Fulton River District In Line For Another Skyscraper
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
January, 2022 rendering of 527 West Kinzie Street There are plans for another new skyscraper along the Chicago River. The latest proposal is at 527 West Kinzie Street. You may know this location as the pie-shaped surface parking lot favored by 20-somethings taking gritty urban pictures of their avant-garde fashions to fill out their art school portfolios. Or you may know it as the pie-shaped surface parking lot just behind the Harry Weese’s beloved River Cottages along the North Branch of the river. Or you may have stood in this parking lot taking pictures of the old William J. Cassidy Tire Co ..read more
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CTA Ready to Iron Out Kink in Red/Purple Line
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
Any time a transportation agency tries to build something fast and sleek, there always seems to be someone standing in the way. Sometimes, literally. Think French farmers with shotguns who didn’t want the Eurostar zipping through their fields. Or Texas dirt ranchers who think high-speed rail is an infringement on their freedom. Or, in Chicago, where there are a number of places where what is now the CTA had to bend its rails to the will of people or places in the way. The rightward shift in the CTA Red and Purple Line tracks north of the Belmont station. (Via Apple Maps.) Two of those bends wi ..read more
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Shedd Aquarium Splashes Half-Billion Dollar Renovation Plan
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
One of Chicago’s best attractions wants to shell out big clams to lure in new visitors. The Shedd Aquarium has announced its Centennial Commitment, in which it plans to spend $500,000,000 renovating the aquatic life museum. It’s called “Centennial” because the idea is to have it done in time for the aquarium’s 100th anniversary. Shedd Aquarium (file) We waded through the “advance solutions,” “authentic conversations,” “springboards to inquiry,” and “informed conservation solutions” nonsense in the Shedd’s press release about the renovation, and here’s the facts distilled in plain, non-Medill ..read more
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Harrowing Hancock! Chunk of Big John Impales Mag Mile
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
We’ve been in a cheesecake-induced coma for most of the extended Christmas holiday, and only just now crawling out from under the cozy warmth of six quilts, two afghans, and a cat. So what greets us as we fire up Netscape Navigator for the first time in a long time? A story in Blockclub Chicago that Big John has a major dandruff problem. Long story short: A piece of the 100-story building’s facade broke off and fell onto the sidewalk below. It’s natural to try to rationalize that kind of behavior with thoughts like “Well, it’s just metal fatigue…” or “It’s an old building, things happen.” If y ..read more
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Chicago Preservationists Get a Present From Pritzker: The Thompson Center Lives
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
The Thompson Center, once widely considered to be an ex-parrot, has gone from “stick a fork in it” to “put a ring on it” faster than reality TV dating show. Governor Pritzker announced that he’s in talks with a Prime Group to buy and rehabilitate the office building at 100 West Randolph Street. It is one of the most loved and hated buildings in downtown. We haven’t seen such mixed emotion from the public since the Mr. Submarine renovation nearly a decade ago. December, 2021 rendering of the proposed Thompson Center renovation In a statement, the state’s head of state stated that selling the fo ..read more
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Sterling Bay’s Latest Skyscraper Gets Liked and Hearted by Plan Commission
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
You may have noticed that the freight train bringing new skyscrapers to Chicago has showed up empty in recent weeks. Things usually slow down around Christmastime, so we’re not revving up a klaxon just yet, but keep an eye on this just in case one thing ceases to lead to another. December, 2021 rendering of 1245 West Fulton Market In the meantime, enjoy the skyscraper that Sterling Bay stuffed in your stocking just before the man with the bag comes to town: 28 stories loaded with 350 new homes at 1245 West Fulton Market in West Town. While you were making a shopping list and trying to remember ..read more
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Chicago’s Affordable Housing Drought Finally Gets a Sip of Water
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
It’s not a secret that Chicago has an affordable housing problem. And while Chicago is not alone among large (and small) American cities in this fashion, it’s Chicago that we’re most interested in here. Which is why it was interesting to see a few affordable housing projects pop up on the Chicago Plan Commission’s meeting agenda last week. In recent years, affordable housing has come to Chicago is dribs and drabs. Five units here. Three units there. Nothing compared to the thousands of units that have been lost in the last decade, leading to all of the economic, social, and business problems t ..read more
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Construction About to Restart for 73-Story South Loop Skyscraper
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
One of the late Helmut Jahn’s last designs may get built after all. Time Equities, JK Equities, and Oak Capitals have announced that the construction of 1000M is going to restart any day now. How is this possible? Money. December, 2021 rendering of 1000M (Courtesy of Time Equities) The development trio has closed on a $304 million construction loan, which will be used to get things moving again. It was last year that local media were talking about financing problems with this project, but as of today that all seems to have been resolved. Construction is scheduled to be completed in three years ..read more
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Suburban Light Show Lands in Chicago’s Gold Coast
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
We (among many others) have long bemoaned the transformation of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile from one of the nation’s premiere shopping districts into pretty much a suburban mall — except with more kids banging empty buckets. Now the suburbanization of Chicago’s retail experience has crept into the one remaining outpost of high-end shopping in the city: The Oak Street District. Sure, Oak Street has been in decline for a while now. A lot of the high-end stores moved over to Walton or Rush Streets. But Oak is still Oak, even without Barneys and the real Kate Spade. But empty storefronts and mid-ra ..read more
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Big Deahl Starts Small, Breaking Ground on Two Residential Buildings
Chicago Architecture
by Editor
2y ago
If you’re a devotee of Peet’s Coffee, you’ve probably seen the Big Deahl development developing for a while in the space between Cabrini Green, and the North and Clybourn Apple Store. The multi-phase project opened its retail space, Movement Lincoln Park, as a gym a few months ago. Now, phase two is underway. A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the next two buildings: Common Lincoln Park, and The Seng. December, 2021 rendering of The Seng. (Courtesy of Structured Development.) The Seng is a building unlike most in Chicago. Instead of being snapped up by private equity companies, or ..read more
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