It appears that the original "da south side" thread has disappeared, in a rather mysterious fashion.

Whoever cloaked and kidnapped away that ill-fated thread shall forever elude me.

But until then, I hereby declare this the new South Side development thread. Any south side development topic that doesn't already belong in a specific thread shall go here.

I noticed this a while ago when I was going to post an article and couldn't find the topic in the first few pages.

What was the purpose in closing the topic unless it had 500 posts? Even then there could have been some warning so we could have saved the most important info in it.

Wow. that thread literally is gone. No 404 error, no redirect. Just a blank page.

http://skyscrapercity.com/archive/index.php/t-152116

Was that a capitulation to Joe Zekas, if that South Side thread had lots of copyrighted material on it?

That's actually an interesting theory. I doubt we'll ever get a reason, however.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-nws-iit05.html

Technology park to spiff up IIT campus
March 5, 2006
BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter

The once-fledgling technology park on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology is brimming with new tenants and sprouting a landscape makeover.

The University Technology Park at IIT, to be built in three phases over 10 years, is the largest commercial investment on Chicago's South Side since the construction of the new Sox stadium in the early 1990s
Its makeover will show off a campus of greenery where sterile concrete reigned: A $1.5 million landscaped gateway is being installed on the campus' neglected southernmost border at 35th Street.

A block-long area of on-street and surface-lot parking along Dearborn between 34th and 35th streets, adjacent to the new main entrance to the technology park, is being removed this spring to make way for a pedestrian parkway filled with native trees, as well as sedge grass and columbine perennial flowers. The project covers 1.3 acres.

Cars will no longer be allowed on Dearborn from the old 34th Street to 35th Street, but emergency vehicles will have access, said Peter Lindsay Schaudt, founder and design principal of his namesake landscape architecture firm that's doing the work.

The design will create a parkway feel on 35th Street in an area that historically has been sterile and concrete, in part because IIT's buildings in that area have no windows at grade level, Schaudt said.

Changes environmentally friendly

The landscape architecture firm also is redoing a parking lot at 35th and Dearborn to make it environmentally friendly, in keeping with Mayor Daley's initiatives to build "green" projects citywide. The new pavement will be porous so water can seep into the ground. The design recharges the groundwater and eliminates the need for water to be channeled into storm sewer pipes.

The benefits are a key element to the renaissance that is the $75 million to $80 million first phase of the entire IIT makeover.

Meanwhile, renovation work started in January on Technology Business Center 1, a 126,000-square-foot building at 35th between Dearborn and Federal designed to house technology companies that need sophisticated, build-to-suit laboratory space to do their research.

New neighbors coming soon

The former Chemistry Research Building is being transformed with a dramatic new atrium that soars from ground level to a bold skylight on the roof.

The technology park will ultimately stretch from Wabash on the east to Federal on the west, and from 34th Street to 35th Street. The first phase is expected to cost between $75 million and $80 million, with $25 million from IIT, $13.4 million in city tax-subsidized funding, $12 million in state grants, $8 million in federal historic tax credits, and the remainder in private debt and equity financing.

The park's buildings, once neighbors to now-demolished public housing, will be joined in early 2007 by Park Boulevard, a new community of mixed-income condos, low-rises, town houses, single-family homes and street-level retail.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-nws-iit05a.html

Startups flock to tech incubator
March 5, 2006
BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter

The technology incubator at the Illinois Institute of Technology is warming up several companies that hope to go out on their own eventually.

Lured by the $75 million to $80 million first phase of the entire IIT makeover, four new companies have joined two incumbents, All Cel and Alion Science:

Cleversafe is the third startup by local serial entrepreneur Chris Gladwin, who also founded FullAudio and Cruise Technologies. Cleversafe is developing technology that will enable users to save and store their digital photos in a reliable and high-speed way.

Cleversafe opened an office last summer in IIT's incubator building at 3424 S. State, and is in the research and development stage. Of Cleversafe's 25 employees, 19 are current or former IIT students, and an IIT faculty member is also on staff.

"We're getting great productivity and quality," said Gladwin, who was introduced to the tech park as a guest at a luncheon meeting between David Weinstein, president of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, and David Baker, vice president of external affairs for the college.

Cleversafe, initially financed with a seven-figure investment by Gladwin and four company managers, is completing its first round of outside financing from angel investors after turning down several venture-capital offers.

The company expects to roll out products later this year and will move to the 19-story IIT Research Institute tower at 35th and State this summer. Cleversafe's tower office will be twice as big as the current one and will employ 30 to 35, Gladwin said.

NanoFluence Health Inc., a spinoff of Northfield tech firm CogniTek Management Systems, is developing a technology that can stabilize Omega3 fatty acids, such as fish oil, so they can be used to make foods and beverages, said Michael Gurin, founder of both companies.

The proprietary technology, which applies the latest in nanoscale materials, also ensures that other health benefits, such as reducing cholesterol and building bone strength, could be passed on to consumers of the functional foods and beverages.

NanoFluence Health will set up shop at IIT's incubator building in April, and expects to announce a major partnership soon.

Network Black Box is a startup company developing a data backup system for small companies. The system is housed in a server similar to the black box in an airplane, which automatically records and saves flight data on airplanes. The firm will move in to 3424 S. State in the next few weeks.

Air2Access is a local area network provider that deploys and operates high-speed wireless hot spots in marinas and municipal hot zones. It also provides network bridges and wireless video surveillance systems. Air2Access is the first start-up company to occupy the 16th-floor software incubator center in the IIT Tower.

THis is great news.

The ultimate plan, after all 3 phases are completed, include a new building fronting 35th street at State with a large garage building behind it. I like that this is an emerging job center so close to a public transit line. Once Park Boulevard and this project are completed, this area will be completely transformed

There are so many things I like about this project I don't know where to begin. Usually, good news about the economy and about urban planning are separate. But here they seem to be one in the same. Although closing off a street to car traffic makes me nervous. Can any one with more knowledge of the neighborhood give an opinion as to whether that will be a good idea? From the sounds of it, I'm thinking, "Come on guys, haven't we learned from the failure of the State Street Mall, closed in, what, 1996-7?" All in all though, all of this seems like a massive improvement.

I wish Crain's did more reporting on companies like those mentioned here. Sure, many of them will fail, but out of ten that fail, one might succeed in a way that transforms part of the economy. The new ideas and prospects are very exciting. I'd rather see a story about these companies, the employment of which might actually have an impact on Chicago than repeated stories about whose buying hotels downtown.

To me, as an outsider, it seems like the frontiers of redevelopment of Bronzeville are disconnected: one pushing from the south (Hyde Park/Kenwood/UofC-based), one pushing from the north (South Loop), and one from IIT. Will the frontiers finally disappear when these redevelopments merge? I wish the question was when, not whether.

Anything new here? I wish there was a way to retrieve all the info in the old thread.

Dearborn is already "Dearborn Walk" within IIT; this just continues that to its logical end. I've always thought it weird that the Modernists, given a chance to erase the grid entirely to create superblocks, never succeeded in doing so. often the infrastructure still followed the old streets. UIC's focal point sits where Peoria & Polk once intersected, Quincy lives on as a pedway under Federal Plaza, Dearborn is the main spine of IIT.

re: Hyde Park, South Loop, and IIT: I'd say that the lines have finally met at 43rd street. that was always as bad (abandoned) as it got: an entire commercial street simply wiped clean away without a trace. 35th wasn't bad (from McCormick Place south through Prairie Shores to IIT's southern edge), 47th was good, but somewhere between 39th and 43rd everything fell apart. now there's infill under construction everywhere, including along 43rd.

Where there's art, there's action

From the West Loop to Bronzeville, new galleries help signal an area's rebirth

By Johnathon E. Briggs
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 7, 2006

When Bryant Johnson steps outside his art gallery in Bronzeville, he sees a neighborhood being reborn.

Once-empty lots sprout $300,000 condos. Gated parking spaces showcase luxury cars. Spoken Word Cafe and a recently opened comedy-jazz club bustle with black professionals and bohemians.

For Johnson, the cafe and club signal the real arrival of urban renaissance.

"Art creates the place. That's the lifeblood behind the buildings," said Johnson, who three years ago opened his Steelelife Gallery at 47th Street and King Drive.

In Bronzeville, Bridgeport and the Fulton Market area of the West Loop, art galleries are popping up as one of the leading indicators of neighborhoods on the rise, real estate agents and gallery owners say.

Drawn by affordable rents, layers of history and quirky architecture that lends itself to eye-catching show space, art dealers are increasingly opening galleries on the South and Near West Sides, clustering into art districts and tapping the disposable income flowing into gentrifying neighborhoods.

Like the artists before them, many of the gallery owners are urban pioneers who arrived before a wave of residential construction and have helped breathe new life into decaying neighborhoods. Others set up shop later, attracted by what they described as the "raw energy" of an up-and-coming area.

Gallery owners "are not like regular retail businesspeople," said Natalie van Straaten, publisher of Chicago Gallery News. "They are people with cultural vision."

On the South Side, those visions are playing out against the backdrop of vacant lots, run-down storefronts and empty warehouses that sit in the shadow of newly built condos, townhouses and lofts. Retail has been slow in coming, but the art has already arrived.

"I can think back to when there were no galleries in Bronzeville. Now there are five," said Andre Guichard, co-owner of Gallery Guichard, which opened last year at 3521 S. King Drive inside the stately Supreme Life Building, once home to the first black-owned insurance company in the North.

"It's now repeating that cycle that you've seen in Wicker Park, Pilsen and River North," Guichard said.

Already Steelelife's Johnson, Guichard and fellow gallery owners have formed the Bronzeville Art District--between 26th and 47th Streets, mostly along King Drive--to raise the profile of art from the African diaspora and preserve the historic neighborhood as a repository of black culture. It launched in February and features a gallery trolley tour on the third Friday of each month.

A mile west of U.S. Cellular Field, two famous Chinese artists known as the Zhou Brothers bought an 87,000-square-foot Spiegel Brothers warehouse and transformed it into an art center. It opened at 35th and Morgan Streets in 2004 as the four-story hub of a lively colony of artists in Bridgeport. Neighborhood residents since 1986, the brothers also have an arts foundation three blocks north with a sculpture garden and another gallery.

And in the more established West Loop, the Fulton Market area has been dubbed by some gallery owners as "Chicago's version of Chelsea," a reference to the West Manhattan neighborhood near a meatpacking district that has become the center of the New York art scene.

Here in Chicago, meatpackers and wholesale food distributors in warehouses rub shoulders with upscale galleries, chic restaurants, luxury lofts, photography studios and antiques shops. Forklifts and refrigerated trucks share streets with Toyota 4Runners and dog-walkers.

"Often when you see ads for new real estate, they'll say, `Come to this newly developing area. There are galleries and restaurants," van Straaten said. A gallery "certainly does energize and make people aware of an area that they wouldn't otherwise discover."

The pattern itself is not new: Artists move into a down-and-out area, spark a cultural revival and are joined by galleries, restaurants, cafes, newcomers and niche shops. Real estate prices soar, and artists, even art dealers, are pushed out. They then migrate to areas with skimpier rents.

"Eventually you kind of become a victim of your own success," said D. Scott Patria, owner of Function + Art on Fulton Market near Carpenter Street who fears he will be priced out. "My rent has gone up a couple of times mainly because I've helped bring other galleries here."

Four new galleries have opened in the area in the last six months, Patria said.

But city officials and observers of the arts scene note that artists and dealers are increasingly buying their spaces so they can benefit from the rebirth of which they are often harbingers.

"More and more artists are becoming masters of their own destiny," said Cynthia Quick, director of program development for the city's Department of Cultural Affairs.

The city's cultural department has promoted this approach by launching a Web site, www.chicagoartistsresource.org, that helps creative types find living and working space and learn about home and business ownership.

To gallery owner Oskar Friedl, who manages the Zhou Brothers art center and foundation, the West Loop has little future as an arts center because it will soon be overtaken by residential real estate. Single-family homes on Fulton Market easily fetch $1 million.

He predicts the South Side will emerge as the "future art district of Chicago" because of its rich history, affordability and potential for large-scale development.

"Bronzeville and Bridgeport are [destined] to become the most interesting districts," Friedl said. "Bronzeville was the Harlem of Chicago, and Bridgeport has been called the United Nations because there's someone from everywhere here."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0604070304apr07,1,3887042.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

How you do you guys think it will take before the area from the South Loop to Hyde Park becomes connected by nearly total revitalization?

http://www.globest.com/news/517_517/chicago/144805-1.html

City Renews Efforts to Spur South Shore Rehab
By Mark Ruda
Last updated: April 14, 2006 07:53am

CHICAGO-An eight-year effort to redevelop two blocks on South Stony Island Avenue has been rekindled, with city officials moving to acquire property in the 6700 and 6800 blocks. For the third time since 1998, the Department of Planning and Development has received authority to acquire seven parcels from the community development commission.

Among the properties is a vacant 87-year-old bank building, and the Department of Planning and Development wants to see the facade preserved, says Lisa Hope-Washington. Other properties include a storage facility, mixed-use building and vacant lots, Hope-Washington says.

Although no specific development plan is on the table, city officials have talked with potential developers, who all have been stymied in attempts to begin work. Foremost among the hurdles has been the ability to acquire properties at prices close to fair market value. While the city has had acquisition authority for as long as eight years, owners of the properties have set unrealistic prices, says at least one developer.

Meanwhile, attempts to get the current owners to improve their properties have been unsuccessful. “We’ve tried to engage the owners of the properties to become a part of the community to invest in their businesses. That has failed to materialize,” says 5th Ward Alderman Leslie A. Hairston. “The failure to develop their properties indicate a disinterest in the community at large. This has been like running up against a brick wall.”

While renewing the department’s acquisition authority, the community development commission’s decision came on a rare less than unanimous vote. Commission member Rafael Leon voted against the measure.

With acquisition authority, the Department of Planning and Development can order appraisals to determine the cost of buying the properties, Hope-Washington says. In addition, the department could prepare a request for proposals, which could be used to solicit developers.

The abandoned bank building at 6760 S. Stony Island Ave. changed hands last year for $75,000, according to property records.

If you guys go to Chicago's Dept of Planning and Devt website you'll see a new press release about some development planned at 47th and Cottage Grove, a long vacant site. It will have some residential units as well as a three story commercial building with a masonry facade. Does anybody know any more about this (renderings, etc)?

Sorry, but I'm on a stupid eMac right now so I can't cut and paste the article

If you guys go to Chicago's Dept of Planning and Devt website you'll see a new press release about some development planned at 47th and Cottage Grove, a long vacant site. It will have some residential units as well as a three story commercial building with a masonry facade. Does anybody know any more about this (renderings, etc)?

Sorry, but I'm on a stupid eMac right now so I can't cut and paste the article

My bank is i=on the corner of 47th and Cottage Grove, there's a McDonalds, liquor store and Auto Parts store. I know the northwest corner of 47th and Drexel is going to be redeveloped. It good though, because both streets need help.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0604300331apr30,0,7787343.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed

CITY REPORT
Residential slated for Drexel Blvd.
Plans for condos, single-family units

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published April 30, 2006

A developer will buy vacant city-owned land along Drexel Boulevard in the North Kenwood/Oakland neighborhood for two projects that will advance the resurgence of the grand boulevard.

"There is a deep market for residential units in [North Kenwood] and especially on Drexel," said Mark Sutherland, a partner in Chicago-based Sutherland/Pearsall Development Corp.

The Community Development Commission this month approved the sale of the 6,569-square-foot parcel at 4000 S. Drexel Blvd., the southwest corner of 40th Street and Drexel Boulevard, to Sutherland/Pearsall. City Council approval is needed.

The developer will pay the appraised market-rate price, $267,000, and will build a four-story condominium building with 13 units and an elevator.

The $3.7 million project's two- and three-bedroom condominiums will range from 1,100 to 1,400 square feet and $190,000 to $335,000, Sutherland said. "We are still in process of finalizing prices but the price will include one indoor parking space per unit," he said.

About half of the units that Sutherland/Pearsall has built to date on Drexel have sold for less than $200,000. In recent years, the developer has built more than 100 units in six projects on long-vacant lots on the 3900, 4100, 4400 and 4500 blocks of South Drexel Boulevard.

Sutherland/Pearsall is under contract to buy land on Drexel one block north of the development site.

"We will build five single-family houses with 4,500 to 5,000 square feet of space," Sutherland said, adding that those houses will be priced at more than $1 million.

The developer expects to close on the single-family homes site by early summer, he said.

Chicago-based architect Brian Milbury is designing the four-story condo building and the single-family houses, Sutherland said.

"We expect to start construction on both projects by the end of the year," he said.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4143670


http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/wls/cms_exf_2005/news/local/wls_050406_cha.jpg
City breaks ground on housing to replace troubled project By Ben Bradley
May 4, 2006 - A new beginning on the city's South Side -- Thursday -- as ground was broken on mixed-income housing that will be built on site of the Robert Taylor Homes.

At one time it was the world's largest public housing project, christened by the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, and now almost entirely torn down by his son. This is the seventh year of the CHA'S 10-year plan to transform public housing, and no place came to symbolize the problems of public housing like the Robert Taylor Homes.
At one time more than 17,000 people called the sprawling complex home. There were 28 buildings spread across a two-and-a-half mile stretch of State Street. Today, only one building remains and it will be torn down by the end of the year.

"It's time for a change," said Freddie Wright, former CHA resident.

That "change" will include a 2,300-unit, mixed-income neighborhood. No high rises. No economic segregation. In theory: No sign that this is public housing.

"Now our kids get the chance to wake up seeing a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, an engineer. The same kind of community we lived in, our residents now have that opportunity," said Terry Peterson, Chicago Housing Authority CEO.

Some CHA residents have long been skeptical of the massive city-wide transformation effort. But Sherrice Wesley, who has lived in Robert Taylor for 15 years, says she is ready for change.

"You can't be too upset, you should want to move. If you've been here a long time -- you should want a change, right?" said Sherrice Wesley, Robert Taylor Homes resident.

"We have a rare opportunity that we won't have in hundreds of years to take a great street like State Street and put great retail and commercial space so this community can walk to work and generate taxes," said Ald. Dorothy Tillman, 3rd Ward.

At the groundbreaking Thursday, Valerie Jarrett, the former CTA board president and granddaughter of the man for whom the infamous housing project was named.

"It's been a huge embarrassment to our family," said Jarrett, Robert Taylor's granddaughter.

Jarrett says her grandfather was never an advocate of the high rises or the isolation. She believes he would have loved what's happening now.

"Whether his name is on it or not -- the most important thing is his vision is here," Jarrett said.

Citywide, the CHA has already built 15,000 replacement housing units and there are plans for 10,000 more. The CH a continues to maintain that every resident in good-standing is being accommodated in the new mixed-income neighborhoods.

The key to success for many of these communities will be economic development. Alderman Tillman says soon she will be able to announce some big box retailers and a grocery store that will open near the old Robert Taylor site.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-highrise16.html

Zoning OK sought for South lakefront tower
May 16, 2006
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters

High-rises are so common on the North Side lakefront that there are few places left to put them. The South Side lakefront has more land, but fewer developers are willing to take a chance on it.

So a lot of investors will be watching how JFJ Development Co. fares with a plan to build at 6740 S. South Shore Drive. The firm's president, Jon Zitzman, and his architect said the 20-story building would be the South Shore area's first high-rise in at least 30 years.

The planned $60 million condominium building would overlook Jackson Park, the South Shore Cultural Center and the lake, enjoying a view of downtown from an angle many Chicagoans never see.

Zitzman has asked the city for a zoning change that would let him build 132 units, including six townhomes that he figures he can sell for at least $1 million. He said the homes in the high-rise should be priced from $250,000 to $1 million.

Despite closeness to the lake and many attractive homes, South Shore's lower incomes and higher minority population have drawn few builders. Most are intent on chasing Chicago's gentrification dollar on the North Side.

Zitzman said he likes South Shore for its potential. "We're looking for other markets that are untapped. It seems to us that the South Loop and the West Loop are saturated," he said.

A partnership allied with his firm has a contract to buy the property, which holds a single-family home and a building formerly leased to a private school. Both would come down.

JFJ has ascended in the development ranks from small-scale projects in Lincoln Park and Lake View to larger residential buildings in River North. For his first major South Side venture, Zitzman said he's signed on as an investor Dennis Irving, president of the black-owned Highland Community Bank.

In addition, he's hired a prominent black architect, Phillip Johnson, principal of Johnson & Lee Ltd., for the design. Johnson is to collaborate with the firm Hartshorne & Plunkard, which has more experience in high-rise construction.

Johnson said the new building will be the first South Shore high-rise since Quadrangle House, a 28-story building at 6700 S. South Shore Drive that records indicate was finished in 1968.

The new building "will be as transparent as possible so that the residents can take advantage of the great views," Johnson said.

He said several meetings have been held with nearby residents and no opposition has been reported. Zitzman said the plan has support from South Shore's alderman, Leslie Hairston (5th). She could not be reached for comment.

The zoning application triggers hearings that culminate in a vote by the City Council. Assuming approval comes, Zitzman said he hopes to start construction in spring 2007 and be done in fall 2009.

He said several banks are interested in financing the venture. Funding commitments usually aren't made, however, until condo developers hit a threshold of pre-construction sales, and Zitzman hasn't started those yet.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0606250260jun25,0,44914.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed

Retirement campus in Beverly gets a new look

By Jane Adler
Special to the Tribune
Published June 25, 2006

The $65 million redevelopment of the Washington & Jane Smith Community on Chicago's South Side took another step this month with the groundbreaking for an apartment building. Located in the Beverly Hills-Morgan Park neighborhood along South Western Avenue between 112th and 113th Places, the 80-year-old retirement campus has been renamed Smith Village.

The apartments will replace a vacant building, scheduled to be torn down soon said Michael Flynn, chief executive at Smith Senior Living, the non-profit sponsor of the development.

The first phase of the redevelopment was completed in March with the opening of an 82-unit assisted living building, Flynn said. Previous residents of the building slated for demolition have been moved into that building. A nursing care building that opened in 1992 will remain on the campus.

Smith Village will be operated as a continuing care retirement community--one of only a handful in the city. Most continuing care properties are on big suburban campuses. Like other continuing care projects, Smith Village will have several types of housing--apartments for those who are independent, as well as the existing nursing and assisted-care units.

"We are the only continuing care project in the neighborhood," said Flynn. "This is a great alternative for people who have lived their entire lives in the area."

Carl and Elaine Spencer plan to sell their Beverly home of 50 years and move into the apartment building at Smith Village when it's completed in late 2007. The couple has reserved a two-bedroom, two-bath unit with about 1,265 square feet.

"The bottom line is that here was a chance to stay in the neighborhood and to continue doing what we are doing," said Elaine Spencer. "I have lived in Beverly for 50 years. My kids grew up here. We have a wide circle of friends. Why move to the suburbs when we have the opportunity to stay in our neighborhood?"

Spencer said she likes the fact that Smith Village is about a block from the Beverly Arts Center and that a Metra train station is nearby, plus the city buses.

"We have a good percentage of [older] people who are active in the neighborhood, but who don't want to keep their big homes," said Ginger Rugai, alderman of the 19th Ward, which includes Beverly, Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood. She said the neighborhoods are composed of mostly of single-family homes, and there are few assisted-living or nursing-care facilities nearby.

The redevelopment at Smith Village, Rugai said, is a boost to the neighborhood. "It's an investment in our community."

The new building at Smith Village will have 152 one- and two-bedroom apartments. About 80 percent of the units have been reserved, Flynn said. Each will have a fully equipped kitchen as well as a washer and dryer. A common area will include a formal dining room, cafe, hair salon and convenience store, along with a computer center and library. Gardens, walking paths and underground parking also are planned.

The Smith Village redevelopment comes amid a wave of similar revamps at retirement homes.

In the Chicago area a handful of new projects are under way. Smith Senior Living has a project called Smith Crossing in southwest suburban Orland Park that was recently finished.

Like other continuing care projects, Smith Village has an entry fee and monthly fees. Entry fees start at $132,000 (and are 90 percent refundable). Monthly fees start at $1,830.

A big selling point of continuing-care communities is that they offer access to assistance and at least some health care.

At Smith Village, residents of the independent apartments get 100 free days (accrued over time) in the assisted-living or skilled nursing care units. After that, residents receive a 15 percent discount.

Flynn said the newly configured campus will have room for about 350 residents, up from 275 residents.

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/5840/smithvillage9qx.jpg

Jeez, I lived across the street! Small world. I'm glad to see that the retirement community is doing well.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0706/News/newsstory0706b.htm

Hansberry Square brings both hope and concern
By Stacie Johnson


The site that once held the world’s largest public housing project soon will hold one of the largest redevelopment projects on the South Side. Yet some former residents of the area’s public housing and other locals are concerned that, despite promises by City officials, they will be overlooked or further displaced in the process.

Last month the City of Chicago broke ground on the former site of the notorious Robert Taylor Homes for Hansberry Square, a 12-acre development located along 41st and State Streets. The $66 million project, named after the late Chicago author of A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry, will provide 238 housing units consisting of 181 rental apartments and 57 houses, condominiums, and two-flats. Hansberry Square is part of a larger development in the Bronzeville area known as Legends South.

The 100-acre, $850 million Legends South neighborhood will contain 2,388 mixed-income, affordable, and market-rate rental units, condominiums, and houses, according to Michaels Development Co., the project’s contractor.

Some former and current residents, as well as business owners, remain concerned that they will not benefit from the improvements, however. Community activist Beauty Turner, a former Robert Taylor resident and current editor of the Residents’ Journal, said that though some units were set aside for public housing, there are not enough for all CHA residents on the waiting list vying for those units.

In addition, “A lot of residents will not be able to get in,” Turner said, “because of the criteria and requirements set by CHA” (the Chicago Housing Authority).

CHA criteria range from employment and credit history to childcare and housekeeping habits. Also, CHA residents will pay 30% percent of their income for rental units, a figure Turner said is going to be difficult for some voucher holders or welfare recipients.

“People are not receiving income like they used to from the [Federal] welfare system,” said Turner. “Most are just getting food stamps with no income coming to them at all.”

The CHA has said Robert Taylor residents who lived in the development before Oct. 1, 1999, will receive first consideration for the Hansberry Square rentals.

In the meantime, the project is moving full-steam ahead, and Hansberry Square is the first onsite phase at the former Robert Taylor Homes land.

“We plan to have just two offsite phases in this project, and six to ten on-site phases over the projected
ten years,” said Whitney Weller, vice president of development for Michaels Development Co.

The first phase of Legends South, Mahalia Homes, was offsite, near but not on Robert Taylor Homes land. Mahalia Homes is located at 166 E. 43rd St. Completed in 2004, it contains 110 rental units.

Since opening in 1962, the Robert Taylor Homes, a two-mile row of 16-story brick buildings, housed approximately 25,000 people in 28 buildings. Today, only one building, located at 5135 S. Federal St., still stands. It houses 50 families but is scheduled for demolition by the end of this year.

Approximately 11,000 people left Robert Taylor Homes, relocating mostly to public housing or privately owned housing with subsidies in the Englewood, Roseland, and South Shore communities, said Turner.

The CHA’s ten-year public housing retransformation plan currently is in its seventh year.

Since the plan’s inception the agency has built 15,000 replacement housing units and plans 10,000 more citywide.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3605/newsst0706a1sf.jpg

I've always wondered, in the midst of this HOPE VI project or whatever it's called, what happens to the many residents who don't qualify for the new housing, but do but are left out due to minimal room? Where can they go?

I've always wondered, in the midst of this HOPE VI project or whatever it's called, what happens to the many residents who don't qualify for the new housing, but do but are left out due to minimal room? Where can they go?
Time to get a life. Start with leave the 'hood,' then detox, then job training, and then, as with the rest of us, work like hell. Agreed, if all that fails to make it, then a public agency or institution is in order. Clearly there will be a percentage of the population that just can't make it without real assistance, but it should be a two-way street--get and give.

I've always wondered, in the midst of this HOPE VI project or whatever it's called, what happens to the many residents who don't qualify for the new housing, but do but are left out due to minimal room? Where can they go?

This is actually a major source of controversy with this project. There have been a few lawsuits filed, in relation to federal desegregation orders that the City must still comply with from 30+ years ago (even this long, they never fully remedied the situation as they were ordered to). Many have relocted to inner rim suburbs, resulting in those communities economic status drop exponentially, and similar segretion patterns emerging. Not sure where those suits are at, but a year ago they were still working their way through the system.

Time to get a life. Start with leave the 'hood,' then detox, then job training, and then, as with the rest of us, work like hell. Agreed, if all that fails to make it, then a public agency or institution is in order. Clearly there will be a percentage of the population that just can't make it without real assistance, but it should be a two-way street--get and give.

No shit. I dont mind people on welfare trying to work like everyone else and get back on their feet. But the others, people who have no urgency to get a job, any job, just happy to live off welfare...FUCK EM. Get the fuck out of my city, and state. If you can't measure up to the new CHA requirements, fuck you. If you have no place to go, so be it. You fucked around for years living of society and now you dont have a safety net from the city. Too bad, I dont have one bit of sympathy for you. If the requirements are too difficult, move to another city where they will let you leech of their economy. Chicago will not miss you and most likely will you show the door. Chicago is going in a different direction and you arent a part of its future anymore.

The CHA requirements arent strict, they dont require $60,000 salaries or college degrees.

No shit. I dont mind people on welfare trying to work like everyone else and get back on their feet. But the others, people who have no urgency to get a job, any job, just happy to live off welfare...FUCK EM. Get the fuck out of my city, and state. If you can't measure up to the new CHA requirements, fuck you. If you have no place to go, so be it. You fucked around for years living of society and now you dont have a safety net from the city. Too bad, I dont have one bit of sympathy for you. If the requirements are too difficult, move to another city where they will let you leech of their economy. Chicago will not miss you and most likely will you show the door. Chicago is going in a different direction and you arent a part of its future anymore.

The CHA requirements arent strict, they dont require $60,000 salaries or college degrees.

While I agree in some sense with your sentiment of "if you fuck away the chances you've been given, screw you," I think you should realize my concern that some of these people who can't qualify for new CHA housing probably *won't* have the means to relocate or move. So what do these un-relocatable people do? Join the ranks of hobos? Get pushed to crime? Not good for the city to just forget about them.

If they join the ranks of the hobos (which Im sure some already have), it is what it is. What do you want the city to do? Someone has to get tough on these people or it will stay the same. They already go to crime if you didnt know. The city's requirements SHOULD be a jumpstart to their lives, not some kind of punishment or penalty. Its not like the city is giving up on them, its just saying "You want to be here? Contribute to our city in a postive way. If you choose not to, your out". I think every big city in the nation should adopt this attitude. Its not about poor people. I have nothing against hard working, honest, poor Americans. Its the poor people with the "I dont give a fuck" attitude that need to go. I dont feel sorry for them, they feel they are owed something. Well now, they arent owed a place to stay. Fuck em.

They have a choice to meet the requirements, thats the thing. So if they end up hobos, tough shit. You cant expect the city to feel sorry for them with no place to go because they lost their safety net and choose to be bums. No one is forcing their struggling lifestyle upon them. If they can find friends in another city where they can maintain their lazy worth ethic, great. They are someone else's problem.

your'e still missing my point. I was not simply stating a worrisome concern that they become hobos, i was more stating a worrisome concern for the quality of life of this city when the number of hobos and criminals increases. more aggressive panhandling, more criminal incidents... this is not for the sake of the people perpetrating them but for the honest people who are victims of them.

I don't view welfare or public housing or anything like that as something to help the poor but really to help the community at large, because you can say "fuck them" and let social darwinism take place, but guess what, those poor people are still around and they still want to live, even if that means disrupting the lives of people who had better fortunes or better skills.

My main worry is not that people won't have a place to go (many will), but that those that don't will have a percentage of them who resort to aggressive pandling and a smaller percentage of that who resort to violent crime.

One of the last remaining classic theatre houses on the south side (on 53rd st, Hyde Park) which has been threatened with demolition by its owner (University of Chicago) may yet be saved. Click the link below and read the article on the cover page, 'Music Box Eyes Harper Theatre':

http://www.hpherald.com/

Can I be stickied? :scouserd: :runaway:

One of the last remaining classic theatre houses on the south side (on 53rd st, Hyde Park) which has been threatened with demolition by its owner (University of Chicago) may yet be saved. Click the link below and read the article on the cover page, 'Music Box Eyes Harper Theatre':

http://www.hpherald.com/

The theater and the attached vintage corner commericial building at the northwest corner of 53rd and Harper is one of the most-watched sites in Hyde Park, second perhaps only to Promontory Point.

The theater has had many groups put their toes in the water and then run across the beach to dry ground. Currently, there is one more group going through the toe-dipping process.

Thankfully, the U of C is not rushing to demolition. Let's see what happens.

Can I be stickied? :scouserd: :runaway:

Huh???

^^^^Ok I got it, yeah really what is up with all the stickies its pretty annoying actually

Wow. that thread literally is gone. No 404 error, no redirect. Just a blank page.

http://skyscrapercity.com/archive/index.php/t-152116

government conspiracy??

If you guys go to Chicago's Dept of Planning and Devt website you'll see a new press release about some development planned at 47th and Cottage Grove, a long vacant site. It will have some residential units as well as a three story commercial building with a masonry facade. Does anybody know any more about this (renderings, etc)?

^ Well, I finally found the answer to this question. This was posted by Spyguy at SSP:

Development to bring retail to Cottage Grove corridor
Wednesday August 23 2006
Daniel Duggan

A proposed development aims to bring shops and condos to the under-retailed Cottage Grove corridor on the city’s Southside.

The development is in the early stages, being developed by Mohagony Ventures, a partnership between Columbus-based firms of Skilken and Troy enterprises. It will bring 50,000 square feet of retail and 170 residential units to the city block between Cottage Grove and Evans avenues, and 47th and 48th streets.

“With this project, the retail will be an equal partner to the residential,” says Frank Petruziello, a managing partner with Mohagony. “In a lot of developments, the retail is an afterthought, put in the place where no one wants to live. Retail is the prime reason for this; we’re trying to revitalize the Cottage Grove area.”

Currently in the entitlement stages, Petruziello expects to have construction start in one year.

Leasing will be handled by Mohagony, which is hoping to find a coffee shop, a convenience store, some restaurants and other local retail uses.

When asked why target the city’s Southside, Petruziello is quick to answer.

“Because 90 percent of the retail dollars are going elsewhere,” he says. “We’re just trying to bring the basic services back to that neighborhood.”

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1854/shops20at2047thsizeduj8.jpg

Grand Terrace Condos near 39th & King. Plans are to convert the former Ritz Hotel. It wil have ground-level shops:

http://grandterracecondos.com/grandterracecondos/images/GrandTerraceExterior-large.jpg

More TOD along the Orange Line:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0610110174oct11,0,6488928.story?coll=chi-business-hed
HOME BUILDING: Ron Benach launches fourth venture

Tribune staff
Published October 11, 2006


Ron Benach, who has founded three Chicago-area home-building companies and built each into one of the largest residential builders in the region, is starting his fourth company, tentatively named Lexington Homes.

Benach, 74, is chairman of the new venture and is joined by his son, Jeff Benach, who will be executive vice president of sales and marketing; Chief Executive Wayne Moretti; and Chief Financial Officer Max Plzak.

All worked at Concord Homes, which the elder Benach founded in 1992 and sold in 2002 to Lennar Corp.

The new company will focus on high-density residential development in Chicago and close-in suburbs, said Jeff Benach. He said the company plans to begin sales for a development of 450 units near 48th Street and Western Avenue in the spring.

The elder Benach started 3H Development in 1962 and sold it to US Home in 1972. He launched an earlier Lexington Homes in 1974 and sold it to Westinghouse in 1989 before founding Concord Homes in 1992.

mag mile south (http://magmilesouth.com/)
4051-53 and 4057 South Michigan Avenue
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6629/smmile1rz6.jpg
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7540/smmile2qh4.jpg

^ That's quite elegant.

56th & Cornell, 25 stories, 268 ft. Replacing a parking lot. Looks like Studio Gang is the architect:

http://www.hpherald.com/p3.jpg

....and that's why all the important discussions about highrise development occur at SSP

:|

Hey! I was trying to comment, but I got sidetracked. I actually wrote this post 4 hours ago.

It's great to see some lake/parkfront development down there. It's important that some of the condo focus be shifted to the south lakefront. The architecture looks good, (are those trees on the facade?) but it's hard to tell from the given rendering.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0611020216nov02,0,913778.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Reese sale bid poses Olympics question

By Kathy Bergen
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 2, 2006


The underused campus of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, one of the prime parcels on the redeveloping South Side, was put on the market this week, in a move that could reshape Chicago's dreams for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The city has selected the McCormick Place truck yards as the site for an Olympic Village, but would like to have additional land for that massive project, and the Reese campus, due west, would be a natural, said a source close to the bid. But the sale and redevelopment of that parcel could rule out the option of adding that enhancement.

The property, located between the burgeoning South Loop and Bronzeville neighborhoods, likely will be developed long before the Olympics, said one observer.

"I don't know that you'd want to put that on hold for 8 to 10 years while the Olympics occurred. That's probably not a good thing for the neighborhood," said urban planner Kim Goluska, president of Chicago Consultants Studio. "Bronzeville is probably Chicago's most dynamic developing neighborhood right now."

The city's Olympic planners say the property was not part of the plans submitted to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the sale listing does not affect plans in any way.

"We think we put forward a phenomenal plan focused on the athletes, and we feel confident that the proposal is going to be part of a winning bid," said Patrick Sandusky, a spokesman for the Chicago 2016 Committee.

Mundelein-based Medline, which owns the 37-acre property at 2929 S. Ellis Ave., has hired Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler to market the land, which has 27 buildings on it, of which about five are actively used by the hospital.

The listing, sent to developers early this week and obtained by the Tribune, states that the site "is ideally positioned for a multi-family residential development, neighborhood-oriented retail and a destination hotel." No asking price was given.

A private auction is planned, with Medline retaining the right not to sell. The price could run as high as $260 million to $300 million, according to one industry insider.

"Medline cares deeply about the surrounding community and any decision we make will reflect that concern," said Jim Abrams, chief operating officer of the health products company. "At this point, we have made no concrete decisions on whether or not to sell the property."

The 125-year-old hospital, which is far smaller now than it was in its heyday, will continue to operate on the site, said Dr. Enrique Beckmann, chairman and chief executive. The hospital has a lease for another 13 years, and would like to renovate existing buildings or build a new facility on the site, he said.

"We look forward to working with a new landlord to see what we can do to realize those plans," he said.

The 360-bed hospital, with an occupancy of about 160 inpatients, remains a vital source of service in the region and to the poor, he added.

Developing the site will be a complicated task, involving significant demolition and environmental cleanup. Many of the older buildings contain asbestos.

Nevertheless, interest in the property is expected to be high, given its location in a fast-growing area, its potential for unobstructed lake views, its closeness to downtown and its location within an existing tax increment financing district.

"All I can say, along with every other developer, is `We're interested,'" said Henry Lopez, senior vice president of Central Station Development, a massive South Loop residential project by Chicago-based Fogelson Properties and Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.

The same partnership is developing Eastgate Village, a residential project east of Mercy Hospital & Medical Center.

Among other interested developers is Draper and Kramer, owner of Prairie Shores and Lake Meadows apartment complexes and the Lake Meadows Shopping Center.

"Clearly this . . . will attract developers not only from Chicago but from other major communities that are envious of the way Chicago has managed the redevelopment of its central city," said Buzz Ruttenberg, chairman and chief executive of Chicago-based Belgravia Group, a residential and retail developer

http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=673
Portfolio: Chicago Southwest ‘Neighborhub’


A Chicago Southwest Community group and a major developer partner want to build a different kind of shopping center on the site of a former factory. The project is part of the New Communities Program's Community Investment Portfolio. The Cannery Shopping Center will be a "neighborhub" that appeals to ethnic communities underserved by retailers.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioCL_01.jpg

The new center will anchor neighborhood redevelopment.
Photo: General Growth Properties

It will bring together stores, restaurants and other foot traffic generating uses to create a destination that appeals to a broad audience. General Growth Properties, one of the world's largest shopping center developers, is working with Greater Southwest Development Corporation to construct up to 375,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

BENEFITS Originally a can factory, the site was redeveloped in the 1980s for retail uses, but much of the land remains unused. The Cannery will anchor this intersection as a major retail destination. The catalytic effect already can be

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioCL_02.jpg

The Jewel-Osco will be part of the mix.
Photo: Eric Young Smith

seen with a smaller retail center now being developed across the street.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION Greater Southwest Development Corporation (GSDC) was founded in 1974 to hold banks accountable for community disinvestment. GSDC's mission has broadened and, with its partners, it has been responsible for $500 million invested or retained in the neighborhood. Projects include a Jewel-Osco grocery store that was key to keeping 63rd and Western a vibrant retail district (and of which GSDC owns ¹/³); retention of the Nabisco bakery, which makes 22 million Oreo cookies a day; and housing developments, single-family rehabs and foreclosure-prevention work.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioCL_03.jpg

A large population lives nearby.
Photo: Eric Young Smith


LOCATION
60th Street and Western Avenue

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
$62 million for construction and mortgage financing; lease commitments

OVERALL PROJECT VALUE
$62 million

TIMELINE
Summer 2007 Break ground
Summer 2008 Completion

PARTNERS
General Growth Properties

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioCL_04.jpg

The site includes ample vacant land.
Photo: Eric Young Smith

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
James Capraro
312.822.1388

Excellent! The small rendering could be misleading, but it looks pretty nice and urbanist.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0612100297dec10,0,5100350.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
CITY REPORT
56 condos planned for S. Shore parcel

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published December 10, 2006

A 56-unit condo building is planned for vacant land in the South Shore neighborhood.

Shoreline Development LLC, from southwest suburban Justice, will build the project at 7812-16 S. South Shore Drive.

The Chicago Plan Commission last month approved the project as a residential planned development.

City Council approval is needed.

The 22,000 square-foot rectangular development site has roughly 110 feet of frontage on South Shore Drive, according to Lisa Hope-Washington, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development project manager who spoke to commissioners.

Shoreline Development will build an eight-story building with one-, two- and three-bedroom condos, according to Jim Banks, attorney for the developer, who spoke to commissioners last month.

Those units will be sold for $225,000 to $325,000, Banks told commissioners.

Units will range from 890 to 1,440 square feet, said Hope-Washington.

The building will have enclosed parking for 61 cars.

Planned near 28th and Halsted:

http://www.stonepointcondominiums.com/images/bldng.jpg

Wasn't sure were to put this so I just decided to stick it in the south side thread. Maybe we should start a Parks Development thread?

Ambitious idea to unite lakefront no small plan

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 13, 2006


Chicago should acquire more lakefront and create land where none is available as it pushes to complete the chain of parks along the South Shore, a prominent advocacy group is proposing.

Friends of the Parks (http://www.fotp.org/default.asp)has begun shopping an ambitious series of plans to give the public access to more than 2 miles of South Side lakefront currently off limits.

After meeting with Chicago Park District Supt. Tim Mitchell Tuesday, the group will make its pitch for the multimillion-dollar expansion in meetings and exhibits around the city.

Between 71st and 75th Streets, where the lakefront is occupied by residences, one idea is to use landfill to create islands--an archipelago connected by bridges that would allow the public to get around one of the last privately held stretches of shoreline, south to Rainbow Beach.

At the next gap in the chain of parks, the former USX property, about 123 acres has been set aside for a lakefront path, said Friends of the Parks President Erma Tranter. But because residents feel that stretch would be too narrow, the group's plan calls for building out into the lake and creating beaches.

Farther south, more than 40 acres at the mouth of the Calumet River designated as a confined disposal facility are expected to become park property once the facility is filled with dredge material and capped.

Big article. You can find the rest of it HERE (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0612130069dec13,1,7430565.story?coll=chi-news-hed).

http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=669
Portfolio: Washington Park townhomes

Washington Park is promoting St. Edmund's Commons Townhomes, which would transform vacant lots to the sites of affordable rental townhouses and a base for local renewal efforts, as part of the New Communities Program's Community Investment Portfolio. The project would consist of 53 rental townhouses, mostly three-bedroom units, built on 10 vacant lots, bolstering the return of middle-income housing in this reviving South Side neighborhood. The Commons will contain four units for households earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, 17 units for those earning less than 50 percent and 25 for those below 60 percent. The remaining five units will be leased at market rates.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioWP_01.jpg

New townhomes will be attractive and affordable.

Photo: Johnson and Lee Architects, Ltd.



BENEFITS The housing development will reduce the number of vacant lots that plague Washington Park ; expand the income range of neighborhood residents; serve as a neighborhood model for mixed-income housing; and attract other developers, including those offering homes for sale.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONSt. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation (SERC) works to renew the Washington Park community by developing quality housing and fostering revitalization opportunities for all people. SERC is working to redevelop former Chicago Housing Authority sites and vacant lots into successful mixed-income housing; create attractive gateways coming east from the Dan Ryan Expressway; revitalize commercial strips; increase parks and green space; and improve employment opportunities.

LOCATION
60th Street from Wabash to Indiana Avenues

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
$500,000 for gap financing

OVERALL PROJECT VALUE
$14.6 million

TIMELINE
2007 Construction
2008 Completion

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/portfolioWP_02.jpg

Older brick housing is being rehabbed.

Photo: Martha Brock



PARTNERS
Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th Ward), Charter Mac, Chicago Department of Housing, Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Chicago Housing Authority, Developers Mortgage Corporation, Gilead Management Company, LISC/Chicago, Redevelopment Service Corporation, Skender Construction Company, University of Chicago, Washington Park Neighborhood Association

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0107/newsstory0107i.htm

Halsted Street the gateway to 11th Ward revitalization

By April Galarza

As Halsted Street undergoes revitalization, it will grow into the gateway to a new and improved 11th Ward, benefiting the ward’s Bridgeport, Armour Park, Canaryville, McKinley Park, and Hoyne Park neighborhoods.

“Halsted Street is just the beginning,” said 11th Ward Alderman James A. Balcer. “We are a great city and we can only get better. I believe in the Mayor’s vision of the city, of education, reducing crime, and keeping businesses in the city.”

Halsted Street’s upgrade will start on Archer Avenue at the Chicago River and work its way south to 49th Street. Changes include a new bus station and carwash near the intersection of Archer and Halsted. Also, from Archer to 26th Street, Halsted recently has been street-scaped with new sidewalks, curbs, streetlights, and flower boxes, and from 30th to 33rd Streets pedestrians are enjoying new brick crosswalks.

Plans are the works to turn the old quarry on Halsted and 26th into a nature retreat that includes a hill, a pond, and an athletic field. At 31st Street and Halsted, a new police station is under construction, and a senior citizens building has been completed.

North of 31st Street, several new or refurbished businesses have been established such as Ace Bakery at 3241 S. Halsted St. From Archer Avenue to 31st Street along Halsted, cyclists now benefit from freshly painted bike lanes, and healthy green trees line the sidewalk. Cannatello Field bustles with activity, and bright lights illuminate the field for evening baseball games.

Phase two of the Halsted revitalization project includes streetscaping for either the stretch from 31st to 36th Streets and, separately, from 36th to 49th Streets; plans specify new sidewalks, new brick cross walks, fresh pavement, new streetlights, and flower boxes. The vacant land along Halsted south of 31st is designated for residential buildings, and a fountain has been installed at 34th Street with a new cul-de-sac providing plenty of green space.

Plans for the Ramova Theater are undetermined, but the theater will not be demolished, Balcer asserted. After saying his primary concern is safety, he noted he will try to salvage as much of the building as possible as he consults with developers on potential uses for it. Meanwhile, the old Brenner’s liquor store has been transformed into modern white brick townhouses, and plans are in place to expand both Allen Brothers wholesale meats and Boyd’s Park. A new local union office will move in at 38th Street and Halsted as well.

Some residents object to multi-unit dwellings, such as townhouses and condominiums, in the area. Balcer assured the community that, although some townhouses will be built based on community needs and the practicality of particular locations, his general intent is focusing on single-family housing.

“There are spots where you cannot put a single-family home but you still want residential areas, such as the building on 35th Street and Morgan Street,” Balcer said. “Also, a loft is an affordable alternative to buying a home and may draw new residents.”

Although the White Sox have brought considerable revenue to the ward, Balcer said the area needs more financial support. Both Balcer and Cook County Commissioner/11th Ward Committeeman John Daley are focusing on bringing more businesses into the ward.

The 11th Ward is a "great place to live," Balcer observed. “It’s located close to the Loop, is easily accessible to the Chicago Transit Authority Red and Orange Lines, and has Halsted, Archer, and the Dan Ryan and Stevenson Expressways as major thoroughfares.

“I try to keep the ward’s money in the ward," Balcer concluded. "I try to buy in my ward. My home, for example, was built by guys from this ward. I patronize the restaurants and other businesses here in the ward as much as I can. I try to keep whatever I do in the City of Chicago. That’s what my goal is, to build up the business district here and keep it going forward. It’s always been a good neighborhood and it can only grow stronger.” For more information, call Balcer's office at (773) 254-6677.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0107/newssti.jpg

This article's a couple months old - in politics, that would be ages, but around here, that's relatively recent. I really hope that Bronzeville can become integrated, too - not just blacks. If they can pull that off, it will be a HUGE step forward in the desegregation of the city.

Bronzeville wants city's empty lots
Affordable-housing advocates also seek tax for a trust fund

By Johnathon E. Briggs
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 23, 2006

While residents in many Chicago neighborhoods try to fight gentrification by setting goals for affordable housing, some residents of Bronzeville, dubbed the capital of black America in the 1940s, are taking a different tact.

They want the city to set aside hundreds of vacant lots seized for delinquent taxes when the community hit hard times so that affordable housing can be built on the land. And they want property owners to pay an additional tax to support a housing trust fund to make it happen.

Housing advocates say that Bronzeville, once again a fashionable destination for buttoned-down professionals and bohemians alike, could set a precedent for other neighborhoods on the South and West Sides that are riddled with empty city-owned lots--and ripe for revitalization.

There are 1,156 such lots in Bronzeville, 703 in the 3rd Ward alone, according to an analysis of 2005 city records by Housing Bronzeville, a coalition of renters, property owners and others pushing the trust fund. The properties typically land in the city's hands when owners don't pay taxes and the buildings are abandoned and eventually demolished.

Long-term, the coalition seeks to have 26 percent of those lots set aside at below-market cost to promote home ownership for neighborhood families earning $34,000 to $51,000 a year. Short-term, the coalition is working to establish a Bronzeville housing trust fund supported by a 0.9 percent increase of all Bronzeville property tax bills (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).

While campaign organizers are just beginning to tackle the former goal, they've already made traction on the latter.

More than 18,000 voters--nearly 86 percent of all who voted in the four wards that make up historic Bronzeville--supported the concept in a advisory referendum in November 2004.

Housing Bronzeville's next step is to pursue legislation at the city or state level that would allow voters to decide on a binding referendum. Their effort is modeled after a successful referendum in 1988 that created self-taxing districts on the Northwest and Southwest Sides to protect the market values of houses as the neighborhoods became more racially diverse.

<continued> (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0611230195nov23,1,7042112.story)

Design plans for the proposed South Shore Lakefront Park are HERE (http://www.fotp.org/programs/pubtrust/southlakefrontplans.pdf).

Main headline ("Cornell Highrise Stalled"). Bummer!

http://www.hpherald.com/p1.jpg

http://www.hpherald.com/

TUP, you need to start hosting these Hyde Park Herald images on Imageshack or something - they change every day, so your post only makes sense for one day.

Just an FYI - it's too bad, I'm really starting to like Studio Gang's stuff.

"Police station under construction" at 31st & Halsted? I don't know if putting up a sign announcing that it's coming soon is considered construction activity, but I guess it's a step in the right direction.

Along that same stretch (along Halsted around 32nd), there's the hulk of a half-finished condo project that hasn't changed in months or years. Anybody know the story behind that?

Just an FYI - it's too bad, I'm really starting to like Studio Gang's stuff.

^ That building isn't the Studio Gang building. The one the article was discussing (before the page changed) was by L3 Development at 53rd and Cornell.

I just hope that this is simply a 'stall' and that the project eventually moves forward, esp since the developer took so long finally reaching a consensus with all of those picky Hyde Park NIMBY's.

Oh - well, you only said "Cornell" in the text of your post, and I couldn't read the article since I saw the post the day after you posted it, and the image had changed to the next day's headlines.

So, I naturally assumed it was the highrise on Cornell that had been mentioned at the top of the page.

Oh, and by an interesting coincidence - even though the newspaper images have been refreshed, the one at the top of the page, originally intended to show the 56th/Cornell, Studio Gang tower, now has an update on the 53rd/Cornell project.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0701210425jan21,0,6083399.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
Retail, residential to mix in S. Shore
Neighborhood ready for `spark'

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published January 21, 2007

A mixed-use development with 34 condominiums is planned for a vacant city-owned parcel on the northeast corner of 71st Street and Paxton Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood.

The development entity, Doc Toast LLC, has agreed to pay the city the appraised market-rate value for the land--$275,000 for the 25,193-square-foot tract at 2204-24 E. 71st St.

The LLC is a partnership between Chicago-area rehabber Herschel Tolson; attorney and investor William Lowry; and Oak Park-based architect and builder John Schiess of Metropolis Architects and Builders.

Schiess has designed and built custom-houses in neighborhoods including North Kenwood, Pilsen and Humboldt Park. And Metropolis has designed several projects that are underway or completed in Oak Park, such as Opera Club Condominiums, Madison Square Townhomes and Maple Square Townhomes.

"On this corner of the South Shore neighborhood, we think we will be a catalyst for change. It is an area that is idling, just waiting for a spark. I see a big transformation on [71st Street] in the next three to five years," Schiess said.

"There are great storefronts with great character, 1920s and '30s architecture that need rehab more than new construction. There are plenty of vacant lots but the streetscape is just great, and those lots can be used for parking to support new retail. There is enough new housing in the periphery ... we looked at that and said `boy, the people who live in this housing will really need services,'" Schiess said.

The Chicago Community Development Commission approved the land sale in December. City Council approval is expected in February, Schiess said.

The developer will build 26 two-bed, 2 1/2- bath units with 970 to 1,100 square feet; two 912-square-foot 1-bed, 1 1/2-bath condos and six 1,100- to 1,166-square-foot three-bed, 2 1/2-bath units. They will be priced from $250,000 to $275,000.

The building will have 8,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space, Schiess said. A restaurateur has submitted a letter to the developer expressing interesting in opening a sit-down pancake house there.

"We are looking for a tenant that can offer services, a food pantry type of place that will meet needs of condo owners or a bookstore," Schiess said.

The developer will sell the units through an independent realty agent, from an on-site sales center that will open in early spring. Construction is expected to begin in early summer, Schiess said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0701210409jan21,0,6738761.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed
Non-profit group to build mixed-used project in Brighton Park

By Jeanette Almada
Special to the Tribune
Published January 21, 2007

A non-profit community organization will build a mixed-use project in the Brighton Park neighborhood that will include office space and housing for seniors.

The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council won approval to build the project from the December ChicagoPlan Commission, which oversees large developments.

The non-profit group will build the mixed-use project on a 15,770-square-foot site on the east side of Spaulding Avenue near 47th Street.

Residential housing is just north of that site, a few light industrial building are to the south and west and a city-approved business planned development is slated just to the southeast.

The developer will raze two buildings a brick two-story commercial building at 3256 W. 47th St., and a vacant two-story residential building at 3246 W. 47th St., to make way for an eight-story building.

"We hope to begin demolition in early spring," said Marina Rey, executive director of the Back of the Yard Neighborhood Council.

The eight-story building will have 60 units of unassisted housing for seniors on floors three through eight, according to Alex Thompson, vice president of Chicago-based Recon Development LTD, which has been hired as consultant on the project.

Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council will move its office to the second floor of the building from 1751 W. 47th St.

Along with a theater/dance center/gymnasium and a day-care center with room for 125 children, the first floor will have a center with a meeting room and offices for the senior portion of the building, said Thompson. "We are talking to seniors property managers" to oversee those operations.

Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council has created an entity called Brighton Park Seniors Neighborhood Council to develop the project, Thompson said. It is seeking low-income housing tax credits from the Chicago Department of Housing and the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Thompson said.

It also will seek Tax Increment Financing for the project, though the amount of assistance has not been determined, Thompson said.

Chicago-based KLLM Architects has designed the building.

"We hope to have all of the financing in place by spring and will begin construction then," Thompson said.

An update from the Dept of P&D's website:
Mixed-use project proposed for South Shore

Retail portion would include a partial green roof


Mayor Richard M. Daley today introduced an ordinance into the Chicago City Council that would pave the way for the creation a new mixed-use development project in the South Shore community.

The proposal would allow the Department of Planning and Development to sell three city-owned parcels of vacant land at 2204-24 E. 71st St. at their appraised value. A three-story residential and commercial development would then be built on the site that would include 34 market-rate condominiums and 8,600 square feet of retail space.

"This sale is an example of how developers investing in our communities can have a positive impact on the lives of our residents," said Mayor Daley. "This one project will not only turn vacant land into new housing, it also bring more retail into the area and create jobs."

The condominiums would range in size from one bedroom and one-and-a-half baths to two bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths.

The development would include 45 enclosed parking spaces at the rear of the building and a partial green roof over the retail portion of the structure. Once completed, the retail stores are expected to employ 15 full and part-time jobs.

The developer, Doc Toast LLC, expects the total cost of the project to be $8.85 million. The development would be funded privately.

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070215005333&newsLang=en

Capri Capital Partners LLC Announces Plans For Major Mixed-Use Development in Chicago
February 15, 2007 06:00 AM Eastern Time

Capri Capital Partners, LLC (“Capri”) in a joint venture with Judson Investment Company (“Judson”) has announced it will develop “The Metropolis,” a proposed three phase mixed-use project located at the intersection of South State Street and Pershing Road (39th Street) on the south side of Chicago.

The Metropolis will be an architecturally significant development planned to consist of approximately 1,000,000 square feet. In its first phase of 500,000 square feet, the project will include expansive green space surrounded by two six-story curvilinear buildings of steel and glass. Approximately 330,000 square feet of commercial retail area and 102 residential condominium units are planned in the initial phase at a cost of $155 million. Future phases are planned to include three towers dedicated to residential and hotel uses.

The visionary development will further the economic vitalization and transformation of Chicago’s historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard community. Both interim construction and permanent employment will be generated for the community due to the substantial investment that the joint venture is making.

“Beyond economic development for the community, the ultimate design intent of Metropolis is to create a “city center” for the near south side of Chicago,” said Quintin E. Primo III, Chairman & CEO of Capri. “Importantly, the project addresses the chronic lack of commercial retail in the area and will offer market rate and affordable housing to the growing community. Twenty percent of the 102 condominiums will be reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers, earning no more than 80% of the area’s median per capita income.

“This extraordinary investment in this particular place demonstrates confidence in Chicago’s vision for the transformation of places once dominated by decaying public housing into new communities of hope,” said Jonathan F. Fanton, President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and a founder of The Partnership for New Communities, a group of Chicago business and civic leaders dedicated to community revitalization. Primo is a member of The Partnership Board.

“Our mission is not about fixing up a block or two, not about a few high-profile social programs, not about a temporary fix,” Fanton said. “Transformation means deep, widespread, and permanent change. So, we applaud Quintin and Capri Capital Partners for looking beyond the surface… for listening to what the data were actually saying about the marketplace… for imagining what could be… and for demonstrating the leadership to make it happen.”

“The architectural vision for Metropolis is an abstract expression of Bronzeville’s unique cultural history,” said Ross Wimer, Design Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (“SOM”). “The building façades recall the repeated musical patterns of blues and jazz and the residential unit layouts invoke harmonious rhythms and the ideals of freedom and flexibility.

“A public venue celebrating African American history and culture will be located in the central, curvilinear public park,” added Wimer. “It will encourage learning, activity and dialogue between the retail spaces and the public. At the corner of State and Pershing, the proposed digital clock tower announces both the new landmark development and the renaissance of the historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood.

CB Richard Ellis is the exclusive leasing agent for Metropolis.

“We’re extremely encouraged by the anticipated transformation of this market,” said Todd Caruso, Regional Head of Retail for CB Richard Ellis. “The Metropolis is well-positioned between the Roosevelt Road retail corridor north and new retail development occurring on 87th Street south. The lack of retail supply in the general area should allow the project to readily draw shoppers from the surrounding 15 neighborhood communities.”

“This project is important to the south side, and the numbers speak for themselves,” said Primo. “According to MetroEdge, approximately $671 million of the total $909 million in mid-south consumer expenditures represent “retail leakage,” or dollars spent by residents outside their community.”

“The project is historically significant in so many ways,” said Hugh Williams, President and CEO of Judson Investment Company. “As minority-owned firms, Judson and Capri understand that Metropolis sits in the middle of an underserved area in the early stages of a rebirth. It will attract middle- and upper-income residents that will integrate with existing low-income area residents, who have been denied access to grocery stores and other simple amenities that people want in their neighborhoods.”

The site is bordered by Pershing Road (39th Street) to the North, 40th Street to the South, Chicago Rock Island Railroad Embankment to the West and State Street to the East.

http://www.cpnonline.com/cpn/regions/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003546523

Mixed-Use Development Slated for Chicago's South Side
February 15, 2007
By Dees Stribling, Midwest Correspondent

Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners L.L.C., in a joint venture with Judson Investment Co., has unveiled plans to develop a three-phase mixed-use project on the South Side of the city. All together, the three phases of the project, called the Metropolis, will total about 1 million square feet of residential, retail and ultimately hotel space. Ground will be broken on the project (pictured) sometime this fall.

"We’re following the lead of two neighboring projects, Legends to the south, and the Park Boulevard to the north," Quintin E. Primo III, Chairman & CEO of Capri, told CPN this afternoon. "Sales at those projects have been very impressive, and we expect the same kind of demand for the Metropolis."

The first phase, measuring about 500,000 square feet, will include two six-story buildings. Cost for the roughly 330,000 square feet of retail space and 102 condo units of the first phase will be about $155 million, according to Capri. Future phases will include three additional towers of residential and hotel space.

The project’s location, at 39th and State Street on the South Side, is in Chicago's historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood. In recent years, according to the developers, the area has been underserved in terms of retail, a situation the development is hoping to help alleviate. Also planned for the site are public green space, a venue celebrating African American history--details of which remain to be determined--and perhaps a digital clock tower.

"The neighborhood has been grossly underserved by retailers for a long time,” noted Primo. “But now they’re very interested in locating there, because of residential growth nearby. We’re definitely going to have a grocery store as a tenant, 58,000 to 70,000 square feet. A bank and a drug store for the location are also very likely."

The residential part of the development will offer both market rate and affordable housing options. About 20 percent of the 102 condominiums will be reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers, earning no more than 80 percent of the area's median per capita income, according to Capri.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1346/metropoliswb9.jpg

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company announce
‘The Metropolis’ Mixed-Use Revitalization Development on Chicago’s South Side

February 15, 2007 10:57 AM Eastern Time

Today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (“SOM”) in partnership with Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company, announced their involvement in a community revitalization project in Bronzeville, located on Chicago’s south side. The Metropolis, situated at the intersection of Pershing Road and South State Street, is planned to cover one million square feet and will become the area’s largest mixed-use complex. The proposed development will feature 150,000 square feet of residential condominiums, 330,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of site improvements including an open-air park with fountain, a public library and underground parking. The site, bounded by an abandoned railway along the south, will be demolished to give way to the new development.

SOM was selected to develop the architectural concept for the Metropolis. According to Design Partner Ross Wimer, “the design for Metropolis was inspired by Bronzeville’s African-American heritage rooted in blues and jazz. In addition, “a significant focus is the incorporation of sustainable elements that will be implemented, reinforcing the City of Chicago’s commitment to green design. These include photovoltaic cells (solar panels) in the clock tower that will provide power for the development, and a “green roof” that will help insulate the buildings and control storm-water run-off, as well as provide a park for residents, ” said Wimer.

Managing Partner Richard F. Tomlinson II is working in tandem with Ross Wimer on the Metropolis initiative. “We are honored to be able to make a contribution to this underserved community and the City of Chicago by helping to create an architecturally significant design that will serve as a centerpiece for the area’s vitality and growth opportunities,” said Tomlinson. “Throughout SOM’s history, we have been committed to using our deep resources and experience to help advance the dynamic growth of the community at large through forward-looking projects that make a larger contribution to the City.”

The SOM Chicago office has extensive experience in working with the City to revitalize communities and open spaces, such as Millennium Park, the Chicago Central Area Plan and Lakeshore East. Currently, the firm is actively working on plans to develop Lakeside (Southworks), and recently proposed developments on the south side and on the lakefront as part of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid.

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1830/50862862ys9.jpg

^^^ Holy, holy Fcuk!! WOW, that is BALLS right there!!

^^^ Holy, holy Fcuk!! WOW, that is BALLS right there!!

That's what you get when you give SOM a huge empty lot with nothing around it except other empty lots, the Green Line, and the Dan Ryan.

wow, amazing......

That's great news for the south side. Does anyone have a larger picture of the the small one posted?

Hell yeah! I love to see the Southside compete with the Northside at some point. This might be the most important step towards that goal.
Who wouldnt love a Chicago that has a massive urban core from Hyde Park to Downtown Evanston? What is that, 15 miles?

The Southside has alot of CTA stations and Metra stations. It has many sites just begging to be redeveloped like 39th and State.

Mixed-Use Development Slated for Chicago's South Side
February 15, 2007
By Dees Stribling, Midwest Correspondent


Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners L.L.C., in a joint venture with Judson Investment Co., has unveiled plans to develop a three-phase mixed-use project on the South Side of the city. All together, the three phases of the project, called the Metropolis, will total about 1 million square feet of residential, retail and ultimately hotel space. Ground will be broken on the project (pictured) sometime this fall.

"We’re following the lead of two neighboring projects, Legends to the south, and the Park Boulevard to the north," Quintin E. Primo III, Chairman & CEO of Capri, told CPN this afternoon. "Sales at those projects have been very impressive, and we expect the same kind of demand for the Metropolis."



The first phase, measuring about 500,000 square feet, will include two six-story buildings. Cost for the roughly 330,000 square feet of retail space and 102 condo units of the first phase will be about $155 million, according to Capri. Future phases will include three additional towers of residential and hotel space.

The project’s location, at 39th and State Street on the South Side, is in Chicago's historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood. In recent years, according to the developers, the area has been underserved in terms of retail, a situation the development is hoping to help alleviate. Also planned for the site are public green space, a venue celebrating African American history--details of which remain to be determined--and perhaps a digital clock tower.

"The neighborhood has been grossly underserved by retailers for a long time,” noted Primo. “But now they’re very interested in locating there, because of residential growth nearby. We’re definitely going to have a grocery store as a tenant, 58,000 to 70,000 square feet. A bank and a drug store for the location are also very likely."

The residential part of the development will offer both market rate and affordable housing options. About 20 percent of the 102 condominiums will be reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers, earning no more than 80 percent of the area's median per capita income, according to Capri.

http://www.cpnonline.com/commercialpropertynews/photos/general3/Metropolis.jpg

That is absolutely STUNNING!!

I wonder what the layout of this development will be in relation to the streetgrid

:applause: :applause: :applause:

The Bronzeville area (and others to the south along the lakefront down to Hyde Park) that is redeveloping so beautifully today, I hope will be able to accomplish the following:

• continue the restoration and enhancement of the tradition of the Black Metropolis that made it so vibrant in the first half of the 20th century

• do so in a way that it sets the trend for all of Chicago, Chicagoland (and frankly the nation) that is totally integrated and totally welcoming for all.

Do you think it can pull this off...an area with a black soul and black soul itself, keeping the traditons that made it great, but a placed where Martin Luther King would be happy to see people judge people not by the color of their skin but by their their very humanity?

Hell yeah! I love to see the Southside compete with the Northside at some point. This might be the most important step towards that goal.
Who wouldnt love a Chicago that has a massive urban core from Hyde Park to Downtown Evanston? What is that, 15 miles?


Why stop at Hyde Park?
Try South Shore to Evanston. More than 20 miles. Manhattan is 13, for comparison sake.

Capri JV Reveals $500M Mixed-Use Project
By Gina Kenny
http://www.globest.com/news/845_845/chicago/152996-1.html

CHICAGO-A joint venture between Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Co., both minority-owned companies based in Chicago, announced Thursday a one-million-sf project called The Metropolis for the South Side of Chicago. The mixed-use project will be completed in three phases at the intersection of South State Street and Pershing Road. The project is currently estimated at $500 million, says Quintin Primo, chairman and chief executive officer of Capri.

The first phase of the development will be two, six-story, curvilinear buildings, with two stories of retail extending from each, totaling 500,000 sf. The buildings will have approximately 330,000 sf of retail on the first two floors with 102 condominium units on the remaining four floors. Construction is estimated to begin in the fall and should take between 15 and 18 months to complete.

The developers are in “preliminary discussions” with a grocery store for 50,000 sf to 70,000 sf, Primo tells GlobeSt.com. There has also been “keen interest” from a “drug store chain” and a bank. “We think that by the time we start demolition of an embankment that is there, we should have between 40% and 50% of the space accounted for,” he says. Primo would not disclose the asking lease rate for the building.

The condominium units will consist of both market rate units and units for buyers with low to moderate income, he says. The market rate units will sell for between $250,000 and $400,000, Primo says. There will be 20% of the units reserved for buyers with low to moderate income, which will sell for between $150,000 and $200,000, he says.

An art and technology center will also be part of the first phase and will likely be constructed in the “expansive green space” around the building, Primo says. The center will probably have a theme celebrating African-Americans and will have a computer center and a recording studio that residents of the area will be able to use for free, he says says. The developers are in discussions with the John B. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to help underwrite the cost of the building, Primo says.

The property adjacent to the development includes two public housing towers. Primo says the developers felt it was important to include affordable housing and amenities for the community, such as the center and a grocery store. “In all of our projects in urban communities, we are committed to serving existing residents,” Primo says.

The development will be a three-phase project and is should be completed in 2013 or 2014. Other phases of the project will include three towers with residential units and a hotel.

Does anyone know what the status of the Southworks project is?

Does anyone know what the status of the Southworks project is?

^ It began weeks ago. Frustrated with tedious city bureaucracy, renegade workers have arrived and begun construction without plans, financing or city approval:

http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/c621e3df168d9011ca25700a0080012b/$FILE/Concrete%20Pour%20-%20Loop%20construction.jpg

^ It began weeks ago. Frustrated with tedious city bureaucracy, renegade workers have arrived and begun construction without plans, financing or city approval:

http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/c621e3df168d9011ca25700a0080012b/$FILE/Concrete%20Pour%20-%20Loop%20construction.jpg

Does this kind of thing happen often? Does the city have the power to halt the construction? Do you think there is a strong likelihood that they would halt construction?

Do you know if they have started construction on just one building in the project or are they working on numerous buildings right now?

Does this kind of thing happen often? Does the city have the power to halt the construction? Do you think there is a strong likelihood that they would halt construction?

No. Yes. I don't know.

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1830/50862862ys9.jpg

^ I'm sorry to repost this huge image, but this has got to be the coolest non-highrise project planned in Chicago. WOW!.
It's oozing with style, from the curvaceous lines to the stacked floors to that winding staircase in the middle of the park. Architecture is back in a BIG WAY, baby!

If this were planned on the northside, I"m sure there would be a flurry of discussion about it. But for me, I am very excited to find out more about this development

Does this kind of thing happen often? Does the city have the power to halt the construction? Do you think there is a strong likelihood that they would halt construction?

^ I'm afraid the city cannot stop the work, because they never filed for a construction permit. Thus, without a legally binding document, the city's authority is nullified

Do you know if they have started construction on just one building in the project or are they working on numerous buildings right now?

^ It's unclear--it looks like probably more than one building. But we may never know until it's finished :ohno:

i saw an article in the friday sun times about a new hotel to be built in china town (looks like 10-12 stories from the rendering) which dons a pegoda style roof , looks like a nice addition to that neighborhood

^Yes, that developer is very busy with projects around Chinatown.

Imperial Court Hotel Plaza - 150 rooms + 20000 s.f. retail
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4827/imperialctdayag8.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1690/imperialctnightho8.jpg

Millennium East Plaza - 18th and Canal - 200000 s.f. retail
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/3782/millenniumeastqj3.jpg

Canal Crossing - 2328 S Canal - 60 units + retail
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6938/canalcrossingbo0.jpg

24th and Canal - office/retail/condo
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/976/24canalwb0.jpg

^ Great find, Spyguy.

I like everything but the third pic. Surface parking blows

WOW! This developer seems like he will do wonders for the Near South Side and Chinatown.

^ I'm afraid the city cannot stop the work, because they never filed for a construction permit. Thus, without a legally binding document, the city's authority is nullified

Urb, do you have any authority to back up this point? If that were the case, then anyone could do anything they pleased with their land with total impunity. In other words, someone could build a ten story pastel pink building in an area zoned for low-rise residential and get away with it, so long as they didn't file for a permit. It would be the mother of all loopholes.

^ I'm hurt, Hydrogen.

But then again, I'm also pleasantly surprised. I never thought for a second that my attempt at humor would actually be taken seriously :lol:

I must ask, though--did you guys actually believe that bullshit story I concocted, as well as the random google pic? I honestly didn't expect the response that I got

^ I'm hurt, Hydrogen.

But then again, I'm also pleasantly surprised. I never thought for a second that my attempt at humor would actually be taken seriously :lol:

I must ask, though--did you guys actually believe that bullshit story I concocted, as well as the random google pic? I honestly didn't expect the response that I got

You're a bastard. ;) Seriously, though, I never would've figured you to be a man of sarcasm.

all of this south side development makes me wonder....if the city gets the Olympics....will the North Side start to play second fiddle by 2016?

Spy - I like the background on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pics. None of those are accurate (First one is an Asian city, #2 is some other American city, and #3, well - there's no L line anywhere near 18th/Canal)

Of course, the surroundings at either of those sites leave much to be desired, from a marketing perspective.

all of this south side development makes me wonder....if the city gets the Olympics....will the North Side start to play second fiddle by 2016?

Good question. I think the Southside is thinking bigger and drawing more interesting projects. Some of that is due to available land, some is due to vision and less NIMBYism that plague northside neighborhoods like Jefferson Park.
Chicago has so much to be discovered, and it is finally happening.

Or roughest areas surround massive parks like Garfield and Washington. Some of Chicago's best housing stock are located in edgy hoods. But what happens when people start to move back into these areas? I can honestly see these huge parks with apartment towers looming over them, silimar to Lincoln and Grant. I can see hotels, B&Bs, more so around Garfield.

I am all for the westside and southside competing with the northside. Its all about the city getting better.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company announce
‘The Metropolis’ Mixed-Use Revitalization Development on Chicago’s South Side

February 15, 2007 10:57 AM Eastern Time

Today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (“SOM”) in partnership with Capri Capital Partners and Judson Investment Company, announced their involvement in a community revitalization project in Bronzeville, located on Chicago’s south side. The Metropolis, situated at the intersection of Pershing Road and South State Street, is planned to cover one million square feet and will become the area’s largest mixed-use complex. The proposed development will feature 150,000 square feet of residential condominiums, 330,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of site improvements including an open-air park with fountain, a public library and underground parking. The site, bounded by an abandoned railway along the south, will be demolished to give way to the new development.

SOM was selected to develop the architectural concept for the Metropolis. According to Design Partner Ross Wimer, “the design for Metropolis was inspired by Bronzeville’s African-American heritage rooted in blues and jazz. In addition, “a significant focus is the incorporation of sustainable elements that will be implemented, reinforcing the City of Chicago’s commitment to green design. These include photovoltaic cells (solar panels) in the clock tower that will provide power for the development, and a “green roof” that will help insulate the buildings and control storm-water run-off, as well as provide a park for residents, ” said Wimer.

Managing Partner Richard F. Tomlinson II is working in tandem with Ross Wimer on the Metropolis initiative. “We are honored to be able to make a contribution to this underserved community and the City of Chicago by helping to create an architecturally significant design that will serve as a centerpiece for the area’s vitality and growth opportunities,” said Tomlinson. “Throughout SOM’s history, we have been committed to using our deep resources and experience to help advance the dynamic growth of the community at large through forward-looking projects that make a larger contribution to the City.”

The SOM Chicago office has extensive experience in working with the City to revitalize communities and open spaces, such as Millennium Park, the Chicago Central Area Plan and Lakeshore East. Currently, the firm is actively working on plans to develop Lakeside (Southworks), and recently proposed developments on the south side and on the lakefront as part of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid.

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1830/50862862ys9.jpg

Thats pretty plain and functional. I wouldent call it a masterpeice, but its pretty interesting, especially the colored glass. Are there any other designs like this for that area?

Thats pretty plain and functional. I wouldent call it a masterpeice, but its pretty interesting, especially the colored glass. Are there any other designs like this for that area?

^ Plain and functional? Eh? What in blazes are you talking about? Are we on the same planet? Let me give you an example of plain and functional:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6938/canalcrossingbo0.jpg

Well, I wouldent call that plain and functional, it has the stucco detailing, brick, craftsmanship, and more detailing then that other design, but I think both have that ZING ZAP BANG BUBOOM, kinda thing. Is that stucco or stone? Either way the structure is charming in my opinion. What is the function of both designs?

Well, I wouldent call that plain and functional, it has the stucco detailing, brick, craftsmanship, and more detailing then that other design,

^ It has more craftsmanship? This building doesn't even exist yet.

It has stucco "detailing" (as you refer to it) and brick, and that makes it less plain than the other building? Have you seen enough buildings with stucco and brick in Chicago?

So another dime a dozen square brick building in Chicago isn't plain in your eyes, but a glassy, wavy building with each level staggered from the one below it and with different colored windows, all breaking from the rigid streetgrid to form an oval streetscape--IS plain to you. Just what school of thought are you representing here?

Either way the structure is charming in my opinion. What is the function of both designs?

^ The same. Residential over retail

Interesting. Yes, in the Chicago area it would be plain, but the other design would probably fit more snug in the chicago atmisphere. I am not a fan of alot of modern architecture, but I do admire the creativity. That brick design, we need more of those in Indianapolis. The park is interesting. When is it to be constructed?

I am not a fan of alot of modern architecture, but I do admire the creativity. That brick design, we need more of those in Indianapolis. The park is interesting. When is it to be constructed?

^ Work has already begun:

http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/c621e3df168d9011ca25700a0080012b/$FILE/Concrete%20Pour%20-%20Loop%20construction.jpg

^ Work has already begun:

http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/doi/doielect.nsf/2a6bd98dee287482ca256915001cff0c/c621e3df168d9011ca25700a0080012b/$FILE/Concrete%20Pour%20-%20Loop%20construction.jpg

I thought that this was a picture of Southworks, no?

the south side development is impressive,
on the north side it mainly consists of knocking down frame houses,
or white elephants that no longer are feasible and putting up condos,

Due to the open land available and relative dearth of nimbies (hyde park being the exception) it looks like alot is being accomplished.

There has been a slow down on northside (not the near north) construction (atleast when it comes to cool projects, atleast it seems to be), which is surprising,
but bravo to the southside!

Renegade construction workers huh? :)

I know, I read about the knocking down of many beautiful homes. Thats just retched, demolishing homes that have lasted so long with all their beauty. It will scar the city's northside, and that is for sure. I have seen photos of beautiful homes being demolished. Perhaps the genereal public is not educated nearly enough on historical preservation? But thats the problem with most cities in the US. Lack of public awareness.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4827/imperialctdayag8.jpg



Aw, HELL no. Are they kidding?

Its sorta odd for Chicago, is it located near a chinese neighborhood? I think its a cool exotic design, but will it fit?

Its sorta odd for Chicago, is it located near a chinese neighborhood? I think its a cool exotic design, but will it fit?

It is in Chicago's Chinatown, which is not really very expansive at all. But, this rendering is unrealistic at best.

More China for Chinatown?
(http://www.suntimes.com/business/259600,CST-FIN-china16.article)

February 16, 2007

BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Boldly promising a new landmark for Chinatown, two entrepreneurs want to construct a hotel that appeals to ethnic pride and the neighborhood's proximity to McCormick Place.

See Wong, a Chinatown home builder, and business partner Peter Siu have proposed a 175-room hotel at the southwest corner of Clark and Archer. At 15 stories, it will be prominent in the area, particularly with its ornate, pagoda-style roof.

Wong said the Asian influence will be apparent throughout the operation. He said the floors will be dedicated to one of three ancient Chinese dynasties, with custom furniture dedicated to those periods and the principles of feng shui honored.

The hotel would be called Grand Imperial and occupy a narrow slice of land that once was a junkyard.

Wong, whose architectural firm is Gurnee-based Haylock Design, hopes to start the project later this year, and deliver the hotel in 2009.

The $50 million hotel will be run independently, not part of a national chain. Wong said he will sell the rooms to investors for about $250,000 each. The so-called condo-hotel option has enjoyed only limited acceptance in the Chicago market, and has done better in warm-weather vacation destinations.

But Wong said his project will succeed because it is near McCormick Place and should draw conventioneers who don't want to pay downtown prices. Many of those visitors are from China, and "they are often repeat visitors" when they find a hotel they like, he said.

"The Chinese economy is booming, and most of the businessmen do a lot of overseas travel for conventions. Chicago is one of the most popular destinations," he said.

He and Siu, who runs an accounting firm, have filed a zoning request with the city to build the hotel. The application will lead to hearings and a vote in the City Council, a process that usually takes several months.


droeder@suntimes.com

LANGUAGE AND PERCEPTION :
Selling the South Side

With gentrification comes a new identity, name

By Natalie Y. Moore
Published February 11, 2007


Ever since Mayor Richard Daley announced Washington Park as his choice for a 2016 Olympic stadium, the area increasingly has been referred to as the "mid-South Side." It's a curious label.

The area encompasses Bronzeville, North Kenwood, Woodlawn and Washington Park--the historic Black Belt of Chicago. It is a setting that writers Lorraine Hansberry and Richard Wright portrayed in their influential works "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Native Son," where U.S. Rep. William Dawson assembled black political muscle to deliver Democratic votes and where the Rolling Stones trekked to hear authentic blues.



"Mid-South Side" sounds like a byproduct of gentrification and a stab at recasting the area's rich history--using language to conjure a new identity.

My mother grew up in Woodlawn in the 1950s and '60s. The neighbors were more than friendly, 63rd Street buzzed with businesses, and my Georgia-born grandparents were members of a Baptist church on their block.

By 1980, my grandparents were retired and had grown weary of the gangs that had taken over the neighborhood. Blight encircled them. A bombed-out apartment building across the street resembled an urban carcass. Fed up, they moved to a two-flat in Park Manor, not far from 71st Street and King Drive.

I live in Beverly, and as I contemplate buying a place, my search has brought me full circle to Woodlawn, home to new and renovated housing with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors.

I have always wanted to buy south because my family and social networks reside there, and I see home-buying as a way of building community wealth.

Many of my friends have purchased homes in Bronzeville and Washington Park, areas we probably didn't picture ourselves in when we were growing up. We lived in "safe" black or diverse neighborhoods such as Chatham, Hyde Park, Beverly and Pill Hill.

Developers are expanding out of downtown and steadily breaking ground on $300,000-plus condos and town homes. And, across the country, transitional neighborhoods in big cities are enticing urban professionals.

On the South Side, public housing high-rises are nearly all demolished. And the transformation of once run-down graystones and six-flats into elegant homes is exciting. So is seeing art galleries on King Drive and cafes on 47th Street. South Siders have long lamented that they were ignored economically while other parts of the city reaped commercial vitality. A new Starbucks on the South Side has been a cause for cartwheels.A University of Illinois at Chicago gentrification study from 2000-'01 warned about the negative effects of the uneven development that accompanies rapid neighborhood change. Some of these negative effects include low-income households that are forced to move.



Professionals replace the poor

Black professionals are moving in where less affluent families are being pushed out--to poorer black neighborhoods or to the south suburbs. It's conflicting to know that gentrification benefits newcomers like me and my friends. Meanwhile, public-housing residents have become scattered, and only a fraction will be allowed to return once their housing complexes are redeveloped into mixed-income communities.

New households are holding their breath for the neighborhoods to be built up commercially and for crime rates to drop. New businesses and services often follow with new demographics. But residents of all stripes deserve decent stores and restaurants, such as the one promised by a cutesy fried chicken and waffle sign near Oakwood Boulevard.

And as the revitalization flourishes, the use of the term "mid-South" instead of the less-sexy South Side smacks of an attempt to make the neighborhoods more tolerable or palatable (read: less black) to developers and potential residents.

Chicago historian Dempsey Travis, president of Travis Realty Co., said "mid-South" is a sanitized term to make whites who move to the area more comfortable.

"It was always Bronzeville, and that was a synonym for black--or colored," said Travis, 90. "I think there's an effort to actually gentrify much of that mid-South Side."

Gentrification reminds him of an earlier era when blacks were not wanted in the neighborhood. As a child he couldn't patronize the theater at Pershing Road and Drexel Boulevard. In the late 1930s, his was among the first black families to move to 36th Street and Cottage Grove.In the early 1990s, the non-profit Mid-South Planning and Development Commission was charged with improving the neighborhood, said Leroy Kennedy, associate vice president for community development at the Illinois Institute of Technology and a commission member. He said the group used "mid-South" simply as a geographic locator.That effort led to a revival of the name Bronzeville, which had not been used since its heyday decades earlier.

"Bronzeville is more of a cultural, social and anthropological area, more of a state of mind," Kennedy told me over homemade biscuits at Pearl's Place, at 3901 S. Michigan Ave. "Mid-South" was never meant to soften the image of the South Side, Kennedy said.



Term widely used

Still, the term is being used today by the media, universities and some development groups to allay negative perceptions.

Cities often undergo identity shifts, especially in connection with issues such as immigration, white flight, newfound trendiness and class warfare. But this recent rebranding is more than semantics to my sensitive ears. Although I don't begrudge development that is long overdue in any part of the South Side, I know that when urban centers become hip again, blacks often are left out of home buying, the economic windfall and ancillary perks.

That's the thing about changing neighborhoods and changing names--many people fear the welcome mat will soon be yanked.

----------

Natalie Y. Moore is co-author of "Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation" and an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia College.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4827/imperialctdayag8.jpg



Aw, HELL no. Are they kidding?


What's wrong with this? It's a great looking, interesting building. It's appropriate for the neighborhood and it will bring much need tourism to Chinatown. Plus it's just down the street from McCormick Place. The only problem I see is that the SW corner of Clark and Archer has Metra tracks running through it. Wouldn't want the rooms facing out towards those.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/279705,CST-FIN-bright02.article
Brighton Pk. on the move
18 point bold condensed deck hed readout here S.W. Side neighborhood looks to get Bridgeport's overflow development

March 2, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters
Brighton Park, a modest Southwest Side neighborhood with available land and easy transportation links to downtown, is due for a surge in residential construction.
Zoning applications have been filed or are coming for two multihome projects on former industrial tracts. Developers hope to add around 900 units to the neighborhood's housing stock, perhaps Brighton Park's biggest building binge since before the Great Depression.

Their intent is to cash in on housing demand that has spilled over from Bridgeport and Chinatown to the east.

"The demand is following a lava flow path" along the Stevenson Expy. and the Chicago Transit Authority's Orange Line, said Jeffrey Benach, executive vice president at Lexington Homes LLC.

Lexington has proposed an 84-unit development consisting of town houses and three-flats on the site of the old Chicago Tube & Iron plant, 2531 W. 48th St. But that's just a prelude to what Lexington is planning for adjacent land that, according to Ald. Edward Burke (14th), used to include a spring company and a steel plant.

Lexington is developing plans for about 600 homes in a mix of mid-rise buildings, plus town houses and three-flats, Benach said.

The site is roughly from Western to California, 48th Street to the Orange Line around 49th Street.

Nearby at 51st and St. Louis, developers Anthony DeGrazia and Eric Gonzalez have filed for zoning authorization to build up to 273 homes. DeGrazia has many housing projects under his belt on the South Side, and said this one would be his largest.

Most of the activity is within Burke's 14th Ward. Re-elected over a nominal opponent on Tuesday, Burke said he supports the developments because they meet a demand for housing that Southwest Side families can afford.

He also said the Lexington project will set aside land for a new school that the area needs. Part of that project is within the 12th Ward of Ald. George Cardenas.

"In some cases, they'll have to figure out the best housing product to sell, but the design will be similar to what was built in the neighborhood 100 years ago," Burke said.

That means lots of brick facades and a mix of mostly small-scale buildings.

For the DeGrazia property, the exact unit count is uncertain because buyers on individual lots will have a choice between a single-family home or a two-flat. For a later phase, he plans 120 condominiums in two buildings on the 10-acre property, onetime home to a trucking terminal.

DeGrazia estimated his homes will be marketed for around $310,000 and the two-flats for around $450,000. He said new two-flats are a rarity in Chicago but should be coveted by buyers who want rental income to reduce their monthly payments.

Benach said Lexington will sell the units in its planned three- and six-flats as separate condos. Prices might range from around $220,000 to about $350,000 for town houses, he said.

In both cases, developers are targeting a market that includes city workers and people already in the area who want a new home. They also said they hope to begin marketing the projects soon after the zoning changes are final.

With the support of Burke and Cardenas, those approvals are probably certain.

There are no commitments for some of the units to carry a lower, subsidized price, a requirement that often kicks in when the city agrees to provide tax increment financing for a project. But Burke said he was open to creating a TIF district.

The DeGrazia project would be started immediately east of another 200-home complex already in progress. The development is at 51st and Lawndale, technically in Archer Heights.

DeGrazia and Gonzalez are partners in that deal with Ted Mazola and Gus Mauro of New West Realty Inc.

The developers bravely predict their projects' appeal will withstand any slowdown in the housing market. "I like to think this downturn will weed out the amateurs" among the builders, DeGrazia said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0703190042mar19,0,2421102.story?coll=chi-bizfront-hed

Swamped by a past of steel
Restored marsh key to Hegewisch's rebirth

By Azam Ahmed
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 19, 2007


Mike Aniol grew up in tiny Hegewisch, where the mantra once was "smoke means jobs."

But the steel industry left his neighborhood on Chicago's Southeast Side a long time ago. Now Aniol and other residents are hoping that an ambitious project to restore a local marsh and erect an environmental center will help fill that void.

"The environmental thing is a good thing. It'll bring people in as tourists, and they might just realize that Hegewisch is awful close to downtown," Aniol said.

Work recently began to restore the marsh, frequented by 20 state-listed endangered species and an environmental center, a one-story glass structure set into a steel "nest."

Both are expected to be completed in late 2009.

Like other communities across the nation, Hegewisch is struggling to find a remedy for the ills of a post-industrial U.S. economy. Some places, like Manayunk, Pa., have attempted to redefine themselves, from industrial wasteland to industrial chic. Others, like Cawker City, Kan., use homemade oddities like the world's largest ball of yarn to draw tourists.

In Hegewisch, people are hoping that a parcel of land about the size of 76 football fields will bring as many as 100,000 tourists a year, by city officials' estimates.

From his perch at the family hardware store, opened by his father, Aniol has seen his community shrink as residents left for jobs and other opportunities. The project could help reverse those trends, he said.

Aniol has the affable manner of someone who always feels at home, and after 55 years in the small community, he should. His mother, Helen, lives across the street and has been in Hegewisch for 85 years. His son lives next door to his mother, and his daughter on the other side.

His hardware store, an impromptu meeting place, has been in his family since he was a boy, and it sits along the main drag.

"I don't think people believe it yet. They don't realize the difficulties in dealing with this," he said of the more than eight-year struggle to begin work on the marsh project.

The marsh is part of the largest tract of marshlands in the U.S. within the limits of any major city, said Marian Byrnes, founder of the Southeast Environmental Taskforce.

"It's quite remarkable that the ecology has survived the industrial abuse," Byrnes said. "It wasn't intentional abuse. It was because people didn't have a view of ecology back then."

Byrnes said it has been a long, hard fight to preserve the land in Hegewisch, which had once been slated to become a third airport for Chicago before civic activism halted those plans.

"Having worked in the environment here since 1979, the most we ever hoped for was to preserve these wetlands without them being swallowed up by dumping and other damage," Byrnes said. "What has happened now is beyond our wildest dreams of what we expected to see in our lifetime."

Last February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set aside $750,000 for the marsh's restoration. State and local agencies added roughly $500,000 in combined funds, and the city has bought all but a small parcel of the marsh, said Nicole Kamins, program director at the Chicago Department of Environment.

Ford Motor Co., which has a factory in the area, has given $6 million for the environmental center and an endowment, and the City of Chicago has given $3 million to build the center, Kamins said.

"I think most people are hopeful about what potentially can happen--but hopeful as well as being on the lookout to see what's going to happen," said Rod Sellers, president of the Southeast Chicago Historical Society.

Some people are concerned about a possible influx of outsiders and traffic problems, Sellers said. Not all residents are convinced the project will mean money for the area, he said.

"It's a little off the beaten path--you can get to the environmental center without going through heart of Hegewisch," Sellers said.

After most of the steel mills closed down in the 1980s, when the community was at its peak, Hegewisch limped along in the wake of economic globalization. Many residents moved farther south, to the suburbs, and the population dropped about 15 percent, to 9,781, as of the 2000 census.

Hulking, skeletal factories dominate the landscape surrounding the neighborhood, a persistent reminder of the void caused by the steel companies' departure.

Streets are lined with quiet, modest homes that have been passed down through generations. Fissured sidewalks and converted storefronts pervade strips of commercial buildings, and a preponderance of small, blue-collar bars that once served workers pepper the streets.

The Chamber of Commerce sits beside a Food and Liquor store on the main street, Baltimore Avenue, where the city has recently renovated the streetscape with new lights and neighborhood banners. There is a hair salon, a pizza shop, a hot dog place and a Polish deli. None of the buildings along the road rise more than two stories, giving the area its distinct small-town feel, despite being part of Chicago.

The parallel Brandon Avenue shows what 20 years of disrepair means, with sidewalks crumbling and so many patches smacked down over the road Chamber of Commerce President Rich Ralphson has taken to calling it "downtown Beirut."

"It's rundown," he said of the bleak strip. "There are a lot of illegal conversions, where storefronts are now apartments. But we're trying to get that changed."

Some of the older residents think the marsh is a good way to resuscitate the community's expanses of unused real estate, whether empty land or storefront.

"I think anything like that is excellent," said bar owner Dean Miller, who moved to the community in 1978. "Take a piece of useful land and do something with it. It would definitely help my business."

But the 71-year-old, who has owned the Beacon Tap since 1994, is cautious about placing too much hope in the project.

Whether it happens to be the "win-win situation" he hopes for or fails to bring revenue at all, he said the community's strength lies in its ability to stick together, "to not take anything sitting still."

With a handful of state endangered species such as yellow-headed blackbirds and black-crowned night herons frequenting the Hegewisch marsh, and 762 species of plant life, the area could see an increase in visits from bird-watchers and naturalists alike, activists say.

It may also get students, both from the local area and elsewhere in Chicago, to visit the more than 20,000-square-foot Environmental Center. Some, like Amanda Mull, think that something like the center, and the people it could bring into Hegewisch, could help enliven the area.

"There is nothing for teenagers to do here," said Mull, 18, a community college student. "Hegewisch might be better if we had more people. Right now, it's like nobody knows that it exists."

The marsh will be considered an educational site and entry point for the adjoining 4,800-acre Lake Calumet Wetlands area. City officials are hoping, like Aniol, that it will complement the community's heritage.

"The theme that we're using is coexistence. It's not meant to be a nature center where you get away from it all," Kamins said. "It's more about intertwining the natural with the history of the community and industry so that visitors can learn that all these things go hand in hand in the Calumet region."

----------

aahmed@tribune.com.

^^^ That story has made me happier than anything I have read in the newspapers in the past 6 years, honest to God. So wonderful to hear and I really, REALLY hope that the whole Lake Calumet Wetlands area comes to fruition very soon.

^ Perhaps I'm missing something, but how are a bunch of swamps supposed to reignite Hegewisch?

How about houses, transit, and stores? Call me old-fashioned, but those are generally the components of a desirable city neighborhood.

^ Perhaps I'm missing something, but how are a bunch of swamps supposed to reignite Hegewisch?

How about houses, transit, and stores? Call me old-fashioned, but those are generally the components of a desirable city neighborhood.
Perhaps the thinking is that people visiting the area and seeing its natural beauty and proximity to the city, might spark developers to invest in it. Some of the abandoned industrial structures have the apearance of modern sculptural works. We'll see.

^ Perhaps I'm missing something, but how are a bunch of swamps supposed to reignite Hegewisch?

How about houses, transit, and stores? Call me old-fashioned, but those are generally the components of a desirable city neighborhood.

You're not old-fashioned just ignorant. To me, the main point of the article is the fact that these "swamps" - wetlands, which are a vital part to the local ecosystem, are coming back and the attachment/connection to the whole Lake Calumet wetland system is very important news. Wetlands, which once dominated the landscape Illinois, now account for about 1% of the total geological make-up of the state. They are very relevant to the health of an ecosystem because of the following (as copied from the Wikipedia entry for "Wetlands" which explains the cyclical process far better than I could articulate it): "Wetland functions
By absorbing the force of strong winds and tides, wetlands protect terrestrial areas adjoining them from storms, floods, and tidal damage. Wetlands remove nutrients from surface and ground water by filtering and by converting nutrients to unavailable forms. Denitrification is arguably the most important of these reactions because humans have increased nitrate worldwide by applying fertilizers. Increased nitrate availability can cause eutrophication, but denitrification converts biologically available nitrogen back into nitrogen gas, which is biologically unavailable except to nitrogen fixing bacteria. Denitrification can be detected in many soils, but denitrification is fastest in wetlands soils (for an example, see Ullah and Faulkner 2006). Many wetlands also provide habitats for resident and migratory fish and wildlife.

Intertidal wetlands provide an excellent example of invasion, modification and succession. The invasion and succession process is establishment of seagrasses. These help stabilize sediment and increase sediment capture rates. The trapped sediment gradually develops into mud flats. Mud flat organisms become established encouraging other life forms changing the organic composition of the soils.

The mangroves establish themselves in the shallower water upslope from the mudflats. Mangroves further stabilize sediment and over time increase the soil level. This results in less tidal movement and the development of salt marshes. (succession) The salty nature of the soil means it can only be tolerated by special types of grasses e.g. saltbush, rush and sedge. There is also changing species diversity in each succession.

In the salt marshes there is greater species diversity, nutrient recycling, and niche specialisation making it one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth."

Sometimes, it's not about what is constructed which offers the most exciting or relevant news, but about our surroundings and how critical it is to protect and enhance what is already there, or if possible help encourage new wetland development in an area that was previously unable to support that type of biodiversity.

You're not old-fashioned just ignorant.

^ Yeah, you're sure to win people over talking like that :ohno:

To me, the main point of the article is the fact that these "swamps" - wetlands, which are a vital part to the local ecosystem, are coming back and the attachment/connection to the whole Lake Calumet wetland system is very important news. Wetlands, which once dominated the landscape Illinois, now account for about 1% of the total geological make-up of the state. They are very relevant to the health of an ecosystem because of the following (as copied from the Wikipedia entry for "Wetlands" which explains the cyclical process far better than I could articulate it): "Wetland functions
By absorbing the force of strong winds and tides, wetlands protect terrestrial areas adjoining them from storms, floods, and tidal damage. Wetlands remove nutrients from surface and ground water by filtering and by converting nutrients to unavailable forms. Denitrification is arguably the most important of these reactions because humans have increased nitrate worldwide by applying fertilizers. Increased nitrate availability can cause eutrophication, but denitrification converts biologically available nitrogen back into nitrogen gas, which is biologically unavailable except to nitrogen fixing bacteria. Denitrification can be detected in many soils, but denitrification is fastest in wetlands soils (for an example, see Ullah and Faulkner 2006). Many wetlands also provide habitats for resident and migratory fish and wildlife.

Intertidal wetlands provide an excellent example of invasion, modification and succession. The invasion and succession process is establishment of seagrasses. These help stabilize sediment and increase sediment capture rates. The trapped sediment gradually develops into mud flats. Mud flat organisms become established encouraging other life forms changing the organic composition of the soils.

The mangroves establish themselves in the shallower water upslope from the mudflats. Mangroves further stabilize sediment and over time increase the soil level. This results in less tidal movement and the development of salt marshes. (succession) The salty nature of the soil means it can only be tolerated by special types of grasses e.g. saltbush, rush and sedge. There is also changing species diversity in each succession.

In the salt marshes there is greater species diversity, nutrient recycling, and niche specialisation making it one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth."

Sometimes, it's not about what is constructed which offers the most exciting or relevant news, but about our surroundings and how critical it is to protect and enhance what is already there, or if possible help encourage new wetland development in an area that was previously unable to support that type of biodiversity.

^ Yeah, that's nice. I never contested that. Reread my damn post, Ralph Nader.

While i think the projects advocates in the article are a bit over optimistic its still a positive. If it turns out to be a bit of a serene mini-retreat and excuse for people to go to that area of the city that otherwise wouldn't go then that makes it worth it right there. Any and more unique amenities that the far south side can point to attract new homeowners and development is a plus. Hopefully the things urbanist love like transit, density, and business will gain momentum by luring people to the area to visit and give more looks into.

^ Yeah, you're sure to win people over talking like that :ohno:

^ Yeah, that's nice. I never contested that. Reread my damn post, Ralph Nader.

Sorry if you mistook it as being mean or offensive TUP, that's not what I intended when I used the word "ignorant", it was only meant to convey that you were missing what to me was the point of the article; it's not always going to be (at least initially) about houses, stores and transit igniting redevelopment, in this instance even, this is something unique because it's almost going back to square one in terms of bringing nature back into play, almost seemingly letting that take over, and perhaps after some time, re-introducing built development. I remember during a charrette once for the City of Detroit when I was in school, one of the professors involved introduced the radical idea (at least in terms of the design charrette) of completely razing Detroit, letting natural/native flora and fauna regain a foothold and over time totally remaking the ecosystem for the center of what-used-to-be Detroit, while the built-up environments were essentially a ring around the previous Detroit - strange but interesting.
(btw, Nader is a consumer advocate not an environmentalist; I'm neither).

http://www.studiogang.net/site/projects_b4.htm

Here is Studio/Gang's design for the Calumet Environmental Center - good stuff!:

In order to educate visitors on the past and present of the Calumet region's unique patchwork of industrial and natural areas this project re-conceptualizes the way the building is constructed.
Like a 'nest', materials for the building are collected from things abundant, nearby, and discarded. The design is composed of salvaged steel from the Calumet industrial region and other discarded recyclable materials such as slag. In highlighting these materials, the building demonstrates the sustainable principle of re-use.
The south facing porch enclosed within a basketlike mesh of salvaged steel protects the migrating bird population from collisions with the glass that they cannot see. 97 million birds die annually in the U.S. from collisions with glass. At the same time it creates an outdoor classroom for visitors and becomes a blind for observing wildlife.
Geothermal heat pumps, earth tubes, a bio mass boiler, wind turbines, and water collection systems are integrated into the overall building design and become part of the educational component of the center and its site.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/b4_2.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/b4_1.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/b4_3.gif
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/b4_4.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/b4_5.jpg

^ Perhaps I'm missing something, but how are a bunch of swamps supposed to reignite Hegewisch?

How about houses, transit, and stores? Call me old-fashioned, but those are generally the components of a desirable city neighborhood.

Wow... you sound like the typical developer. Why don't we just fill in Lake Michigan and build a new East side?

I know a lot of people who will make their way to Hegewisch once the wetland restoration project is complete... did you read the article? Stores are being converted to apartments because it just doesn't work here. I think it is a miracle that wetlands of this size are still in existence within the city limits. I applaud the city (and the corporations and participating agencies) for taking the initiative to restore the wetlands.

At one point, much of the entire area (South of Chicago and Northwest Indiana) was wetlands. Due to ignorant minds like TUP, much of the wetlands were filled until the latter part of this century when someone called a timeout and people realized the benefits of wetlands before it was too late. Now, as it was mentioned earlier, less than 1% are in existence and the number is much smaller for this area.

A side note - becuase of the wetlands, the area was virtually unbuildable. The mitigation that would be required pretty much kills any chance for development. Better off improving the "undesirable swamps" as some people feel to an area that brings tourists in and provides jobs (in addition to a handful of ecosystem benefits) than let some big-eyed developers use the money in the form of TIFs to build mass transit and retail in an area that has a hard time keeping its existing business open.

Sometimes, it's not about what is constructed which offers the most exciting or relevant news, but about our surroundings and how critical it is to protect and enhance what is already there, or if possible help encourage new wetland development in an area that was previously unable to support that type of biodiversity.

Well spoken.

At one point, much of the entire area (South of Chicago and Northwest Indiana) was wetlands. Due to ignorant minds like TUP, much of the wetlands were filled until the latter part of this century when someone called a timeout and people realized the benefits of wetlands before it was too late. Now, as it was mentioned earlier, less than 1% are in existence and the number is much smaller for this area.

^ Just because I easily squashed beyond mention your retarded idea about doubling parking in the south loop doesn't mean you'll score any points seeking passive-aggressive revenge by siding with somebody who called me ignorant (oh, and he kindly apologized for it too, if you haven't noticed). Get over it.

To everyone else. I didn't say to actually develop the marshlands. I'm not at ALL in favor of doing that. I just didn't see how a bunch of marshlands can help a neighborhood make a comeback. I'm actually quite surprised some of you so mistook my post.

Sorry if you mistook it as being mean or offensive TUP, that's not what I intended when I used the word "ignorant", it was only meant to convey that you were missing what to me was the point of the article; it's not always going to be (at least initially) about houses, stores and transit igniting redevelopment, in this instance even, this is something unique because it's almost going back to square one in terms of bringing nature back into play, almost seemingly letting that take over, and perhaps after some time, re-introducing built development. I remember during a charrette once for the City of Detroit when I was in school, one of the professors involved introduced the radical idea (at least in terms of the design charrette) of completely razing Detroit, letting natural/native flora and fauna regain a foothold and over time totally remaking the ecosystem for the center of what-used-to-be Detroit, while the built-up environments were essentially a ring around the previous Detroit - strange but interesting.
(btw, Nader is a consumer advocate not an environmentalist; I'm neither).

^ I am ALL FOR preservation of nature! Oh my GOD

Sorry, but I am surprised at how my post had been mistakenly understood. However, to me the article seemed to focus on the rebirth of Hegewisch as a neighborhood (even the title), then went on to discuss the marshlands. I was having a hard time making the connection to these 2 seemingly different topics of the article. I've never heard of marshlands revitalizing an urban neighborhood, that's all. But hey, if it'll draw tourists then I'm all for it.

Oh well.

^ I am ALL FOR preservation of nature! Oh my GOD


Referring to wetlands as a "bunch of swamps" (when often times there is no standing water in wetlands at all) and implying that the wetland restoration would be undesirable by listing several items as desirable in an urban setting came across to me like you were not supportive of this project, or wetlands in an urban area in general.

Places like Boston Commons, Grant Part, Central Park etc. bring in lots of visitors as they are not retail, mass transit, etc (and I know those examples are extreme), but they bring in a lot of people.

It was your negativity in your post that gave off the vibe that you are unsupportive of this project where environmentalists are creaming their pants over the prospect of having this massive of a wetland restoration and enhancement project in an urban area.

Chicago is so large in area, especially the south side that I think this is a great idea, we seem to forget what Chicago is and was before it become a city, it has alot of ecosystems still in it are not found much anywhere, like prairie, oak savannas and wetlands. this wetland restoration is a great idea,
look at newyorkcity, alot of it is wetlands, what is surrounding broad channel?

I may be wrong but i dont think Illinois has alot of wetlands.

Taken from the Illinois DNR website.

Total Wetlands
Southern Illinois currently contains 49 percent (approximately 612,300 acres) of the state's total wetland resources. Twenty-nine percent (approximately 357,900 acres) are located in central Illinois. Northern Illinois, once home to a vast amount of the state's wetland acreage, now only contains the remaining 22 percent (approximately 283,500 acres) (Suloway and Hubbell 1994).

Unfortunately, the actual damage to the historic wetland resource is greater than these figures reflect. Only 917,765 acres (approximately three-fourths) of the currently existing wetlands can be considered natural wetlands. The other 336,126 acres (one-fourth) of the wetlands have been modified or created by dikes, impoundments, or excavation activities. These additional figures reveal Illinois has actually lost over 90 percent of its original presettlement wetlands

More from the Illinois DNR website

NATIONWIDE STATUS

Wetland loss is a common trend throughout the entire country. At the time of Colonial America, the area that now constitutes the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) contained an estimated 392 million acres of wetlands. Over the course of 200 years, however, 22 of the 50 states have lost over 50 percent of their original wetland acreage. The conterminous 48 states collectively have lost approximately 116 million acres (over 53 percent) of their presettlement wetlands.

This means that on average, in the lower 48 states between the 1780s and 1980s wetlands were lost at a rate of over 60 acres/hour. Figure 3-5 compares wetland loss in Illinois with the entire United States (Dahl 1990).

When compared with other states, the scope of wetland loss in Illinois becomes more clear. Illinois ranks sixth in overall percentage of wetland loss, behind California, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio. In terms of acres of wetland loss, Illinois ranks fifth. Only Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona have lost more acres. Because of the large percentage and acreage of wetlands that have been lost, Illinois is in the top 10 percent of states with the greatest overall wetland loss over the past 200 years (Dahl 1990).

Places like Boston Commons, Grant Part, Central Park etc. bring in lots of visitors as they are not retail, mass transit, etc (and I know those examples are extreme), but they bring in a lot of people.

^ This warped logic of yours in seemingly all things is exactly what scares the hell out of me.

What in blazes do the man-made Central Park in Manhattan or Grant Park next to the loop have to do with wetlands in Hegewisch?

Nothing. You cannot infer that tourists will come running to Hegewisch based on the fact that tourists flock Central Park. Sorry buddy.

But yeah, for the sake of the environment, it seems like a lovely idea.

^ Just because I easily squashed beyond mention your retarded idea about doubling parking in the south loop doesn't mean you'll score any points seeking passive-aggressive revenge by siding with somebody who called me ignorant (oh, and he kindly apologized for it too, if you haven't noticed). Get over it.

I didn't even think about our disagreement about parking when writing my post. I don't hold grudges over people on these boards.... I enjoy discussing development in the city on these boards, even when I strongly disagree with people. I got over it... why can't you just get over the fact that someone on this board does not agree with you?

I might have called you ignorant... but that should not be taken as an insult. Most people are ignorant to the importance of wetlands. However, using the word retarded is insulting to me... I really don't like that word as it puts down people with disabilities.

I am not trying to get revenge on you... what is your deal? I am not trying to side with anyone here... just nature. I am very passionate about wetlands (I have even read a couple wetland books in the last couple of years) and am very involved with wetlands in my line of work.

I am not trying to "pick fights" on this board. I just want to have good discussion about development and maybe open some eyes to real issues that are both educational and beneficial to everyone.

I mentioned the man-made parks (which I might consider enhancement of nature, just like they are doing in Hegewisch) because I was making a point that parks (like the park/recreational area they will build in Hegewisch) can draw people and not just stores and public transit.

I grew up in Hegewisch and would love nothing more then to see it as the thriving neighborhood it once was. However, I can't see how making the wetlands into a tourist destination would have such a major effect on Hegewisch.

I've always been for the idea of preserving the wetlands, but it is the wetlands themselves that are somewhat responsible for the condition of Hegewisch today. It's the most isolated neighborhood in the city because of the harbor and wetlands. Now this was fine when the factories were chugging along. The neighborhood was completely independent. That's not the case today.

I would like to see a good mix of perservation along with high-tech industries. This could be a proving ground for green technology as it relates to industry and manufacturing. I think 80% of the are should be used as parkland, but you could use the Torrence Ave corridor as an industry zone. This would help breath life back into Hegewish.

A transit line to the other south side neighborhoods would help as well. The South Shore line already provides great access to downtown. An L line (maybe using Torrence and Stony Island up to the University) would be a great benefit if high tech industry were to develop there.

It makes sense to me that the area could evolve into an eco-tourist zone, on a day-tripping scale of course.

The whole Lake Calumet/Wolf Lake region in which Hegewisch lies has the potential, if cleaned up properly, to evolve into something quite important for the city-

http://illinois.sierraclub.org/calumet/photogallery/index.html

http://www.suntimes.com/business/313931,CST-FIN-Solo27.article

Planned Southworks project picks up Solo site

March 27, 2007

A city-within-the-city, featuring residential, retail and high-tech commercial development would rise on a nearly-600-acre site at the former U.S. Steel mill if a South Side development company can fulfill its vision.

Southworks Development LLC said Monday it bought Solo Cup Co.'s bedeviled 118-acre site at 87th Street and the lakefront, adjacent to nearly 400 acres already controlled by Southworks.

Said Daniel McCaffery, a key mover behind the plan, "The development will change the face of the entire Southeast Side of Chicago."

Preliminary plans call for:

• • A major shopping center.

• • A variety of housing options including senior living, single family and town houses as well as high- and mid-rise multifamily units.

• • Institutional uses such as education, research, biomedical and high-technology facilities.

The transaction is expected to close Nov. 30, and the sale for an undisclosed amount has been approved by the City of Chicago, which conducted a detailed review of the proposed redevelopment plans for the site, Southworks said.

Southworks Development is a joint venture between Chicago's McCaffery Interests, and two Philadelphia real estate players, Lubert Adler Funds and Westrum Development. Lubert Adler would be the financier and Westrum has signed as an operating partner.

Westrum Development CEO John Westrum said, "With more than a mile of waterfront and the addition of more than 115 acres to Chicago's lakefront parks, this will be a magnificent setting in which to build a residential community."

The Solo Cup site has been a source of disappointment since the company acquired the land from U.S. Steel in 2001. Plans to build a new factory on the site ran aground on an ill-advised acquisition of Sweetheart Cup Co., a glut of inventory and a staggering debt load.

Instead of building new, Solo Cup expanded a facility at 7575 S. Kostner and has been vainly searching for a buyer for the U.S. Steel site since.

Solo Cup CEO Robert M. Korzenski said, "We have arrived at a solution for this property that is a win-win for everyone. We are very pleased the land will now be put to its best possible use."

http://www.globest.com/news/872_872/gsrmidwest/159266-1.html

Lowe’s Purchases 11 Acres at New Power Center
By Gina Kenny
CHICAGO-Lowe’s has purchased an 11.5-acre parcel at the Chatham Market, a 50-acre site being developed into a 420,000-sf power center by a joint venture of Archon Group LP and Monroe Investment Partners LLC, based here. The sales price was not disclosed. Lowe’s will construct a 117,000-sf store and will be one of the anchors of the development.
The area was the site of a former steel plant and is near the Dan Ryan Expressway. As part of the development, a four-lane road will be constructed that will connect 83rd Street to 87th Street, according to a company statement. The Lowe’s will have frontage on the newly constructed street, called Holland Road. Curt Bailey, director of retail investments at the Chicago regional office of Archon, did not return a phone call for comment.

The first phase of the development is expected to open at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The power center, which will have an additional anchor tenant besides Lowe’s, will have retailers from 15,000 sf to 45,000 sf. There will also be ground leases for six pad sites. Archon’s Chicago office and Tartan Realty are coordinating the leasing of Chatham Market. Doug Reichl with Tartan Realty represented Lowe’s.

The Lowe’s will be the second in the city of Chicago and the 21st location in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Lowe’s plans to open 150 to 160 stores this year, in line with the 155 that opened in 2006. The retailer will also enter Canada during this year’s second half, and executives have said the 1,385-unit chain still has the potential for 2,000 domestic stores.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117504655261651237.html

In Inner-City Chicago,
'Metropolis' Hopes to Rise
By RYAN CHITTUM
March 28, 2007

Most mixed-use projects get built in trendy city neighborhoods or tony suburbs. Quintin E. Primo III plans to put his on land previously occupied by some of Chicago's most-impoverished housing projects.

The development, to be called Metropolis, will be built in two phases and will cost about $500 million -- a lot of money for a neighborhood that's been down on its luck for 50 years.

But where most developers might see high crime and dilapidated surroundings, Mr. Primo, a newcomer to commercial real-estate development, sees opportunity. "The argument is unassailable that there is significant buying power concentrated in these minority communities that remains untapped," says Mr. Primo, chief executive of Capri Capital Partners LLC, a real-estate-investment firm that manages about $3 billion in assets.

The shell of a housing project stands across from the Metropolis site.
Mr. Primo's passion notwithstanding, some wonder whether the project can succeed. "You really have to reassure the retailers that the market will be there," says Rachel Weber, an urban-planning professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The project's backers hope to do just that. Metropolis was designed by blue-chip architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, known for working on the buildings that dominate Chicago's skyline: the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. The first phase will feature 330,000 square feet of retail space and 102 condominiums. A planned second phase would add a hotel and high-rise condos.

The architect's renderings show a glassy, modern look, a departure from the low-scale stucco found in most contemporary shopping centers. The six-story building has a sprawling rectangular base topped in the middle with tiered, curved floors decorated with windows of multicolored glass.

The design and scope of the development, which will have a grocery store, drug store, restaurants and 20 other shops, says a lot about how some developers envision the future of America's inner cities. In many such neighborhoods, it can be hard to find essentials like groceries and prescription drugs, and residents have to trek elsewhere to make purchases.

But that's changing, in part due to developers such as Mr. Primo. Capri Capital's co-founder and one of the few African-American executives in commercial real estate, he's building Metropolis with partner Judson Investment Co. LLC to fill a vacuum in the community but also to prove that it's possible to make money in poor neighborhoods while stimulating economic activity there.

At Metropolis, 102 condominiums will top 330,000 square feet of retail surrounding a two-acre park.
According to Michael E. Porter, head of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, which studies urban economies, average incomes in inner-city communities rose 8%, after adjusting for inflation, from 1992 to 2002. (ICIC defines inner-city areas as those ZIP Codes where poverty is 50% higher, unemployment is 50% higher and median income is 50% lower than the average for the metropolitan area) At the same time, a boom in residential construction is luring black middle-class families with higher incomes.

Yet the number of stores in inner-city communities has shrunk. An ICIC study published in September found that the gap between shopping demand and supply in inner-city neighborhoods in the top 100 U.S. cities is about 35% -- or $42 billion. That means that consumers who live in inner cities satisfy 35% of their shopping needs outside of their communities.

In the Bronzeville neighborhood where Metropolis will be built, the gap is wider. Consumer demand is $399.2 million a year within a mile radius. But 69% of residents' spending is outside the area -- some $275 million a year, according to Claritas Inc., a San Diego marketing-information company.

It wasn't always so in Bronzeville, a historic African-American neighborhood created by the Great Migration of blacks from the South in the early 1900s, and once known as the "Black Metropolis." It was once a vibrant area with shops and music clubs that was also home to jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong, bluesman Muddy Waters, and trailblazing journalist and suffragist Ida B. Wells, among many others. But the neighborhood went downhill after World War II and by the 1950s was racked with poverty, exacerbated by the city's decision to concentrate poor blacks in high-rise housing projects in the neighborhood.

More recently, the area is making something of a comeback. All but a couple of housing projects have been torn down, and mixed-income housing is rising as part of a Chicago plan to fix its abysmal public housing.

Raised in the suburbs as the son of a schoolteacher and the first black Episcopal bishop in Chicago, Mr. Primo, a friend and early supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, speaks of "elevating the disenfranchised," but insists his project is not philanthropy. "It makes great economic sense for hard-nosed, cold-hearted, socially disinterested business organizations to pursue this market," he says.

Mr. Primo, 52 years old, is one of a small number of African-Americans who have broken into big-time commercial real-estate development in part by focusing on communities that long have been off developers' radar. Former basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, owns Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Johnson Development Corp. and began putting up movie theaters and restaurants in inner cities in 1994.

San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners, a real-estate investment firm with $12 billion in assets and headed by Victor MacFarlane, has many investments in lower-income minority areas as does Urban America, run by Richmond S. McCoy, which recently closed its second urban fund to buy about $1.4 billion in real estate over the next two years.

To increase the odds that Metropolis will draw from outside the neighborhood, Mr. Primo hired Skidmore and charged the firm with the mission of designing something impressive architecturally. "How many developers in the inner city hire SOM to design their projects?" Mr. Primo says. "Zero?"

"We believed that if designed properly and built properly, we would create a project that would be welcomed by the community and would translate into high-dollar-per-square-foot rents for us and high sales for the retailers," says Mr. Primo, who is also a pianist and composed and performed a jazzy piece for a video presentation of the project.

Even though city politicians are encouraging the new development, navigating Chicago's political minefields hasn't been easy. To win the crucial support of alderman Dorothy Tillman, Mr. Primo included a fountain in the design at her request and also will put in a technology center, giving area residents free access to computers and the Internet.

Gloria Dickson, who works at an animal shelter, lives across the street from the site and says she looks forward to having a new grocery store, since it currently takes her about 30 minutes to walk to the nearest one. But she worries the changes might bring gentrification. "I just hope that doesn't happen so that rents don't rise so high," she says. "I don't want to get pushed out of this area."

While Capri Capital and Judson Investment control part of the site, they still need approval from the Chicago Housing Authority to purchase the rest. Metropolis also has no anchor tenant yet, usually a requirement for retail developers to start a project. "We're prepared to start without an anchor," says Mr. Primo.

"The proof is in the pudding," Mr. Primo says. "We'll see how it all tastes after we're done."

April 19 Plan Commission Agenda

A proposed Residential Planned Development and Lake Michigan and Chicago Lakefront
Protection Application No. 495 submitted by South Shore View, LLC for the property
generally located at 6740-6756 South South Shore Drive. The applicant proposes to
construct a 21-story residential tower with approximately 132 residential dwelling units and
170 off-street parking spaces. The applicant proposes to demolish the “Brydon School”
building at 6740 S. South Shore Drive This building is identified as potentially significant
in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey. (5th Ward)

Heh, i love this thread!

As for that Chinatown hotel on Archer and Clark, I dont see how that rendering fits with the land available. I drive by that land every day and we laught when we saw a sign for a spiffy hotel going up there. There are redline andmetra tracks, its kinda outside chinatown and more near the projects. Yeah its a good idea and concept, I just do not seeing the Imperial Hotel fittin in the spot they say it will go in...
But that stuff going on Canal are beautiful! BTW orange line traks are near Canal and 18th. Between Rosevelt and Halstead there is no orange stop, all they would have to do it build a stop on Canal.

My family used to live East side ( where you can smell the Gary mills every day) near Cal park. You know, where streets are named like Ave. G, Ave. H, etc?
Anything happening arround there? I took route 41 to visit family in the south burbs/Indiana a month or so ago and the East Side looks like is is falling apart. I did still see the house that has goats and chickens in the yard still tho, yay. Any redevelopment in the old closed industrial areas? I know over the border there is wetland development going on. I am very curious to see what is happening in the neighborhood I spend a lot of my childhood in.

Wondering what is happening by 95th on the SE side and Hegwisch? I like the whole idea of making Hegwisch area a nature area, there are already some good parts there like that. I mean what sort of infastructure are they going to implent? How will they improve living there?jobs? Heck, if they just develope it right, I may move to Hegwisch. I dunno most of my family lived(s) or grew up on the south side or south suburbs, i live on the south side, and i would rather hear about what is going there than in northside or some place like hoffman estates.MMM I also find the south shore beautiful....if you take route 41 in Indiana, you will see, lovely buildings, beaches, lakefront!

I heard Lake Calumet area was being turned into a nice wetland development. That would be lovely.

Wondering what is the delay with the Police station on 31st and Halstead? That part of Halstead is just screaming to be revitilized...They sure like to build retirement homes arround here, first on halstead then on Archer (near Arch).

Here's a rendering of 6740 South Shore that BVictor got
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4438/6740southshoredriveio1.jpg

http://www.aiachicago.org/events.asp#1628

USX South Works Redevelopment

Wednesday, May 9, 12:00 pm- 1:00 pm

The 118-acre former South Works steel mill on Chicago’s Southeast Side covers an area larger than the Loop. A mixed-use redevelopment would make this one of the City’s largest projects in years. Phil Enquist, FAIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, will present a fascinating overview of planning for this site.

This event is sponsored by Regional & Urban Design KC

Learning units: 1.0 LU/HSW

Location: AIA Chicago, 35 East Wacker Drive, Suite 250

Member price: 0 Non-member price: $15.00

^ That's nice and all, but they've been talking about this damn thing for at least 2 years, if not longer. For the love of God, it's like we're building the Circle Line or something

^ That's nice and all, but they've been talking about this damn thing for at least 2 years, if not longer. For the love of God, it's like we're building the Circle Line or something

I could be wrong, but I think they may have already started construction on one or more of the buildings. I remember someone posting pictures a few months ago....however, it was surprising as apparently the project has not been formally approved by the city.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070503uofc,1,2131506.story?coll=chi-news-hed

U. of. C. gets $35 million gift for art center

By Charles Storch
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 3, 2007, 11:17 PM CDT

A Chicago investment banker and his family are giving $35 million to the University of Chicago for a planned $100 million arts center that is to serve the campus and its South Side neighbors.

The gift by David and Reva Logan and their family is one of the larger single donations made to the U. of C. and is the biggest earmarked for the arts there, the university said Thursday.

University President Robert Zimmer said the donation "will enable us to proceed with the building in an expeditious way." He said the center, eyed for the south end of the campus, is expected to be a "transformative facility" for the school, widely known as a bastion for Nobel Prize-winning research in economics and science.

The Center for the Creative and Performing Arts is to be named for the octogenarian couple, who met while attending the U. of C.

David Logan received his undergraduate and law degrees there. Reva Logan delayed her education because of their marriage but later completed her degree at Roosevelt University and became a teacher.

David Logan is managing partner of Chicago-based Mercury Investments. He also is a stalwart advocate for the arts in Illinois and was on the Illinois Arts Council from 1976 to 2006. His wife's family also has been active in the arts: Her brother Allan Frumkin was a prominent gallery owner here and in New York. The couple collect photography and artists' illustrated books.

David Logan said he and his family approached the U. of C. about the donation. He said he was asked whether they would like to fund a theater or some other piece of the center. He replied that he wanted to do something far more ambitious.

He said he was making the gift for his wife, who is in declining health, and in memory of his mother. David Logan's mother wanted her son, who grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and used to pal around with Saul Bellow, to go to the best school possible.

"I have been amazed at what I have been able to do in philanthropy and work," he said. "It's a great tribute to America."

In addition to the arts, the Logans have donated to education, religious, scientific, journalism and community causes here and around the country.

The arts center has been proposed for a site at 60th Street and Ingleside Avenue. It would be south of the Midway Plaisance and on the same block as the Midway Studios, where sculptor Lorado Taft once worked.

It is to include a multipurpose performance hall, three small theaters, music practice rooms and a recording studio and will serve students, faculty and Hyde Park residents.

Five prominent architectural teams are vying for the commission, and one is to be selected later this spring, Zimmer said. The center is expected to be completed in 2011.

cstorch@tribune.com



Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

^^ AWESOME news. I had reported in the Chicago Gen. thread in SSP but I say it here too: I was in touch with someone at the University and they indicated that a design architect has been selected and that drawings, renderings, etc., will be release sometime in early June. I will post once I get something.

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0507/Newsstory0507b.htm

Metropolis development coming to Bronzeville

By Christine Mangan

Capri Capital Partners LLC has announced a joint venture with Judson Investment Co. to develop The Metropolis, a mixed-use building that will be located at the intersection of south State Street and Pershing Road.

Capri expects the proposed building will bolster economic development in Bronzeville and Grand Boulevard and generate both temporary construction jobs and permanent employment.

“Beyond economic development for the community, the ultimate design intent for Metropolis is to create a city center for the Near South Side of Chicago,” said Quintin E. Primo III, Capri’s chairman and CEO. “Importantly, the project addresses the chronic lack of commercial retail in the area and will offer market rate and affordable housing to the growing community.”

Primo said 20% of the 102 condominiums planned for phase one will be set aside for low- and moderate-income buyers.

Although specific retailers have not been named, Capri’s media spokesperson, Trish Hoffman, said the company is looking at the usual amenities, including a grocery store and a clothing store.

According to Todd Caruso, regional head of retail for CB Richard Ellis Group, a commercial real estate firm, “The Metropolis is well positioned between the Roosevelt Road retail corridor north and new retail development occurring on 87th Street south. The lack of retail supply in the general area should allow the project to readily draw shoppers from the surrounding 15 neighborhood communities.”

“This project is important to the South Side, and the numbers speak for themselves,” Capri’s Primo explained. According to MetroEdge, a market research arm of the Local Initiatives Support Corp., "approximately $671 million of the total $909 million in Mid-South consumer expenditures represent 'retail leakage,' or dollars spent by residents outside their community,” Capri explained.

Hugh Williams, president and CEO of Judson Investment Co., noted the building’s historical significance. “As minority-owned firms, Judson and Capri understand that Metropolis sits in the middle of an underserved area in the early stages of a rebirth," Williams said. "It will attract middle and upper income residents who will integrate with existing low-income area residents, who have been denied access to grocery stores and other simple amenities that people want in their neighborhoods.”

A three-phase project, the Metropolis will consist of approximately one million square feet. The initial phase will consist of 500,000 square feet; besides its 102 residential condominiums, it will create a green space surrounded by two six-story curvilinear buildings of steel and glass housing approximately 330,000 square feet of commercial retail space. Future phases call for more residential space and hotel facilities.

The Metropolis also will feature a public venue celebrating African American history, located in the building’s central, curvilinear public park. “It will encourage learning activity and dialogue between the retail spaces and the public," explained Ross Wimer, design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. "At the corner of State and Pershing, the proposed digital clock tower announces both the new landmark development and the renaissance of the historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood.”

The firm’s architectural vision for Metropolis is “an abstract expression of Bronzeville’s unique cultural history,” Wimer continued. “The building facades recall the repeated musical patterns of blues and jazz, and the residential unit layouts invoke harmonious rhythms and the ideals of freedom and flexibility.”

Media contact Trish Hoffman said Capri anticipates breaking ground on phase one in fall 2008 and expects that phase will be completed by spring 2010.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9549/newsst3tg3.jpg

OMG that looks so f'ing amazing. I would like to see that blown up, it looks even better then the last awesome renders. This has a very real good chance of being the coolest urban space in the city outside downtown. This looks like it could be a major draw not just for the soutside but the whole damn metro.

Holy MOMMA, guys

This development just got too cool to not happen. Wow.

So is this going to be a sort of black-middle-class shopping mecca sort of thing? I see this as a modern version of Brooklyn's Fulton St District.

Let the Gods of Urbanism shine their blessings on this thing so that it may be so...

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/0507/Newsstory0507b.htm

Metropolis development coming to Bronzeville

By Christine Mangan

Capri Capital Partners LLC has announced a joint venture with Judson Investment Co. to develop The Metropolis, a mixed-use building that will be located at the intersection of south State Street and Pershing Road.

Capri expects the proposed building will bolster economic development in Bronzeville and Grand Boulevard and generate both temporary construction jobs and permanent employment.

“Beyond economic development for the community, the ultimate design intent for Metropolis is to create a city center for the Near South Side of Chicago,” said Quintin E. Primo III, Capri’s chairman and CEO. “Importantly, the project addresses the chronic lack of commercial retail in the area and will offer market rate and affordable housing to the growing community.”

Primo said 20% of the 102 condominiums planned for phase one will be set aside for low- and moderate-income buyers.

Although specific retailers have not been named, Capri’s media spokesperson, Trish Hoffman, said the company is looking at the usual amenities, including a grocery store and a clothing store.

According to Todd Caruso, regional head of retail for CB Richard Ellis Group, a commercial real estate firm, “The Metropolis is well positioned between the Roosevelt Road retail corridor north and new retail development occurring on 87th Street south. The lack of retail supply in the general area should allow the project to readily draw shoppers from the surrounding 15 neighborhood communities.”

“This project is important to the South Side, and the numbers speak for themselves,” Capri’s Primo explained. According to MetroEdge, a market research arm of the Local Initiatives Support Corp., "approximately $671 million of the total $909 million in Mid-South consumer expenditures represent 'retail leakage,' or dollars spent by residents outside their community,” Capri explained.

Hugh Williams, president and CEO of Judson Investment Co., noted the building’s historical significance. “As minority-owned firms, Judson and Capri understand that Metropolis sits in the middle of an underserved area in the early stages of a rebirth," Williams said. "It will attract middle and upper income residents who will integrate with existing low-income area residents, who have been denied access to grocery stores and other simple amenities that people want in their neighborhoods.”

A three-phase project, the Metropolis will consist of approximately one million square feet. The initial phase will consist of 500,000 square feet; besides its 102 residential condominiums, it will create a green space surrounded by two six-story curvilinear buildings of steel and glass housing approximately 330,000 square feet of commercial retail space. Future phases call for more residential space and hotel facilities.

The Metropolis also will feature a public venue celebrating African American history, located in the building’s central, curvilinear public park. “It will encourage learning activity and dialogue between the retail spaces and the public," explained Ross Wimer, design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP. "At the corner of State and Pershing, the proposed digital clock tower announces both the new landmark development and the renaissance of the historic Bronzeville/Grand Boulevard neighborhood.”

The firm’s architectural vision for Metropolis is “an abstract expression of Bronzeville’s unique cultural history,” Wimer continued. “The building facades recall the repeated musical patterns of blues and jazz, and the residential unit layouts invoke harmonious rhythms and the ideals of freedom and flexibility.”

Media contact Trish Hoffman said Capri anticipates breaking ground on phase one in fall 2008 and expects that phase will be completed by spring 2010.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9549/newsst3tg3.jpg

The startling transformation of this area can be appreciated if we remember one recent historical event.

I am referring to the killing of Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale roughly 6-8 years ago. I don't remember the exact year.

Officer Ceriale and his partner were in plain clothes conducting surveillance on a narcotics open market operating at the base of the southernmost of since-demolished CHA high-rises located between Pershing and Bowen a half-block west of State. Someone spotted Ceriale and fired. That was late on a Friday night/Saturday morning.

I work nearby and I passed the site on Saturday morning, when it was crawling with police. Ceriale died at Cook County Hospital (in the old building, of course) about a week later from his injuries.

The whole block, which held roughly three high-rises, was later leveled. The area is sure changing, with Metropolis being part of that change.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but is there any particularly good reason to think that this development will actually create retail and commercial tenants, rather than just retail and commercial space? I don't know this exact area well, but in that part of the city, I don't think the problem is generally that there is not any space for retailers, the problem is that there aren't any retailers. There are plenty of vacant storefronts in buildings that would undoubtedly command much lower rents than this new construction will, and probably with a lot fewer strings attached, since the residential units above those older buildings are occupied by renters who aren't about to block certain types of usage of the commercial space.

There might be something about it that I'm not understanding, but attracting tenants for new construction is such a problem as it is, even in wealthy and stable neighborhoods. I'm thinking it will likely be a pretty long time before all that space fills up with tenants, especially the retail tenants we might dream of attracting. And I'm not sure that positioning it all in that tucked-away drive is the best idea. Wouldn't it be better facing the street?

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but is there any particularly good reason to think that this development will actually create retail and commercial tenants, rather than just retail and commercial space? I don't know this exact area well, but in that part of the city, I don't think the problem is generally that there is not any space for retailers, the problem is that there aren't any retailers. There are plenty of vacant storefronts in buildings that would undoubtedly command much lower rents than this new construction will, and probably with a lot fewer strings attached, since the residential units above those older buildings are occupied by renters who aren't about to block certain types of usage of the commercial space.

There might be something about it that I'm not understanding, but attracting tenants for new construction is such a problem as it is, even in wealthy and stable neighborhoods. I'm thinking it will likely be a pretty long time before all that space fills up with tenants, especially the retail tenants we might dream of attracting. And I'm not sure that positioning it all in that tucked-away drive is the best idea. Wouldn't it be better facing the street?

^ Well, it'll be new construction, near the L (if I'm correct), and it will probably have a lot of garage parking. Plus it will likely be marketed as 1 giant package, as opposed to individual scattered buildings with separate owners. There seem to be plent of differences to me.

VOID

From the Hyde Park Herald

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/2296/hphyy3.jpg

This project looks pretty retro to me. 1960's urban renewal, only this time for the middle class.

I thought we were supposed to be incorporating the street grid, integrating new developments within the adjoining neighborhoods to make them pedestrian-friendly and interconnected? This is not Roosevelt Collection, where the site logistics dictate a solution of isolation. This seems like an attempt to build an urban fortress, a safe zone.

^ Point out one aspect of this development that isn't ped-friendly and connected to the street grid? Point out where the cul-de-sac is.

Some of you just don't understand urbanism at all. Just because the roads aren't straight doesn't mean it ain't urban.

VOID

Some more images of Metropolis

Site plan
http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/8257/metropolis4pk4.jpg
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/5439/metropolis3on7.jpg

Retail and digital clock
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1985/metropolis2zc2.jpg

Well, apparently, it's not integrated into the street grid AT ALL (except for a parking lot entrance that lines up with Dearborn).

The upside is, it comes right up to the street, minimizing the extensive, poorly-planned, worthless green space that helped doom the housing projects. The central courtyard is surrounded by brightly-lit, occupied buildings, discouraging crime.

I'm a bit confused. I thought this project was supposed to have underground parking. Are those surface lots?

That would be too bad if that's the case..

Those may be temporary. Weren't there several phases to this one. Maybe in the future, they'll be covered by towers.

To me it looks like mid or high rises are supposed to go where it shows parking lots in the layout plan. At least I hope so.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9549/newsst3tg3.jpg

^ Ahh, actually that makes sense looking at this second picture.

Surface parking in the beginning to attract retailers, then build the highrises later. So if this becomes a giant planned development from the get-go, and gets approved, the developer doesn't have to deal with NIMBYism squashing the highrises later on in the game.

Sounds good to me. Now all we need is for these guys to land some retailers.

Here are some images of another big South Side development
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/3936/southworks2dm0.jpg
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7003/southworks3bn4.jpg
^I wonder if they'll allow wind turbines
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7591/southworks1jk8.jpg

NICE FIND, SPYGUY!

Holy schnoikens, dude, how DO you keep doing that?

Seriously, though, I am definitely encouraged seeing that site plan. Looks like urban/ped-friendly/streetgrid will be the name of the game. Coolness to the max :banana:

wow, I likes the southside works so far. Nice integration of green space and urbanism. The last few articles I read about has me a little concerned about it but I am starting to get more optimistic. It doesn't look like it will be dominated by detached single housing units also, hopefully that will remain the same. That little slip in the middle of the development has great potential to be a unique great urban space. I wonder if there are any plans to extend LSD or eventually the Green Line to it.

Back to Metropolis for a sec, do they intend to cover the buildings with grass, as shown?

And the Southworks site looks good too! I wonder how much of this plan will actually get completed though. They should build the towers first, and then the townhomes, so NIMBYS don't infest the place first.

That will be a lot of res units to fill. Even if they roll it out in phases, I can see the Southworks project having a ghostown-like feel for quite some time before it becomes a lively neighborhood.

Spyguy, great find.

. I wonder if there are any plans to extend LSD or eventually the Green Line to it.

I really hope they don't extend lakeshore drive that way. I think that the route that US HWY 41 takes through South Chicago can be improved. But I like that it takes you through a very interesting area of the city. A bike path like the one proposed by Friends of the Park would be nice to see. And I even like the Idea of extending the green line further south to South Works.

Spyguy, great find.



I really hope they don't extend lakeshore drive that way. I think that the route that US HWY 41 takes through South Chicago can be improved. But I like that it takes you through a very interesting area of the city. A bike path like the one proposed by Friends of the Park would be nice to see. And I even like the Idea of extending the green line further south to South Works.

I think they just extended/widened South Shore Drive and I knwo they just recently added 4 lane South Harbor Drive to this area. It looks great.

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@0893503688.1179119475@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddklmdkfhdcefecelldffhdfhg.0&contentOID=536952796&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=Dept&blockName=Planning+And+Development%2FI+Want+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Planning+And+Development&deptMainCategoryOID=

De LaSalle project to incorporate Pickford Theater

School expansion will incorporate 1912 auditorium at 35th and Michigan

The remains of a historic South Side theater will be given new life with the City Council approval of Mayor Richard M. Daley's ordinance authorizing the sale of city-owned land to De La Salle Institute for the creation of a new academic building and auditorium.

The development plan calls for the property at 3445-59 S. Michigan Ave. and 100-114 E. 35th St. to be combined with the school's existing parking lot for the construction of a four-story, 100,000-square-foot academic building containing classrooms, laboratories, and school offices.

It also preserves the remaining elements of the Pickford Theater by utilizing the shell and surviving interior terra cotta in the construction of a new theater and auditorium. Built in 1912, the Pickford Theater was one of the first movie and performance theaters for Bronzeville entertainers.


"By preserving the remains of this theater, a new generation will have a greater understanding and appreciation of its history and its importance," said Mayor Daley.

The new building will include approximately 7,000 square feet of ground floor retail along 35th Street. Once completed, the project is expected to create 30 permanent full and part-time jobs.

A pedestrian bridge over Michigan will connect the new building with the Clark Building on the existing campus and allow students to safely access both locations without impacting the flow of vehicular traffic.

The building will seek LEED certification and incorporate green design elements into its construction including a green roof on both the building and pedestrian bridge. Construction of the new academic building is expected to cost $19.25 million. The city acquired the property in 2003 through condemnation and is assisting the project with a reduction in the sale price.

Hyde Park Herald
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8557/villagecenterqk0.jpg

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-architecture01jun01,1,3766835.story?coll=chi-news-hed

U. of C. picks design for performing arts center

By Blair Kamin
Tribune architecture critic
Published June 1, 2007

Chicago is about to get an innovative new skyscraper, one that stretches a ground-hugging arts center into the sky and comes complete with a retractable roof and maybe even a yoga and napping room.

The University of Chicago made the plan public Thursday in announcing that its designers, New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, have won the commission for a $100 million creative and performing arts center on the south side of the Midway Plaisance.

Best known for their American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan, the husband-and-wife team of Williams and Tsien beat four other finalists, including Daniel Libeskind, the master planner for the reconstruction of New York City's World Trade Center.

They also beat three winners of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize: Japan's Fumihiko Maki, Austria's Hans Hollein and Thom Mayne of Santa Monica, Calif.

The signature element of their design is a 160-foot-tall tower, topped by a glass-walled, cantilevered cafe that would act as a beacon and serve as a modern counterpart to the university's neo-Gothic towers across the Midway.

The cafe's movable roof would let in sun and air, at least in the warm months.

The yoga and napping room was inspired by the architects' stress-relieving yoga breaks as they designed the project and their knowledge that students staying up well past midnight may require some midday shut-eye.

"They did a beautiful job of thinking of the campus as a whole," said Danielle Allen, dean of the university's humanities division and a member of the selection jury. "With them, we weren't picking a building that just stood on its own. It understood, advanced and innovated on our traditions."

Despite the praise being heaped on its design, the center will face the challenge of luring students and faculty south of the Midway, an area that has long seemed disconnected from the serene quadrangles on the north side of the U. of C.

In addition, university officials acknowledge, the center may shrink in size because it is likely to be built all at once, not in two phases, as originally contemplated.

"Our goal is to get as much of phase one and phase two into this project as $100 million will allow," said Larry Norman, the U. of C.'s deputy dean for the arts.

The center, which took a major step forward May 3 with the announcement of a $35 million gift from Chicago investment banker David Logan and his family, is proposed for a site at Ingleside Avenue and 60th Street, which forms the Midway's southern border.

On the same block are the Midway Studios, official Chicago landmarks where the sculptor Lorado Taft, creator of the "Fountain of Time" sculpture at the Midway's west end, once worked.

The center will seek to bring together students and faculty from a variety of artistic disciplines—music, theater, visual arts, and others. The plan also calls for a multipurpose performance hall and three small theaters.

Williams and Tsien envision a building that broadcasts its activities through expansive walls of glass, inviting attention from residents of Hyde Park and nearby South Side neighborhoods.

"We want to expose the mess, the activity, the vibrancy of the inside," Williams said in an interview before the university's board of trustees formally approved the selection Thursday afternoon.

This will be the first Chicago commission for the architects, who are highly-regarded modernists known for their creative use of materials and vibrant interior spaces.

Offices, studios and other facilities for each artistic discipline in the center would be grouped, with generous common areas in between.

"At night," the architects wrote in their proposal, these spaces would "glow like an illuminated bee hive."

bkamin@tribune.com



Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

http://www.suntimes.com/business/415374,CST-FIN-steel06.article

Developers seek OK for South Works housing, retail
ZONING | 530 lakefront acres is largest open tract in the city

June 6, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN droeder@suntimes.com/fspielman@suntimes.com

In the most detailed plan yet submitted for the largest open tract in Chicago, developers have proposed more than 17,000 housing units on the site of the old U.S. Steel Corp. South Works plant on the lakefront.

A zoning application for the roughly 530-acre property that runs from 79th to about 91st Streets also allows for retail buildings, a public high school, park land and an extension of Lake Shore Drive.

But the lead developer, Daniel McCaffery, president of Chicago-based McCaffery Interests, said the application is just the first formal volley in long-term negotiations with the city that will shape the project over the next 30 years.

"There is a sense with everybody that this is somewhat malleable," McCaffery said.

Market forces will decide the speed of the construction, and other uses could come up later. McCaffery said one example is that a large institution, such as a university, could speak up for part of the property. A research park is another possibility.

Sources said the University of Chicago is interested in a South Works satellite campus, but McCaffery declined to comment on specific prospects. He also said no one has approached him about incorporating a casino or an Olympics-related use in connection with the city's bid for the 2016 Summer Games.

"None of that has even been modestly suggested," McCaffery said.

He controls most of the site through a partnership that includes U.S. Steel, the Lubert-Adler investment funds and Westrum Development.

The same partnership is working to close a purchase of 118 acres on the site's southern part that was owned by Solo Cup Co. Solo canceled plans for a new plant on the property.

McCaffery said that despite the long-term nature of the project, Chicagoans will see progress at the site soon. He said construction should start this fall on the extension of Lake Shore Drive into the site, and some retail buildings could be under way by next year.

He said talks haven't begun with the city over a taxpayer subsidy. The site has been certified as environmentally safe, but it contains numerous foundations and is mostly slag, meaning that tons of soil must be brought in for landscaping.

The zoning application triggers a Planning Department review and hearings that lead to a vote in the City Council.

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/8340/untitledou4.jpg
http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/7061/fairfieldmarriottws3.jpg

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/444805,CST-FIN-roeder27.article

BACK TO BRONZEVILLE:

Now that Ald. Pat Dowell has taken over after beating incumbent Dorothy Tillman in the 3rd Ward, one wonders about certain development sites. Example No. 1.: Questions hang over the $155 million retail and condo complex announced in February for the southwest corner of 39th and State.

The lead developer, Quintin Primo III, has yet to line up loans or key tenants for the property and wasn't available for comment this week. He's probably regretting his decision to announce the project at an event that doubled as a campaign rally for Tillman.

Dowell said she won't hold that against Primo, and she got her first briefing about the project this week. She said she supports it in principle but wants details. "It's a very ambitious mixed-use project which would make a statement at that corner," she said.

Example No. 2: The landmark Rosenwald Apartments at 4600 S. Michigan, which became a slum under Tillman. Dowell said she's evaluating proposals from two developers, Peter Holsten and Jason "Gonzo" Gonzales, president of Gonzo Development. Dowell, a former city planner, declined further comment on the proposals.

The problems at Rosenwald will eventually be resolved but a bit more of the nearby blocks will need to change to make developers take the plunge with Rosenwald. Of course, with Rosenwald sitting there in limbo, it is hard for the surrounding blocks to change. They will, though.

At least the Rosenwald area is not facing the same uproar that we are seeing over at Carney Gardens, where developer Royce Messner has alienated the entire community. That is an example of how NOT to pursue revitalization on the South Side.

Well, the first step to pursue revitaliztion of Carney Gardens would be to drop the association with Carnival people. Why would anyone be interested in moving to a breeding ground of carney-folk?

The problems at Rosenwald will eventually be resolved but a bit more of the nearby blocks will need to change to make developers take the plunge with Rosenwald. Of course, with Rosenwald sitting there in limbo, it is hard for the surrounding blocks to change. They will, though.

At least the Rosenwald area is not facing the same uproar that we are seeing over at Carney Gardens, where developer Royce Messner has alienated the entire community. That is an example of how NOT to pursue revitalization on the South Side.


^ Isn't this all fiction?

Well, the first step to pursue revitaliztion of Carney Gardens would be to drop the association with Carnival people. Why would anyone be interested in moving to a breeding ground of carney-folk?

:lol:

www.hpherald.com

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6514/hphwr4.jpg
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1374/villagecenterea2.jpg

Wired has a short article on this Hyde Park proposal by Studio/Gang:
http://www.wired.com/culture/design/magazine/15-08/pl_home#
Look up at the sun. (Ouch!) Now look down at the ground. (Ahhh.) That pretty much sums up architect Jeanne Gang's breathtakingly simple approach to reducing energy use in Windermere West, a 26-story condominium destined for Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood.....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/pl_home_f.jpg

^ Holy shnoikens! Is that what's probably not going to be built due to neighborhood opposition? I'm quite sad.

Either way, it's nice to look at..

Wow, that looks amazing.

More NIMBY (and anti-NIMBY) antics in this week's Hyde Park Herald. Go check it out if you're interested, guys

This was found by somebody at the Yo, but I found it refreshing and worthy of mention. A couple of Hyde Parkers, fed up with rampant NIMBYism and an anti-progressive, anti-development establishment, have started a blog (and it's pretty well kept up) that speaks out against NIMBYism in their community. It's very well done, and I recommend you guys to check it out. This is the self-posted profile of the main blogger, and below that is the link to the actual blog:

Peter Rossi
Industry: Education
About Me
I've lived in Hyde Park for more than 30 years and I too am frustrated by those who oppose positive change. I am also appalled that many who oppose development have the view that the ends justifies the means. They are quite willing to use selective omission or outright misrepresentation in pursuit of the goal of halting all development in our community. We have vacant buildings (the Hyde Park movie theater, the Doctor's Hospital, St Stephens church on Blackstone), empty storefronts, and empty streets as a result. It is time to speak up and let others be heard.

http://www.hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/

^^^ Great link - just added it to my RSS feeds - thanks.

This was found by somebody at the Yo, but I found it refreshing and worthy of mention. A couple of Hyde Parkers, fed up with rampant NIMBYism and an anti-progressive, anti-development establishment, have started a blog (and it's pretty well kept up) that speaks out against NIMBYism in their community. It's very well done, and I recommend you guys to check it out. This is the self-posted profile of the main blogger, and below that is the link to the actual blog:

Peter Rossi
Industry: Education
About Me
I've lived in Hyde Park for more than 30 years and I too am frustrated by those who oppose positive change. I am also appalled that many who oppose development have the view that the ends justifies the means. They are quite willing to use selective omission or outright misrepresentation in pursuit of the goal of halting all development in our community. We have vacant buildings (the Hyde Park movie theater, the Doctor's Hospital, St Stephens church on Blackstone), empty storefronts, and empty streets as a result. It is time to speak up and let others be heard.

http://www.hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/


I'd suggest that you use caution in assessing Mr. Rossi's opinions. For years, Mr. Rossi has endorsed the paving of the Promontory Point shoreline. This the plan by the City (and Army Corps of Engineers) to place a smooth paved surface continuously along the waterfront of Promontory Point. I disagree with him about Promontory Point.

Mr. Rossi also endorses the demolition of the vintage Doctors Hospital building to make way for a Marriot. I disagree with that plan. It's probably too late, but it would nice to keep the Doctors Hospital building and reuse it as a residential conversion. The Doctors Hospital building was built in 1910 as the Illinois Central Hospital. I would support a Marriot in the neighborhood, even a very tall one. Heck, how about a few tall hotels. Just not at this site.

By the way, I agree with much of what Mr. Rossi says about other development issues, including Harper Court. It is not useful today as a subsidized place. Just watch out for the Harper Court Foundation board members trying to give the land to their cronies. Rossi's blog also is well-written and funny. I like the way he skewers some the public art in Hyde Park. Now, I love public art, but some artists there have put up eyesores that uglify a few key blocks. Rossi and a co-blogger rightfully ridicule these pieces.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=28372

Reschke primed for malls again
By H. Lee Murphy

Prime Group — a holding company that lost control of Baltimore-based Prime Retail in 2003 — is pushing ahead on plans to build a 425,000-square-foot shopping center at 39th and State streets on the South Side. Construction on the $225-million project, which includes nearly 150 condo units, is likely to start in spring.

^ Great news. I hope it's designed well

^ Wait a minute. I think that' the same project as this, right?

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/image/0507/Newsst3.jpg

City to help out in West Elsdon
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
September 9, 2007
The city will help a developer convert a West Elsdon industrial site into land suitable for 226 residential units.

51st Street Residential LLC will build will build 24 townhouses, 118 condominiums in two mid-rise towers and 86 single-family houses at Homan Avenue and 51st Street. That 10-acre site is at 5000-5058 S. Homan; 3400-3456 W. 51st St.; and 5001-5059 S. St. Louis Ave.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-westelsdon_re_09-09_sep09,0,499228.story



CITY REPORT
3 charter schools find home in Archer Heights
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
September 9, 2007
Three charter schools will fill vacant warehouse space in the Archer Heights neighborhood.

UNO Charter School Network Inc., a non-profit charter-school developer, will convert the warehouse at 4615 S. Kildare Ave. and at 4248 W. 47th St., into two elementary schools and one high school to serve Archer Heights and West Elsdon.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-archer_re_09-09sep09,0,3563368.story

http://www.suntimes.com/business/550924,CST-FIN-hege11.article

Major residential project proposed for Hegewisch
REAL ESTATE | Retail also slated for city's only trailer park

September 11, 2007
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN droeder@suntimes.com/fspielman@suntimes.com

The owner of Chicago's only trailer park wants to turn it into a community of up to 960 permanent homes, supplemented by new stores and parks.
The project would cover 130 acres in Hegewisch on the Southeast Side. It's so big that completion might take decades, but the plan itself makes an obscure location one of the most significant development sites in the city, second only in size to the U.S. Steel South Works property.

The new construction would gradually replace the Harbour Point Estates mobile home site at 4000 E. 134th St. The property sits between Wolf and Powderhorn lakes near the Indiana state line, and the developers hope the natural surroundings will attract home buyers.
..

^ By golly, them's gonna tear up our trailer park! I reckon we better head back down to Alabama now, Betty

It's so big that completion might take decades....

Huh? This thing is half the size of most suburban subdivisions. I doubt it will take longer than 4 or 5 years, once the site plan is complete. Of course, I don't know if this can be built speculatively like your average sprawls-ville.

This blog is excellent. Check out its latest post. This guy seriously needs to come to SSC:

Monday, September 17, 2007
Parking, New Housing, and a few NIMBY Myths

Show me a new residential development in Hyde Park, and I'll show you a clutch of NIMBYs with a petition against it.

What are the usual NIMBY objections? Well, once you get beyond the rhetorically powerful but empirically dubious claim that new development poses a "danger to our children," somehow putting new housing on the same threat level as Osama Bin Laden, NIMBY opposition to new development typically boils down to the matter-of-fact issues of parking and density.
(Read the rest at link below):
http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/

This blog is excellent. Check out its latest post. This guy seriously needs to come to SSC:

Monday, September 17, 2007
Parking, New Housing, and a few NIMBY Myths

Show me a new residential development in Hyde Park, and I'll show you a clutch of NIMBYs with a petition against it.

What are the usual NIMBY objections? Well, once you get beyond the rhetorically powerful but empirically dubious claim that new development poses a "danger to our children," somehow putting new housing on the same threat level as Osama Bin Laden, NIMBY opposition to new development typically boils down to the matter-of-fact issues of parking and density.
(Read the rest at link below):
http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/

I can't let that pass without saying that the "hydeparkprogress" blog is WRONG to advocate paving the Promontory Point shoreline and WRONG to advocate the demolition of the 1909-built Doctors Hospital building.

However, hydeparkprogress is FANTASTIC in the way that they skewer anti-density, anti-height NIMBY's in Hyde Park. A breath of fresh air!

^ Yeah, these bloggers may be hurting themselves by not siding with some key preservationist issues.

Many pro-development, pro-density people also tend to be ardent preservationists (like myself and many others I've met on these forums), so I'm not sure what gives.

The Promontory Point thing has been debated many times over. The compromise plan that was proposed and rejected by the community would have re-used many of the limestone blocks, provided an erosion-resistant shoreline, and allowed for 600 feet total of beach access over two locations. The use of recycled and new limestone would have hidden the concrete-and-steel nature of the seawall. Even with all of these features, this plan could have been started and well underway as we speak, and this was its greatest virtue.

Instead, obstinate Hyde Parkers continue to push for a wasteful replacement of the Point seawall exactly as it was before. This would be tremendously expensive, and it would wear out quickly the same way the old one did.

Meanwhile, the old Point revetment continues to crumble and pose a safety and health hazard to the thousands of visitors the place gets on a yearly basis. Maybe that's their strategy: let the place deteriorate so much that it loses value as a destination, then they can have it to themselves.

Starbucks Opening Shows Transformation of Stateway Gardens Project

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/starbucks1.jpg

The opening of a Starbucks store at a location formerly occupied by the now-demolished Stateway Gardens public housing project will help create a self-sustaining cycle of economic and social transformation in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Mayor Richard M. Daley said today.


Daley made his remarks at the dedication of the new store, which opened last week for business at 3506 South State St.


For many years, the surrounding neighborhood was dominated by the Chicago Housing Authority’s Stateway Gardens housing project, whose demolition and replacement with the new Park Boulevard mixed income development is part of CHA’s ongoing program of transforming the old projects into vital new neighborhoods.

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/starbucks2.jpg

Later, Daley took U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson on a tour of Park Boulevard which, when completed, will have 1300 new units of public, affordable and market price housing.


“It is impossible to overstate the importance of a retailer like Starbucks locating at 35th and State, “Daley said.

(Read the rest at link below):

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1409989036.1190255799@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddmdfglkimcefecelldffhdfhl.0&contentOID=536960746&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&displayBack=null&topChannelName=HomePage&blockName=Content&context=Recent+News

I've been looking at grad schools, and I've driven through that area in Bronzeville going back and forth in my visits to IIT from Hyde Park, and dizamn, that neighborhood is hot. Construction everywhere. If I had money to invest in real estate, I'd do it there.

As an addendum, I find it exciting to note that when I first came to Chicago 4 years ago as a naive first-year, I refrained from going around that area thanks to the massive stretch of projects around that area. But now it looks a million times better. Alot changes in just a few years (man I feel old now!)

^ Yeah, still WAY too much vacant, underutilized land, though. There are some wonderful old structures sitting boarded up just waiting to be reused.

Why is this part of town so neglected? It kills me

i could launch into a long discussion of racial issues and economic disinvestment (I studied this for many quarters at UChicago) but I'm at work and it's depressing. And it's unfortunate, too, because MLK is a really nice boulevard on the whole to drive or bike on.

Many areas along the Dan Ryan are downright embarrasing for a major city, leaving the impression of total poverty/neglect. Especially along the west side of the highway (Fuller Park). The houses are much more rural-like backwater than a major city -- very shacky.

Now that the highrise projects are gone, and the reconstruction of the highway, redevelopment of some of the immediate areas along this major gateway to the city will come into focus.

Green light for pilot at former U.S. Steel site
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
October 14, 2007
Sixty-five vacant, city-owned parcels adjacent to the former U.S. Steel site in the South Chicago neighborhood will see long-anticipated residential development in a pilot program for a model energy-efficient neighborhood.

"We have a huge opportunity to turn the area's [Rust Belt] reputation on its head," Marilyn Engwall, a project manager from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, said last week.

Engwall and other city planners have worked with residents and neighborhood leaders, including Ald. John Pope (10th), to plan a green neighborhood that includes streets, sidewalks, parks, housing, commercial districts and possibly a streetcar network to carry residents to the three major Metra stations that serve the area or to its retail and entertainment establishments.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-s_chicago_ja_re_10-14oct14,0,4303699.story

From all that I have heard and seen the steel works site is matching or exceeding my hopes and expectations. It still early in the game but I like the ideas for density, transit, and land use along the lakefront. It will be interesting as the development rolls along what kind of interplay it will have with the surrounding neighborhoods and south side in general as it grows.

The Tribune has some small renders of the LEED houses they are talking about in the article and they look pretty modern and nice.

I sort dissected this first article to point out the little snippet in bold, which drew some laughs from me. Even after being fired, Tillman continues her quest to keep her former ward dirt-poor and bereft of hope:

Developer sought for 47th, King
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
October 21, 2007
City planners are looking for a retail or mixed-use developer for long vacant city-owned land at 47th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

"This is prime retail space. The idea for a park was conceived over the last 10 years , and ... it sat vacant, non-productive, a blight in the community while there is tremendous need for retail," Ald. Patricia Dowell (3rd) told the Community Development Commission.

[B].......Tillman told commissioners that she is prepared to sue the city if they abandon the plan for the park, for which she has used city funds to buy art.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-king_drive_ja_re_10-21oct21,0,4491118.story



80 condos planned for project on Cottage Grove
By Jeanette Almada | Special to the Tribune
October 21, 2007
A mixed-use project with 80 condominiums is planned for long vacant land on Cottage Grove Avenue in the North Kenwood neighborhood.

The Chicago Community Development Commission this summer approved the sale of city-owned property at 4501-4521 S. Cottage Grove Ave. to a developer who will build a seven-story building with 80 condos and 25,000 square feet of retail space, contributing to a considerable retail expansion under way on Cottage Grove.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-cottage_grove_re_ja_10-21oct21,0,6911337.story

http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/OCT07/cover2.html

CHICAGO IS GAME FOR GROWTH

We are very excited about what’s happening on the south side, as well. For the past year or so, we read a lot about Chatham Marketplace, Archon Group’s project down in Chatham. There are probably 15 to 20 sites that are being scoured by people like Dave Bossy and others that are contemplating development down in that market. We’re working on a project, Metropolis with Capri Capital at the corner of 39th and State streets in Bronzeville, and I’m shocked with the level of interest from retailers that are inquiring about moving into the urban areas.
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/7861/themetropolishr3.jpg

^ I love this development. I'm talking about how desperately pathetic much of Chicago's south side is right now in another thread (despite some of it being PRIME real estate!), and this is exactly what needs to happen in these areas--not now, but yesterday!

IIT chief going for 'exciting'
BRONZEVILLE | 'We'd love to see a little college town develop,' school's new president says

October 28, 2007
BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter dnewbart@suntimes.com
No one would suggest the social life at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Bronzeville campus would ever rank it on Playboy's list of the top party schools.

There are no restaurants or trendy bars near campus. Students say they head downtown or to the North Side on weekends.

"It's not a party school," noted Elizabeth Schmit, who lives in an alcohol-free Kappa Phi Delta house. "We don't have toga parties."

New IIT president John Anderson, a chemical engineer, isn't looking to turn the school into the University of Wisconsin. But he would like to see a vibrant community sprout near campus.

"We'd love to see a little college town develop," said Anderson, who will be inaugurated as the school's eighth president Tuesday. "It would be great to have a pub."
http://www.suntimes.com/technology/623632,CST-NWS-IIT28.article




Chicago Lawn teams up to back Cannery

To learn more about and show support for a proposed 1 1/2 million-square-foot retail complex in Chicago Lawn, about 50 community leaders assembled at the Churchview Senior Complex on Sept. 26 for a meeting convened by primary partners General Growth Properties and NCP lead agency Greater Southwest Development Corp.

Jeff Bartow, director of Southwest Organizing Project, holds up the Chicago Lawn NCP quality of life plan, titled "Making Connections," in setting the tone for the Sept. 26 meeting about a proposed 1 1/2 million square foot retail development called The Cannery.

http://www.newcommunities.org/cmaimages/Cannery-leasingplan2.jpg

The residents, business owners, educators, clergy, police, and nonprofit social services providers and community developers packed the room to hear about The Cannery, which would incorporate existing retail outlets like Jewel-Osco and Sears while adding new anchors, smaller stores, restaurants and a community center.

In introducing the 27-acre concept, Jeff Bartow, director of the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), a key partner in the NCP task force process, held up the Chicago Lawn quality-of-life plan, titled "Making Connections." He reminded those assembled that the plan called for building a "town center" at 60th Street and Western Avenue.
http://www.newcommunities.org/news/articleDetail.asp?objectID=857&communityID=

Recently spotted a unique development beside the Amtrak railway while travelling south. Appears that an urban brownfield is being transformed into a viable community with a mix of housing styles on the Southside. (The very type of development that Forumers promote.)

This was surprising in that I'm not that familiar with that part of the city (around 85 & Parnell/Vincennes) and knew nothing of this. What is the area and development called? How extensive will this be?

This may be of interest to those in other threads who feel that nothing positive ever happens on the S.Side.

These are images from Google Map:

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/1217/parnelldevsx5.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnelldevsx5.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5015/parnell2my5.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnell2my5.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/4008/parnell3le4.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnell3le4.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7704/parnell4gx5.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnell4gx5.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3151/parnell5tn0.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnell5tn0.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8509/parnell6zl1.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=parnell6zl1.jpg)

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

Chicago — Shops and Lofts at 47, 47th St. and Cottage Grove Ave., 161-unit mixed-use complex, July 2008, $87 million.

----------

Also an article in the HP Herald about 56th and Cornell project (''construction...could begin next summer").

^ I am in awe of that development for many reasons, but how can construction start without even starting sales?

I have no idea, but remember that the mention of a project in that list does not mean that construction will start, nor does it mean that sales have started and/or have gone well.

Buildings, if they want to enlist the services of major contractors, need to start talking to them well in advance of the project date. If they anticipate the units to sell quickly, that may mean talking to contractors before sales begin, to minimize the delivery time.

From Hyde Park Progress (http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/):

The community meeting (with Antheus Capital and Leslie Hairston) regarding the proposed "Solstice on the Park" development at 56th and Cornell is set for Thursday, November 15th, at 7:00 PM at the Bret Harte School, 1556 East 56th Street.

According to the HP Herald, it looks like they will have to go back to the drawing boards for the Marriott hotel after preservationists showed an alternative proposal for the site. Which is not a bad thing considering the hotel towers looked cheap and destroyed the Doctor's Hospital.

Considering the relative shortage of vintage commercial streetscapes on the south side, this is great news:

Landmark district proposed for Cottage Grove

Designation would encompass more than 20 Chatham and Greater Grand Crossing buildings

One of Chicago's finest surviving groups of neighborhood commercial buildings today received preliminary approval as a landmark district by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

Located along Cottage Grove Avenue, primarily between 75th and 79th streets, the proposed district features 21 Classical, Renaissance, Gothic Revival and Prairie style structures dating to the early 1900s. All but three of the buildings are noted for their terra cotta cladding and ornamentation, which reached an apex of creativity and lavishness during the 1920s, according to the commission.
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@1001450191.1195619433@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfaddmiiefmflcefecelldffhdffn.0&contentOID=536964536&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=Dept&blockName=Planning+And+Development%2FI+Want+To&context=dept&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Planning+And+Development&deptMainCategoryOID=

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/669790,CST-FIN-roeder28.article

McCaffery aims to fit with Flair
DAVID ROEDER

PRIMO LAND: Quintin Primo III, chairman of Capri Capital Partners LLC, is said to be making headway in plans to start a $155 million residential and retail center southwest of 39th and State. An insider reports that he's close to landing a grocery store anchor. Letters of intent have been drafted for Roundy's, Dominick's and Ultra Foods, the source said, adding that a movie theater chain and the standard CVS or Walgreens are also close to signing.

Thank god it's not a Jewel. Jewel's shown very little tolerance for unique architecture in their buildings - whereas Roundy's has 2 or 3 stores planned downtown at the base of towers, and Dominick's is planning to anchor a Hartshorne Plunkard-designed modernist building on North Broadway.

Drugstore chains are another business that really go for uniformity in their buildings at all costs. Hence, we get one-story Walgreens stores with drivethrus in River North and the Gold Coast. :puke:

For those of you who are interested and live in or around Hyde Park, there is a day long workshop where 53rd st development will be discussed. It sounds like there will be an opportunity here to push for more density, plus the Alderman will be in attendance. For anyone who is interested, the workshop will be held at 8:30 am on Saturday, Dec 8th, at Canter Middle School, 4959 S. Blackstone.

And more south side news:

Retail rehab gets started on Cottage Grove
Pockets of success give hope to Bronzeville residents trying to restore commerce to once-bustling district
By Susan Chandler | Tribune staff reporter
December 17, 2007
It was the heart of Chicago's "Black Metropolis," a commercial swath of black-owned businesses that thrived on the South Side between World War I and World War II. To some, Cottage Grove Avenue's mix of black insurance brokers, butchers and shop owners represented a viable separatist model for black urban development.

Today, the Cottage Grove corridor looks like a war zone.

Yet optimists like Bernita Johnson-Gabriel envision Cottage Grove's string of decrepit board-ups and vacant lots being transformed into the next Andersonville, a walkable stretch of eclectic boutiques, shops and eateries that will draw shoppers and fun-seekers from around the city and suburbs.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mon_baidu_1217dec17,0,3959783.story

According to the January '08 edition of Chicago Magazine:

1. See Wong has a 7 story condo development with ground level retail spaces planned on south Canal, and it's 80% sold.

2. He has a number of other developments planned to "expand" Chinatown

3. He appears to be selling mostly to recent Chinese immigrants who are interested in owning property

4. He claims the housing slowdown hasn't affected him at all given #3 above

That's all, folks!

HOORAY FOR EXPANDING CHINATOWN
http://www.futuramer.ru/art/DeadAngel/DA_Zoidberg.GIF

http://www.nearwestgazette.com/Archive/2008/0108/News01082.htm

Alderman Pat Dowell looks to scrap stymied Bronzville Park
By Stacie Johnson

Although former 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy Tillman has been unseated, she still finds herself fighting with the Daley administration. This time the battle concerns a sculpture park that formed part of her long-time Bronzeville redevelopment plans.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6653/news0117rr5.jpg

Want an example of brilliantly crafted and effective anti-NIMBY activity at work? Want to see somebody who knows what he's doing and knows how to do it right? Want to see somebody who has effectively turned the tide in favor of density in his neighborhood, has caught the attention of many neighbors, and has managed to influence his Alderman? Read this one posting below titled "53rd st Visioning Results", and let this be an inspiration for other people out there:

http://hydeparkprogress.blogspot.com/2008/01/53rd-st-visioning-results.html

I generally like that blog except for its views on Promontory Point, Doctors Hospital, and St. Stephens - they always seem to accept mediocrity as a sign of progress.

^ I agree with you on these issues. However, I would say that the HP Blogger has overall done much more good than harm

What are the issues with their stance on the Point?

If their chronology is to be believed, a ton of community input was taken to arrive at a compromise plan that preserved some historical character but allowed for less expensive construction and much more durability. That same community then turned on the city and the Army Corps of Engineers against the compromise, and ended up receiving nothing.

Hyde Parkers should not expect to get a special park to themselves with a tremendous cost of construction and maintenance while the rest of the city has to suffer for lack of that money. Downtown projects like Millennium Park can afford to spend hundreds of millions because of the tourism and development dollars they generate.

If Hyde Parkers love the historical design at the Point, they can keep it, in all of its decrepitude. I don't live there, so it's no skin off of my teeth.

Reshaping south lakefront

Developer targets Lake Meadows for 7,000 residential units

Plans are in the works for one of the city's largest residential developments ever, a 70-acre project that promises to invigorate Chicago's southern lakefront.

this was in crain's
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=29088

I liked the density of Lake Meadows now but who am I to stand in the way of progress. Another quick point in the article they mentioned the USX site. USX is supposed to be the largest residential development in the city.

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?rssFeed=news;id=27777

Treasure Island store to replace Hyde Park Co-Op

Jan. 15, 2008
By Lorene Yue

The historic Hyde Park Co-Op will close on Sunday and will be replaced with a Treasure Island grocery store.

Chicago-based Treasure Island has taken over the lease at 1526 E. 55th St., the University of Chicago, landlord for the space, announced Tuesday. Treasure Island would like to be open before the end of February, the university said in a statement.

I found a site plan for one of the first phases of South Works, a retail center. I'm extremely unimpressed - it belongs in the suburbs, not along Chicago's lakefront.

On top of that, it doesn't allow 80th or 81st Streets to continue unbroken into the residential section to the east of this site. The streets in that section are supposed to be aligned with the old streets, precisely so that they can be connected seamlessly.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9919/southworks1eq8.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/2747/southworks2il8.jpg

^ That site plan is unadulterated trash. Fuck that.

What happened to the previous plan for that site (posted here a while back)? It was 1000 times better

This is part of the original site plan - just a particularly bad part of it.

Spyguy posted this image last spring. Near the top of the site, you can see some random towers and short buildings surrounded by asphalt - that's this site.
http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7591/southworks1jk8.jpg

^ Ahhhh, I didn't notice that before.

Still a shitty site plan, in light of this new perspective.

^ Ahhhh, I didn't notice that before.

Still a shitty site plan, in light of this new perspective.

You never know what new plans or changes might be on the horizon :)

You never know what new plans or changes might be on the horizon :)

Sounds like you may know or heard something Vic.:gossip:

You never know what new plans or changes might be on the horizon :)

Damn it, BV, spill the beans

Huge project proposed over Metra railroad tracks near McCormick Place
By Robert Manor and Kathy Bergen | Tribune reporters
February 6, 2008
A developer who has helped redefine the South Loop is planning a vast new project near Lake Michigan south of downtown that would include thousands of residences, a large office tower and a major hotel near McCormick Place at a cost of $4 billion.

Jerry Fogelson, founder of Fogelson Properties, which built the Central Station complex of thousands of condominiums and townhomes south of the Loop, said his proposal would involve building over the Metra rail yard on the west side of Lake Shore Drive near Soldier Field.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed_projectfeb06,1,7695483.story

Sox Park area: new ballgame?
Real estate | Bars, stores, eateries could join lineup

February 13, 2008
DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com
The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, landlord for the Chicago White Sox, is doing more than examining whether to take Wrigley Field off Sam Zell's hands as part of his unloading of Tribune Co. assets. The authority has started entertaining development possibilities across 35th Street from U.S. Cellular Field, which it owns.

Perri Irmer, the authority's chief executive, emphasized the agency is just starting to consider how to improve the mostly barren ground around the ballpark. The property under review is used for surface parking and is connected via an overhead walkway to the park.

Irmer said the agency is open to anything that would ensure "a great experience for White Sox fans and area residents alike." Office use is not in the works, but Irmer said stores, bars and restaurants could be a good fit. The trick, of course, is whether they could draw customers when the White Sox are not around.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/790569,CST-FIN-roeder13.article

In the next phase of Oakwood Shores, on 37th & Cottage Grove, the following is planned:

http://www.chicagomag.com/images/2008/February%202008/DealEstate_Alter.jpg

Looks good. The site right now is almost completely vacant, with not much worth saving. It fronts onto Ellis Park, so it should be something better than single-family houses.

Are you sure that is across from Ellis park? Ellis Park is north of 37th. It is a beautiful building, and I hope that everything north of 37th looks better than the SF and townhomes they are putting south of it. Here is the overall site plan. The area between McCormick and Hyde Park is a diamond in the rough and it is great seeing it developed without necessarily gentrifying.


http://oakwoodshores.com/Site%20Plan%20-%20Rental%20&%20For-Sale.pdf

I'll post this here, since there's no dedicated SW side/Midway thread:

Dressing up a city gateway
MIDWAY | Proposed hotel north of airport would spruce up drab Cicero Ave., pay off for Chicago

February 18, 2008
BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN droeder@suntimes.com fspielman@suntimes.com
Developers have proposed a new hotel just north of Midway Airport, promising to dress up a shabby commercial street that's a gateway to Chicago for many visitors.

The six-story hotel would be built at 5331 S. Cicero on property that Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd) said has been vacant for years. The developers have asked the city for zoning authority to build the hotel, starting a review process that could take several months.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/799369,CST-FIN-hotel18.article

In today's Hyde Park Herald (link to article below), preliminary plans to redevelop Harper Court into a series of 4, 5, and 6 story mixed-use (residential/retail) buildings were released (a rendering is included). Apparently, it was met with pretty good response from the community, and the developer emphasized that even more density may be needed. Keep in mind that we have the HP Blogger down there, who is doing a great job of keeping NIMBY stupidity at bay:

http://www.hpherald.com/

I doubt very many people in Hyde Park are swayed one way or the other by some person's blog. More likely is that Hyde Park is an extremely educated neighborhood and the newer generations of people there are more in tune with urban neighborhood planning considerations than the "knock it all down" 1950s crowd, which still favors the white-knuckled terror approach.

This trend is probably driven by the U of C itself much more than some blogger--the university quite explicitly tries to attract more faculty, staff, and students to live in Hyde Park, and in particular it has not been shy about the fact that significant change is necessary to make the neighborhood attractive. I've heard their HR people tell new hires about the long-term hopes to redevelop the strip malls along Lake Park. Certainly everybody I know down there thinks the neighborhood needs to stop effectively turning its back on Lake Park.

That said, Harper Court doesn't seem to me like as important an area to redevelop as the heinous stuff just east of it and the generally horrifying 55th. Unfortunately, there's bigger things than blogs at work here, such as the attempts by the University and every other major player in the neighborhood to keep it stultifyingly dull for students, especially those poor undergrads.

The city pushing for TOD and a small mixed-use south side development:

#1 (full article):

Plans sought for Jackson, Washington Park sites
By Jeanette Almada | SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
February 24, 2008
City planners are seeking development proposals for two South Side parcels near Jackson Park and Washington Park.

The sites offer an opportunity adjacent to two jewels in Chicago's Parks and Boulevard System, a Chicago Department of Planning and Development project manager told Community Development Commissioners in January.

The commission approved the Planning Department's request for proposals, issuing the request Jan. 29. Interested developers have until April 14 to submit their bids to the Planning Department.

Blackstone Avenue in Woodlawn. It is a block west of Jackson Park and several blocks south of Midway Plaisance and the University of Chicago's south campus. The city acquired the land through sheriff's deed transactions in the 1970s.

The other is 3.52 acres on the southwest corner of King Drive and 60th Street. Acquired through city tax deed and sheriff's deed transactions from the mid-1980s through 2000, it is across King Drive from the 372-acre Washington Park, slated as a primary venue in the 2016 Olympic bid.

City planners and community leaders want to see mixed-use projects with retail such as a restaurant, newsstand, flower shop, small bank and convenience retailers; residential units; and possibly a hotel.

Planners will look for transit-oriented projects that are pedestrian friendly, with access to the 63rd Street Metra train station and the CTA's Garfield Boulevard Green Line station. Though both sites are vacant, a developer likely will have to work with the city's Department of Environment and possibly the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to make the land development ready. To be sold "as-is," the city's target price is $3.2 million for the 63rd and Blackstone parcel and $5.2 million for the 60th and King Drive parcel.

Proposals may request tax-increment financing or subsidies through the Chicago Department of Housing's New Homes for Chicago or Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods programs.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-jackson_park_re_ja_02-24feb24,0,5679936.story



#2:

Deal for city land advances project
By Jeanette Almada | SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
February 24, 2008
A local developer's purchase of city-owned land completes the site for a five-story, 24-unit, mixed-use project is expected to push forward redevelopment of the Grand Boulevard's Cottage Grove Avenue commercial corridor.

Art Gurevich and Marko Boldun, through Cottage Grove Construction LLC, will buy the city-owned parcel at 4514 S. Cottage Grove for $1.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/news/chi-cottage_grove_re_ja_02-24feb24,0,2848087.story

Grand Imperial Hotel
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4408/grandimperial2nu4.jpg

Millennium East Plaza

I like the little TGV in the rendering of Imperial Plaza, but wouldn't a Japanese bullet train have been more appropriate?

Millennium East Plaza is interesting, certainly, but the site plan is uninspiring. The first render seems to show the building as separated from Canal by a strip of parking. The second render shows the building right at the corner, which is more appropriate. I would assume the surface parking isn't going anywhere, but it can at least be shifted further back away from the main streets.

Millennium East Plaza
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6531/rendering3ah4.jpg
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/4448/chinamercmartws4.jpg

^ Are these supposed to be 2 angles of the same project or what?

Grand Imperial Hotel
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4408/grandimperial2nu4.jpg


Are they / did they relocate the Rock Island line? I thought the tracks split this site in half? I believe Plan Commission approved in January... any body have any additional information?

Nobody's relocating anything... the building will simply be crammed between Clark and the tracks. If See Wong does own the property on the west side of the tracks, then apparently he's merely doing landscaping over there (judging by the rendering).

According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, See Wong bought the land from Metra.... which makes sense.

Nobody's relocating anything... the building will simply be crammed between Clark and the tracks. If See Wong does own the property on the west side of the tracks, then apparently he's merely doing landscaping over there (judging by the rendering).

According to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, See Wong bought the land from Metra.... which makes sense.

If that is true... then he only has about 70'-80' to work with. I am assuming that there is an easement next to the tracks too that would make it even more difficult. I suppose it was done north of here with a 6th story building and hotel rooms (condo-hotel) are usually smaller than your run of the mill apartment/condo. I would assume they are stashing parking on the other side of the tracks.

Maybe he's stashing parking under the tracks - but the parking shown in the rendering looks like the corner of the lot underneath the CTA station. Is it possible that this building will be valet only, and utilize an off-site facility somewhere?

There are two sets of tracks. I was thinking the building would be between Clark and the first set of tracks, and the parking would be between the first (Rock Island) and second (CTA) tracks.

Possibly. To be honest, I'd rather have a parking lot than useless greenspace that nobody uses. At least a parking lot is an active use.

The ideal solution would of course be to properly landscape the greenspace so it could be used and enjoyed by people, but the CTA tracks and Rock Island tracks make it quite a noisy place to "enjoy nature".

Washington Park's problems persist, but more people are willing to take a chance, invest
Chicago's push for the Olympics makes Washington Park a prime candidate for redevelopment, but even if the 2016 Games don't happen here, some people think the neighborhood can make a comeback and gene
By Kathy Bergen and Susan Chandler | TRIBUNE REPORTERS
March 16, 2008

Craig Huffman comes to the private-equity world with a multifaceted set of credentials: two master's degrees from the University of Chicago, stints in the non-profit world, and a stretch as a rehabber of distressed properties.

Now Huffman is ready to make some big money, and he is zeroing in on a real estate market that until recently was all but forgotten: Chicago's Washington Park neighborhood, one of the city's poorest and bleakest.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_washingtonmar16,0,5305260.story?page=1