October 3, 201113 yr Mega Update Time! I couldn't catch everything, and there's a few highrises just breaking ground that I'll catch next time. INSTITUTO DEL PROGRESO LATINO HEALTH SCIENCES ACADEMY Western near Blue Island STUDENT HOUSING 18th near Pink Line Station PING TOM MEMORIAL PARK EXTENSION Chinatown RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE Okay...rather it's just a general panorama, but you can see it behind the Trib. BURBERRY FLAGSHIP North Michigan Avenue RITZ CARLTON RESIDENCES North Michigan Avenue MULTI-TENANT COMMERCIAL RESTORATION Oak Street ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY South Wabash Avenue MIXED-USE BUILDING Devon Ave. DAMEN HALL REPLACEMENT ACADEMIC BUILDING Loyola University - Lakeshore ADMIRAL Foster and Marine OLDTOWN RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Wells St. All photos by me / creative commons
October 3, 201113 yr Awesome updates. Thanks! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 3, 201113 yr Impressive developments everywhere! The energy and momentum of your great city is awesome! Thank you, NorthAndre.
October 4, 201113 yr Thanks guys! Here's more info on the Admiral BTW. The back part of the building has yet to be completed, but it shouldn't be long before this is finished. http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/10/03/new-photos-admiral-on-the-lakedamen-hall.php#admiral-3
October 12, 201113 yr I rode past the Motor Club building on Water Street today. It's one my favorite small art deco buildings. So convenient for this fresh article. The buyers intend to renovate / restore the building into a boutique hotel. http://www.suntimes.com/business/8158503-452/chicago-motor-club-building-due-for-an-overhaul-maybe-a-hotel.html
October 28, 201113 yr Recent video about the 95th Dan Ryan stop on the red line. http://thesixthward.blogspot.com/2011/10/video-state-of-95dan-ryan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheSixthWard+%28The+Sixth+Ward%29&utm_content=Google+Reader One of the people interviewed mentions the red line extension. More info on that here. http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/planning/Red_Line_Extension_UPRR_LPA.pdf It would service (somewhat) the historic Pullman neighborhood. Most people are probably surprised by the stop at 130th, but I guess there must be big plans for Lake Calumet
October 31, 201113 yr Here's a few shots I took and photoshopped on my iphone. I think i'm going to go crazy taking photos with the camera on the 4s
October 31, 201113 yr Beautiful colors! MI Ave is looking good with that new asphalt. I was there a couple weeks ago when it was all torn up which was not so pleasant. BUT I did see the google streetview camera car near your last two shots. Can't wait to see if I'm there in google maps waiving like a loser.
October 31, 201113 yr Yeah the resurfacing was a really big deal. The pavement along Michigan Ave had some major potholes and areas around drains were actually collapsing. Since the resurfacing, my commute time by bike has actually improved.
November 7, 201113 yr Morgan Street Green and Pink line infill station to serve the Fulton Market Neighborhood. K-Station City / Fulton River District...another new residential highrise part of this huge complex of buildings. The Kennedy expressway runs beneath where that giant drill bit is sitting.
November 9, 201113 yr ^-I can't wait for that station to be finished. That neighborhood has so much potential to be a lively destination (down the street it already kind of is). This will make things better :).
November 14, 201113 yr ^ I was actually looking at renting a loft a block down a couple years ago, but was discouraged by the fact that there was no transit stop close enough, despite the El passed right by. Well...it's getting built now. I'm sure that loft has been rented by now. New streeterville tower. I like it! Images from Curbed Chicago. Read more here: http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/10/david-hoveys-streeterville-debut.php Currently an empty site with double decked street access. Directly North of it is the Ronald McDonald house tower which is finishing up exterior construction.
November 23, 201113 yr Renderings released for my neighborhood Jewel Grocery Store to be demolished into A JEWEL GROCERY STORE TOWER!!!! Photos from curbed chicago Read more: http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/21/tower-of-jewel-could-tower-over-clark-and-division.php
November 23, 201113 yr Oh lawd. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 23, 201113 yr ^ Well you have your Kroger Tower. And just look at the beast of a parking podium. You know Chicagoans love their free parking when they shop Another new development I stumbled across. Conversion of The Fulton Market Cold Storage Building into an office building. I'm aware not everyone is happy with the de-industrialization of Carroll Ave into yuppie central. But it's a delicate balancing act of keeping the grit while some of these companies move to areas outside the downtown, closer to where their employees live and in more modern facilities. Here you see the cold storage building in the background behind some converted industrial buildings Photos by me
November 29, 201113 yr 360 W. Hubbard has financing Construction Start: Now Source: Curbed Chicago http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/11/16/show-me-the-money-two-rental-towers-get-financing.php
November 29, 201113 yr AMLI is under construction now. I'll see if I can get pics soon. Source: Marinacityonline http://www.marinacityonline.com/news/amli0928.htm
November 29, 201113 yr An important renovation project in the Near West side. The city purchased the vacant building for $5 million. The building will become affordable housing and has the $20 million necessary to begin renovations. http://g.co/maps/d3sh9
November 30, 201113 yr Looks like Walmart will be opening their next store inside the 3-story The Recycled Paper Greetings Building on Chicago's Northside. http://g.co/maps/3ddgv Renderings of the Ravenswood Station Plan. Lots of commercial, but the residential tower was ditched due to large enough community opposition. Lame. http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news/ravenswood-station-developers-to-discuss-plans-thursday
December 2, 201113 yr Nice article about the potential renovation of the 3 Million sqft vacant post office. http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20111201/CRED01/111209981/point-man-for-old-main-post-office#ixzz1fJr3fRur
December 3, 201113 yr Ravenswood Station is an interesting concept; develop a market and other retail and make sure nobody lives nearby, but provide plenty of parking. Where have I seen that sort of thinking embraced before? Oh .... wait ....
December 4, 201113 yr Yeah this has been a huge debated issue. There's a small minority group of us that think Chicago allows waaaay too much parking. It's the reason Chicago is one of the largest auto-oriented cities in the US. I'll admit to being a bit hypocritical since I have, and will probably own a car here in the future. But once you get used to the way the system works, it's very easy to own a car here and drive around the city.
December 4, 201113 yr I looked at the whole presentation, and I liked what I saw. The parking is in the back, and the storefront is up to the street. Its also right next to a Metra stop, so the parking lot can double as a "kiss and ride" Ravenswood is pretty densely populated, so there will be plenty of walk up business. But, to each thier own. I would kill for a shopping center designed like that in my neighborhood in New Orleans.
December 6, 201113 yr Coast at Lakeshore East NEW EASTSIDE, Chicago Newhomessection.com http://www.newhomessection.com/news/eighth-high-rise-tower-breaks-ground-at-coast-at-lakeshore-east/2011/06/21/
December 7, 201113 yr ^^^ I work down the street from there and was wondering what was going to be built at that location. The new grocery store over there is awesome by the way.
December 7, 201113 yr Everyone keeps telling me that. I need to check it out! BTW CDOT took count of inbound traffic toward the loop on Kinzie where the new cycle tracks are 53% OF TRAFFIC WAS BICYCLES!!!! That is insane. Kinzie is a major connector between the Milwaukee Corridor and River North and Northmost parts of the Loop. We need more cycle tracks
December 9, 201113 yr Spyguy at skyscraperpage has posted this image of a new tower in River North that will replace a parking lot. It appears to include the rehab of the old vacant fire station. Very exciting. What's also great is the parking entrance is located in the alley, dedicating 100% of the sidewalk frontage to lobby and retail. This project is proposed by JDL and it's 26 stories http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=5507390&postcount=6663
December 9, 201113 yr Foundation work at AMLI Rendering is a few posts above. The Greenway Garage to the right will have the roof deck for the building on the top floor. For those who have been to this part of RN, the garage next door has those wind turbines on it. ecofriend.com
December 9, 201113 yr Crains Chicago Reports on Sara Lee moving from the suburbs to the city. And it doesn't stop there. They are rehabbing this gem in the West Loop! Unfortunately SL is splitting into two companies. While 500 jobs come to Chicago, another 500 go elsewhere, meaning the Chicagoland region loses. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20111208/BLOGS02/111209823/sara-lee-gets-up-to-6-5-million-to-move-headquarters-500-jobs-to Photo from curbed chicago http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/12/08/sara-lee-to-bring-jobs-rehab-to-west-loop.php
December 12, 201113 yr nobody lives nearby, but provide plenty of parking. Where have I seen that sort of thinking embraced before? Oh .... wait .... I used to live in that area, there are tons of dense large brick apartment buildings there. I lived in a unit that was 40 units of mostly studio apartments myself. The lack of retail while disappointing is not going to turn the development into a mega suburban style project, in fact it will get rid of a nasty and glaring gap in the urban landscape, an absolutely humongous parking lot that serves the 1940s era Sears and provides parking for the metra station right next to it.
December 14, 201113 yr I went by Optima of Chicago today. It's now under construction Chicago Tribune http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-25/classified/ct-home-1125-development-notes-20111125_1_hardwood-floors-loft-optima-old-orchard-woods According to my counts, there's 7 highrises that have started construction downtown. 2 highrises are nearing completion. Then there's a couple midrises including the one on Wells. 2009 and 2010 were slow years, but it looks like the end of 2011 picked up the slack. 2012 will bring the New Northwestern Hospital tower, and maybe Waterview tower will resume construction.
December 14, 201113 yr Meh, I liked the old design of this proposal better. Anyway, it's replaces a crappy 3 story parking garage. Image + Read more at curbed chicago: http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2011/12/12/42story-lake-wabash-tower-rendered-anew.php
January 5, 201213 yr Another highrise....I dunno, I hope SOAR has a word or two to say about the base if it's in their jurisdiction. Look at all that concrete!! Original image source anonymous:
January 5, 201213 yr It looks like the Star Trek logo. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 7, 201213 yr Coast Tower Optima. Ronald McDonald house wrapping up construction behind it. There's rumors of stair improvements you can see in the top left of the second photo below, similar to Illinois heading toward Navy Pier where there is an escalator for pedestrians. Goose Island Bridge Modernization and Replacement moves along. Halsted over the North Branch near Division has reopened. Halsted bridge near Chicago has closed, but will be updated instead of torn down. Prior to closure, the Halsted bridge near Chicago ave could be crossed by vehicle, but was very dangerous to pedestrians because the deck had so severely buckled. It's likely the Division Street Bridge will come out next. The goose island bridges are really the only historic structures in danger of replacement or have already been replaced. Most of Chicago's other bascule bridges were incredibly overbuilt and carry large traffic volumes. They will be maintained and restored for many years to come. The feeling of those old dinosaur bridges on the North branch shaking violently when traffic goes over will be lost to the next generation of Chicagoans. They could have been updated and restored, however explosive growth in downtown areas have brought traffic well beyond maximum capacity. A before image:
February 12, 201213 yr I've been distant from this thread for awhile since I've been busy. But since I'm staying in this freezing cold weekend, I'd figure I'd share some updates. Sorry they are blurry. My hand was shaking the phone alot from this freezing cold weather. This is Lincoln 2520. Nearly finished, but the brownstones behind it haven't begun construction yet. There's also supposed to be a gigantic mansion on the property, but that hasn't begun construction either. Regardless, the tower is getting closer to occupancy. AMLI and twin hotels. Nothing really to show. AMLI is at about 1 floor, and the twin hotels are still excavating, but have begun core construction. Both of these projects replaced surfaced parking. K-Station. This will tie into the elevated viaduct from where I'm standing and also build over the Northbound / Westbound lanes of I-94. The more buildings covering up a freeway the better.
February 13, 201213 yr Coast 500 N LSD AMLI New Green / Pink Line Station at Morgan La Casa Student Housing in Pilsen Conversion of the abandoned Viceroy hotel into affordable housing. New Burberry Flaghsip
February 16, 201213 yr Andre, I am always happy to see your photos from my favorite city. I do have a few questions, though. What, exactly, will be extended over the I-94 ditch? Will it be parking structure, or revenue generating structure? Where was/is the Hotel Viceroy? What institution is building "La Casa" in Pilsen? UIC? Is that the old criminal courts building in the foreground of the photo of the twin hotel project? BTW, there can't be much surface parking left in the North Loop. Has the surface lot directly across from the Cathedral on State Street been developed? Love the photos and updates. Keep them coming!
February 19, 201213 yr Andre, I am always happy to see your photos from my favorite city. I do have a few questions, though. What, exactly, will be extended over the I-94 ditch? Will it be parking structure, or revenue generating structure? Where was/is the Hotel Viceroy? What institution is building "La Casa" in Pilsen? UIC? Is that the old criminal courts building in the foreground of the photo of the twin hotel project? BTW, there can't be much surface parking left in the North Loop. Has the surface lot directly across from the Cathedral on State Street been developed? Love the photos and updates. Keep them coming! Jeffinmichigan first off, where are you from? Though I reside in Chicago. I'm originally from Saginaw, and I work for a Michigan based company in Chicago, but I split my time between Detroit and Chicago. Always good to see other Michigan folks here. As far as the K-station project, only the garage will extend over I-94. The project is not allowed to come in contact with the freeway cap or retaining walls. The garage will have to cantilever over. I'm not certain if they actually bought air rights or not. The viceroy project was first proposed by Mayor Daley's Administration with Emanuel's following through. The building can be found here: http://g.co/maps/a6apd La Casa is a dorm in the Pilsen neighborhood It's right at the Pink Line 18th station. An older bulding occupied the site, but had some major problems and needed to be torn down. Pilsen is a historic district, so if buildings come down, it's for a very good reason. http://g.co/maps/s9z92 You a correct, twin hotels and AMIL are right by the Criminal courts building. I hope to have the names of the actual hotels, but I don't know that right now. As for the surface lots, near the church, I'm not sure yet what plans are. These I believe are owned by Holy Name Cathedral. This is actually my church, I've been meaning to ask. I know the church hopes to develop these lots eventually but are waiting for the right time. I hope they wait. This isn't the right time to sell.
March 7, 201213 yr K-Station / K-Station City The towers have now marched into industrial territory. Not everyone is happy about that. Lincoln 2520
March 8, 201213 yr Here's a terrible photo I took of La Casa in Pilsen tonight Slightly better photo of the 18th street cycle track. Steel bridge plates haven't arrived yet. I believe Chicago has been receiving specially coated plates from SlipNot. CDot appears to be replacing expansion joints as well.
March 14, 201213 yr A few phone photos from lunch today. Forgot to shut off the HDR function. Excuse the jitter
March 22, 201213 yr Rode around at lunch today and snagged a few projects more distant from the office Tower on Hubbard Hotels Project AMLI K-Station
March 24, 201213 yr Could you fill me in a bit on the K station project. So is this project in the west Loop neighborhood? Are they building a complete cap over the highway similar to what occured in Columbus?
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