul LaTour

Many residents in the West Loop share a vision of their neighborhood that was crystallized in the Near West Side Plan nearly a decade ago — and it does not include high-rise towers stretching 100 feet or more.

But a proposal for the southeast corner of Madison and Green streets — a mixed-use property called the Gateway that includes a 314-foot residential tower — has sparked a familiar debate: How tall is too tall?

^ I like the Alderman's tone in that article

"314-foot residential tower" sounds nice but lets go higher.... who cares if they think its too tall

Great to know 'Target' is coming to that block.
I don't have to drive all the way to clark/roosevelt any more.

:banana:

http://www.chicagojournal.com/Blogs/Near-Loop-Wire/06-23-2010/New_plans_afoot_for_Gateway_

Area bounded by Halsted, Monroe, Green, and Madison

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/06-30-2010/Here_comes_Target

Here comes Target
Not everyone thrilled with a big box at Fannie May site
By MICAH MAIDENBERG

In killing more than a passel of real estate projects pitched during the waning days of the housing boom, the economic crush has created openings for others.
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9913/yo6kbwsd.jpg

http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/2010/07/no-frills-hotel-planned-for-south-loop-called-%E2%80%98interesting%E2%80%99/

No-frills hotel planned for South Loop called ‘interesting’
July 2, 2010 By Patrick Butler

Plans for a no-frills hotel catering primarily to business travelers came under fire from several South Loop residents and at least one former innkeeper during what Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) promised was only the first of several community meetings.

---
http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/2010/07/developer-proposes-314-foot-tower-at-corner-of-madison-and-green-streets/

Developer proposes 314-foot tower at corner of Madison and Green Streets
July 2, 2010 By Sheila Elliott

An ambitious plan for a mixed-use development in the West Loop has caused concern among some community members.

Taxman Corp., a Skokie-based commercial and residential developer, will meet with local residents again this summer in an attempt to convince them of the merits of the Gateway, a proposed commercial, hotel, and residential center at Madison and Green Streets that includes a 314-foot residential tower.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/826/0710fe.jpg
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/1458/27266352.jpg

^ I'm guessing in some form these two projects will pass. I would LOVE to see big projects like this get underway again. Those were some good ole days when cranes abounded, I tell ya...

Like the plan even though the rendering doesn't look too exciting. (Would love to see them tag on an extra few storys when this thing gets passed. South Loopers need to wake up and realize the location they're living at...)

^ I'm guessing in some form these two projects will pass. I would LOVE to see big projects like this get underway again. Those were some good ole days when cranes abounded, I tell ya...

I love the attitude of the Toyoko Inn people. Clearly, they understand what it means to be across the street from one of the biggest train stations in the country, and they assume all employees will take public transportation to work.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=38787

2 distressed West Loop condo projects go to new owners
By Eddie Baeb, July 07, 2010

New owners have taken over two failed condominium developments in the West Loop, after the lender on the projects sold the loans to a local real estate investment firm.

...Mr. Khoshabe says Speedwagon plans to hold on to the adjacent sites, a vacant parcel at 111 N. Sangamon and a building that could be razed at 912 W. Washington St., for future development opportunities.

---
http://www.gazettechicago.com/index/2010/07/developer-proposes-314-foot-tower-at-corner-of-madison-and-green-streets/

Developer proposes 314-foot tower at corner of Madison and Green Streets
July 2, 2010 By Sheila Elliott

An ambitious plan for a mixed-use development in the West Loop has caused concern among some community members.

Taxman Corp., a Skokie-based commercial and residential developer, will meet with local residents again this summer in an attempt to convince them of the merits of the Gateway, a proposed commercial, hotel, and residential center at Madison and Green Streets that includes a 314-foot residential tower.
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/826/0710fe.jpg
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/1458/27266352.jpg

I really like this project.... mega block style, but disjoined enough to make it seem as if multiple projects grew together. I'd like to see more and hope that this moves forward.

i just don't get it - it's not ugly, it's mixed use, it has ground-level retail... how can people just be so staunchly anti-growth/development?

^^ I Really don't have a clue what's wrong with south and west loopers. If I lived in that area I would give it my approval unqeustionably and even request them to add a couple extra stories. But I'm pro-development so... (Maybe I will move in that area just to try to help new development grow)

1 S Halsted - retail & apartments connected to the Crowne Plaza
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9165/1shalsted.jpg
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8903/1shalsted2.jpg
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/4530/1shalsted3.jpg

15th and Blue Island apartments
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/245/15thblue.jpg

1 S Halsted - retail & apartments connected to the Crowne Plaza

Nice, especially in that first pic. Sure makes the Crowne Plaza building look even more dated and bland.

I assume this is just a proposal, so who knows if/when we will see it break ground?

Thank you Spyguy, now i'm all excited again. I hope this will get approved, imagine how it would feel to have new scrapers/highrises line up along the Stevenson, that would just be amazing and make it a little more pleasant when sitting in traffic for an hour...

updates of the new park.

http://a.imageshack.us/img38/5748/img1293eu.jpg

http://a.imageshack.us/img413/7251/img1290p.jpg

http://a.imageshack.us/img706/6518/img1292a.jpg


a new rehab project on sangamon and jackson. old building was completely gutted. no idea what's going up at this site.

http://a.imageshack.us/img3/4559/img1294i.jpg


and just for kicks, the rush hospital from my balcony

http://a.imageshack.us/img707/3012/img1288t.jpg

Adams/Sangamon (Mary Bartelme) Park - turned out quite nicely, however I'm still upset that they destroyed the beautiful art deco Eye & Ear Infirmary on this site.
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8987/p1010789p.jpg
Pieces of the Mayan-inspired detailing were salvaged and reincorporated into benches
http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8969/p1010790el.jpg
http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/2824/p1010792.jpg
And the most popular attraction, the mister
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8407/p1010796z.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8034/p1010795.jpg

^Sweet park, looks like it has awesome skyline views too! Glad to see the west loop really starting to come of age as an actual neighborhood. Cant wait to see the new CTA station too.

Walsh office building - Jackson/ Sangamon
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/4649/p1010788h.jpg
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3705/8f5m903b.jpg

National Hellenic Museum
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/4393/p1010800.jpg

912 W Washington - demolition
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2816/p1010797vo.jpg
This building's facade was supposed to be saved as part of a midrise development. However, this property and the building to the north went into foreclosure and were bought by a new firm which, according to Crain's (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20100707/CRED03/200038787/2-distressed-west-loop-condo-projects-go-to-new-owners), planned on razing it for a future development site. Depressing since this looks like a perfect building for a new restaurant or gallery.

Wow alot going on in that neigborhood.
Sorry to see that building go on washington,
that is such a cool area on washington.
Sometimes buildings are neglected to death.
Corporations would rather raze something
and just wait for demand to skyrocket and then
build something new. But in the meantime
its an empty lot, bleck.

Where did you find that information on the
new apt building at 15th and blue island?
I am by there all the time and its such a strange area.
That would really help the area, those converted warehouses
are soo cool, but adjacent to a very rough area
with low income housing and right by pilsen to the south as
well, so very strange, but the maxwell street
area is doing better than expected.

the museum ofcourse is great too, because
it will encourage more pedesterian traffic
and hopefully they will build something on the south end
of the expressway on halsted, because
the highway really killed pedestrian traffic from
maxwell street to greektown.

Presidential Towers redevelopment
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1792/p1010818z.jpg

Halsted Street Deli is opening another location across the street in the Quaker Oats buildings (Clinton & Monroe).

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/347/a3ov64iz.jpg

A lot is happening on this block. Obviously the museum is rising. But new owners have rebranded the Odyssey Lofts as 770 Lofts and mercifully painted the building a darker color and added an interesting little canopy over the residential entrance. Next door, Local 399's old union hall is being demolished for who knows what. It's a tiny site.

Update on Odyssey Lofts (yes- it has been awhile...)

New owners gave it new name and dropped prices. I question whether or not it is enough to jump start sales here. <They also have some serious competition with both 565 Quincy and Emerald which are still going strong and are much newer to the game.>

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/the-condoist/2010/10/odyssey-lofts-has-a-new.html

Any thoughts?

Jackson and Throop
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/6785/ilmilano1.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1996/ilmilano3.jpg
Obviously not going to happen anytime soon, but at least we know something fairly large was proposed here.

was proposed or is proposed?

Presidential Towers redevelopment

FFC gym atrium (includes a new Protein Bar location inside). You can see the yellow awning for Yolk next door.
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/50/p1010855w.jpg
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/5012/p1010854x.jpg
I don't think any other new tenants have been announced for the rest of the space along Clinton, although Halsted Street Deli is opening across the street in the long-vacant first floor of Quaker Plaza.

It looks like the latest version of the Gateway project in the West Loop has been reduced in size and scope. The podium lost a few floors, the hotel is gone, and the tower is shorter now.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/756/gateway1.jpg
I just noticed the similarity between this new Mariano's and the Whole Foods in Evanston (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1203/862452386_6e531e9821.jpg)
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/8879/gateway2.jpg
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/2987/gateway3s.jpg
vs. old proposal
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6451/gateway1b.jpg

^ I had no idea Mariano's was on board.

Roundy's was mentioned when this project was just a massive retail/parking podium a couple of years ago. Then there was an article that they pulled out of the project. Now it looks like they're back in. Mariano's will have to take what they can get if they want to expand in the city.

From the Landmarks Commission:

1027 W Madison - CCP Holden Building

Proposal: Proposed exterior and interior rehabilitation of an existing 4-story masonry commercial
building, including masonry repair, new ground-floor storefronts, a new cornice, new
windows, a 50% green roof, and a new roof-top deck.

This is extremely good news as this is one of my favorite buildings in the West Loop. I've been dreaming about how good it would look after being restored for years. Because Carpenter does not run through Madison, you get an unusual perspective of the building from the north.

The is the current state of the building, built in 1872:
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3633/4911588455b3392b2007.jpg
saumacus/ flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saumacus/4911588455/in/photostream/)

Almost reminds you of the Maxwell Street days.

And 1313 Randolph is supposed to be converted into 68 apartments with ground floor retail.
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8640/1313randolph.jpg

Lots of parking vs. a tall building - what's the WLCO to do?

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/3603305-452/parking-zoning-building-project-garage.html

16-level structure would be all parking
DAVID ROEDER Feb 1, 2011

...The building for 290 cars would rise at 124 N. Halsted and consist entirely of 16 levels for parking. Developer Bruce Michael said the height will be closer to that of an eight-to-10-story building.

Elevators and mechanical systems would direct the cars into stacked slots, without a human hand touching them. The garage would be part of a residential rehab of an adjacent former factory at 113 N. Green, with some spaces reserved for the tenants and the rest available for patrons of Greektown and Randolph Street businesses.

...Michael, owner of Michigan-based Ojibway Development, said he hopes he can begin construction this summer. The six-story Green Street building, a onetime Allis-Chalmers factory, would get a seventh floor added and be reconfigured for 112 apartments.
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4015/81500191.jpg

From the Landmarks Commission:

1027 W Madison - CCP Holden Building

Proposal: Proposed exterior and interior rehabilitation of an existing 4-story masonry commercial
building, including masonry repair, new ground-floor storefronts, a new cornice, new
windows, a 50% green roof, and a new roof-top deck.

This is extremely good news as this is one of my favorite buildings in the West Loop. I've been dreaming about how good it would look after being restored for years. Because Carpenter does not run through Madison, you get an unusual perspective of the building from the north.

The is the current state of the building, built in 1872:
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/3633/4911588455b3392b2007.jpg
saumacus/ flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/saumacus/4911588455/in/photostream/)



Great looking building, glad to see some TLC coming its way after decades of neglect.

Looks like the tower portion will be a ~200 unit hotel.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/News/02-03-2011/Grocery_store,_hotel_planned_for_West_Loop

Grocery store, hotel planned for West Loop
02/03/2011 4:00 PM

A high-end grocery store and an extended-stay hotel could come to a vacant site at Monroe and Halsted streets in fall 2012, if a development presented Monday night goes as planned.

Called The Gateway, the proposed building would hold Mariano’s, a 70,000-square-foot grocer mostly on the site’s second floor, as well as a 200-room hotel and street-level retail.