The Grass is Always Greener on Michigan Avenue

I was looking through some old photographs recently, and came across some CrappyCameraPhone™ shots of the opening of the Columbia Sportswear store (830 North Michigan Avenue) that I didn't publish back when they were timely or relevant.

So, here they are -- just four months late. The reason they're interesting, is because for the event, Columbia put down artificial grass on the sidewalk, with a miniature hiking trail leading to the front doors of its store. Clever.

Quickie: New Stores For North Bridge and Wabash

While in the Shops at North Bridge (520 North Michigan Avenue) today I noticed two stores being built out.

• First, is the Art of Shaving store, which we mentioned was coming on this blog back in the fall.  It looks like it's finally coming to fruition, and if it's anything like the one I visited in San Francisco, it will be quite nice.
• The other is on the second floor, and called "Teavana" -- some kind of tea shop.  The sign claims it will stock more than 100 varieties.

And one other quick note -- there's a new tiny convenience store at 203 North Wabash Street, kind of across the street from Harold Washington College.

More on Columbia College's New Media Production Center

A couple of days ago I published an article here about Columbia College's new Media Production Center (1600 South State Street).  Although the location is starting to get a little off the beaten path, the building is very well done.  More importantly, it preserves a piece of Chicago's silent film history -- a chapter of the Windy City's evolution that is too often overlooked or forgotten.

In that article I also whined that my attempts at getting on Columbia College's media distribution list over the last year or so had fallen on deaf ears.  The most recent attempt was December 3, 2009.  Fortunately, Steve Kaufmann saw my complaint posted here and took it upon himself to rectify the situation.  Now the (hard to believe) thousands of people who read this blog will be a little better informed.

If any other P.R. folks are reading this, you can send your releases to press@chicagoarchitecture.info and either I, or the other employee here will take care of it.

Mr. Kaufmann sent along the official press release for the MPC, and some photos of the interior and exterior.  Much better pictures than I've seen elsewhere.  As always, click on the pictures to make them bigger, and you can read the full Columbia release after the pics.

Columbia College Chicago Officially Opens Media Production Center,

Its First Newly Constructed Building in 120-Year History

Designed for form, function and sustainability, the 35,500-square-foot South Loop facility 

provides students with state-of-the-art professional production studios

  

(February 5, 2010) Columbia College Chicago’s first newly constructed building in its 120-year history – the $21 million Media Production Center (MPC) at the southwest corner of 16^th and State Streets – will provide film and media arts students with invaluable hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art professional production studio while creating a next-generation collaborative learning environment.

The 35,500-square-foot facility, designed by Chicago architect Jeanne Gang & Studio Gang Architects, officially marks its opening today (Feb. 5) with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Columbia College Chicago President Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D. and Board Chairman Allen M. Turner with Mayor Richard M. Daley. The building opened to students for the start of spring semester classes on Monday, Jan. 25.

“This hands-on facility will allow Columbia College to completely change how filmmaking and other communications arts are taught,” said Dr. Carter. “Our faculty collaborated closely with the amazing team at Studio Gang to design the Media Production Center. From the outset, the goal was to provide a 21^st century professional experience for our 4,200 School of Media Arts students to replicate the environment they’ll encounter in the working world.”

The MPC experience also provides for enhanced collaboration among media arts students and faculty in a variety of disciplines, with many production classes now under one roof.

“We didn’t just build a soundstage, we built an integrated curriculum encouraging interaction and collaboration between students across disciplines and departments, including Film & Video, Interactive Arts and Media, and Television,” said Doreen Bartoni, dean, School of Media Arts. “In this new age of film, video and television, segments of the industry are increasingly sharing skills and crossing boundaries - consider films like Avatar, combining both computer animation and live action footage.”

“This is our first building developed from the ground up, and we’re certainly pleased to have it come in under budget and on time – less than 12 months from our groundbreaking,” added Turner. “I’m also proud of how we were able to deliver our vision of this building as a breathtaking yet practical experience for faculty, staff and students that cannot be equaled by any other teaching facility in the world.”

The MPC was constructed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with a number of key sustainable design elements. They include a 50-percent green roof, radiant heating and cooling in the two soundstages, extensive use of windows for natural lighting throughout the building, and sets of lobby/mezzanine lighting fixtures that can progressively illuminate the lobby area as outdoor light decreases.

The 40,000-square-foot site, a vacant lot, was a “brown field” when it was sold to the college in 2008 by the City of Chicago specifically to build the MPC and help enhance the emerging neighborhood.  

“I’ve witnessed the transformation of this formerly contaminated plot of land into an architecturally significant, environmentally sustainable building that is a welcome addition to the revitalization of this area. Already, activity generated with classes in this building is increasing patronage to local businesses,” said Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell.

“It has been truly remarkable watching the MPC come into fruition. The quality and style of films and media we create are now limited solely by our dreams,” said senior film student Michael Lencioni, Columbia Student Government Association executive officer and student representative to the Board of Trustees.

Highlights of the Media Production Center (MPC) include:

• Two professional soundstages (7,300 square feet and 2,200 square feet) will allow for Film & Video students to experience the culture of high-end studio film production both by observation from soundstage bleachers and eventually by hands-on participation

• A 2,000-square-foot Motion Capture Studio for the creation of 2D and 3D film and gaming will allow students to better understand and visualize human movement using sophisticated 12-camera motion capture technology at professional industry standards. The Motion Capture Studio was designed to integrate state-of-the-art learning technologies with the study of 3D computer animation, digital filmmaking and game arts.

• An animation lab, a high-tech set of classrooms, provides students with industry-leading technology for development of computer-aided design and animation

• Four “wired” classrooms with fiber optic technology to link the soundstages and Motion Capture Studio to classes, including the camera-eye-view, so that students can learn from the processes being conducted elsewhere in the facility in real time

• A fully equipped, 2,000-square-foot Production Shop with loading dock for the design, construction and delivery of set pieces

• A docking area for the college’s two-year-old High Definition Media Production Truck that connects to internal cabling to enable live feeds from the facility with professional and student operators

• An 11-by-13-foot LED screen, suspended in the lobby, comprises seven adjustable 9-foot-high LED panels that can operate seamlessly as one screen or independently and can rotate 180 degrees for film and video viewing  

• The 25-foot–tall terra cotta Lasky Arch, an artifact from the now-demolished, nearby office of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the parent company of Paramount Pictures formed in 1916 by Adolph Zukor. It uniquely honors Chicago’s important role in early film industry

Madison Street Gap Has Been Filled

Back in April we talked about the Gap store closing at Three First National Plaza (70 West Madison Street).

The good news is... the vacant retail space has been filled.

The bad news is... it's yet another cell phone store.

Granted, I haven't shopped at a Gap store since I was a kid in the 1970's and it was the place where poor people went to buy dungarees.  But I think we're pretty close to the Loop's saturation point for cell phone stores.

Follow-up: Hermes and Little Miss Matched on Oak Street

As a follow-up to an article earlier this week, I went by the Little Miss Matched boutique that's opened in the former Chelsea Passage space at 39 East Oak Street.  I haven't received any answer to my inquiry with Little Miss Matched, but based on what I saw, I'd say this is a temporary pop-up store just for Christmas.  The floors are damaged and scarred and there's white sheets instead of walls in the back of the shop.

Also, One of our regular readers e-mailed some pictures to me today showing the new Hermes logos on the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street).  Inside is still supposed to be a mess, but the fact that there's new window coverings means that progress is being made.

 

Old Barneys New York Space Gets Its First Tenant

One of our eagle-eyed readers snapped this photo of a new Little Miss Matched boutique taking space in what used to be the Chelsea Passage portion of the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street) before it moved across the street to its new building (15 East Oak Street).

Little Miss Matched is a girl's and cute young woman's clothing, bedding, and accessories store with a theme of encouraging mismatched patterns and colors.  Think "Kate Spade" before Kate took the money and ran and her brand became yet another division of Liz Claiborne.

I, for one, welcome our new mismatched overlords.  As someone who tweaked the authorities in my Catholic school by wearing florescent colored mismatched socks because the dress code didn't address socks, I consider myself a pioneer in the field of asynchronous fashion.

Whether the LMM boutique will stick around remains to be seen.  There is no mention of the Oak Street location on the company's web site or in any recent press releases, so it's possible that it's just a temporary pop-up store for the Christmas shopping season.

The orange color extends beyond the Chelsea Passage portion of the former Barneys store.  I took this picture a couple of days ago of the orange window linings on the other side of the building.  Orange is also the color of Hermes, which at last report, still planned to move into the 25 East Oak Street space.

Elysian Chicago Officially Opens

One of the Gold Coast's most anticipated buildings is officially open.

The hotel portion of the Elysian Chicago (11 East Walton Street) opened Wednesday (December 9, 2009).  We've been invited to a lot of building openings lately, but somehow were left off the guest list of this one.

Nevertheless, here is a video that the Elysian PR folk put out.  For some reason it has no sound.

The Amish Are Coming! The Amish Are Coming!

Summer's farmers markets are over in Chicago, but it turns out there is still a place where you can get a taste of the rural life in the Loop.

The shuttered Wolf Camera shop at 42 South Clark Street has reopened as the "Rise 'n Roll Amish Market" -- a store selling Amish goods from Shipshewana, Indiana.

The store was closed when I went past on a recent morning, so I don't know if this is a pop-up shop just for the Christmas shopping season, or if it's going to stick around.  I did, however, find that on November 20, 2009 a business license was issued for another location at Two Illinois Center (233 North Michigan Avenue).

More on the Leonidas Chocolate Opening

A couple of weeks ago we noted the impending opening of a Leonidas chocolate shop at 59 East Chicago Avenue.

One of our readers wrote in to let us know that this isn't the first Leonidas in Chicago.  A Chicago Tribune article shows that there was once one on LaSalle Street back in the 1990's.  We haven't been able to track down why or when it closed, but at least it's coming back to the city.

Culti Looks Readi

The stock is in, the shelves are full, and it looks like the Gold Coast's newest boutique is just about ready to open.  Culti is a home decor brand from Milan that appears to specialize in high-end nick knacks, though I'm sure Culti's PR firm would disagree with that assessment.  Even though it's the latest boutique to eschew the mallified Mag Mile in favor of the haughtier side streets, it's still using the address 840 North Michigan Avenue.  But don't look for it there.  It's around the corner on Chestnut Street.

Another Halsted Street Deli in the Loop

It looks like Halsted Street Deli is opening another location in The Loop.  One of our readers sent this photo in, but didn't quite remember where he took it.  Franklin Street near Sears Tower was his best guess. There are no clues on the company's web site about new locations.

Another Chocolate Shop Coming to Chicago

Leonidas has put up a sign in the vacant space at the base of The Chicagoan promising to bring Belgian chocolate delicacies to downtown Chicago.  It's opening in what was formerly a Bank of America branch at 59 East Chicago Avenue.  The store is expected to open in time for Christmas with a selection of choccies imported from Brussels.

This is the second Leonidas location in the United States.  The other is in... Wilmette.  It's also at least the fifth chocolate shop within two blocks of the historic Chicago Water Tower.


For more on Leonidas, here's the Wikimopedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_(chocolate_maker)

Club Lago Open Again

If the giant "We're back!" sign on the side of the building isn't enough of a hint, we'll say it again -- Club Lago (331 West Superior Street) is once again open for business.

We talked about the disaster that befell the venerable eatery in the spring, and it reopened for business in early October.  But this was our first chance to stroll by the place to see how it looks.  Unfortunately, we were there a little early in the day and it wasn't open, but from what we hear, the food is just as good as it's always been.

Orange You Glad Something New Is Opening?

Saw this sign in the 700 block of North Clark.  It looks like the Orange restaurants that have sprouted all over the north side are branching out to downtown. Orange's web site (be careful-- it's ugly, not standards-compliant, and running a 2005 version of phpNuke) says the location at Clark and Huron will open next month.  Welcome to the neighborhood!

Things a Little Sweatier in the Loop

In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot more sweaty people in the Loop these days.  That's because L.A. Fitness has opened a gym inside The Heritage at Millennium Park (130 North Garland Court).  Based on the number of people we see through the windows shooting hoops and riding fitness contraptions, it appears to be doing quite well.

Also important is that this is yet another link in the strengthening retail situation in the city's pedway system.  If you haven't been down in the Millennium Station section in a while, check it out.  There's a florist and a popcorn joint and even a bar.  The pizza joint does a really good job, and is open remarkably late.  I brought a pie home just the other day, much to the consternation of my fellow passengers on the 147 bus.

"No, I didn't bring enough for everybody and I'm not going to share with the class."

What's That Smell? That Glorious Smell?!

The glorious smell of popcorn is once again wafting down Michigan Avenue as Garrett Popcorn has reopened on Michigan Avenue.

You'll remember that the building that Garrett was in was torn down to make way for the Ritz Carlton Residences (664 North Michigan Avenue).  Garret is back on the Magnificent Mile at 625 North Michigan Avenue.

Unfortunately, the new Garrett store is on Michigan Avenue in the same way the new Culti store is on Michigan Avenue -- meaning, not at all.  Garrett is actually around the corner on Ontario Street, behind the Coach store in the space that used to be a Chinese restaurant.  But finding it is easy.  Just go to Michigan and Ontario and follow your nose.

Status Update: Zara

The new Zara store on Michigan Avenue is almost ready for opening.  The scaffolding and shroud have been taken down and the corner boasts a new sign.  The official opening is October 30, 2009.

Video: Winthrop Club in Evanston

This is the news conference for the new Winthrop Club condo block in Evanston.  It's a little long, but there's an interesting story about what the developers wanted to do versus what the city of Evanston would allow them to do.

New Condo Block Ready to Open in Evanston

Evanston has a new condo block opening soon.  The Winthrop Club (1570 Elmwood Avenue, Evanston) is a project of Winthop Properties, which is located in the north suburb.  It's the latest in a series of modern-looking mid-scale skyscrapers that are transforming the look of this ring city.

Developers Ibrahim Shihadeh and Bob Horner of Winthrop Properties

At a media preview held last week I was given the chance to tour the not-quite finished building, and it's a nice place.  It lacks much of that "new skyscraper smell" we all love, but that's because of the use of low-VOC materials wherever possible.  As much as I enjoy the scent of fresh paint and carpeting, at some point I have to admit the odor is killing me.

Our tour started on the fifth floor, where parking levels give way to a common area.  There is a club room with a kitchen that residents can use for parties.  Unlike most buildings, there is no fee for this.  The party room opens onto an outdoor patio with room for about 50 of your closest friends.  It wraps around the southeast corner of the building and has access to the pool.  The pool is indoor, and heated, but is unfortunately better described as a "lap" pool with room for two lanes of very careful swimmers, or about a dozen people lounging around.  While not the tragically lilliputian puddle that somehow qualifies as an amenity at The Shoreham (400 East South Water Street, Chicago), it would have been nice to see a larger facility.

A nearly identically-sized space is given over to the indoor gym, which was unfurnished on our visit, but is expected to sport the usual assortment of treadmills, weight devices, and other fitness contraptions that mostly gather dust at many residential buildings.  For a building with just 92 homes, there should be plenty of machines available when the urge strikes.

Our next stop was on the 14th of 15 floors where we toured a very spacious, and incredibly well-lit four bedroom unit featuring west, southwest, and northwestern views.  It's an amazing space with a great open kitchen, respectfully separated from the the living area by a more than generous island.  It also comes with a price tag of $1,400,000.  Whether $1.4 million is reasonable in Evanston, Illinois is an exercise left up to the reader.  Especially since at the time of this writing, one can get a similarly sized unit with better mass transit access, neighborhood, and building amenities near the top of Chicago's John Hancock Center, or even in a Western-style building in Tokyo for that price.  However, people we talked to about it insist there is a market for that price point in that location.  I'm not a real estate expert, so I'll defer to their assessment.

Speaking of assessments, the monthly fee is about 40 cents per square foot, with some exceptions for taller units.  Included in that fee is an electric car fueling facility in the garage.  So if you own an electric car and live in the Winthrop Club, you would essentially have unlimited free fuel since the plug-ins are complementary.  Also in the garage, and also on an environmental theme, are 200 bicycle parking spaces.  Yes, 200 bicycle parking spaces for a building with just 92 homes.  At first I was skeptical, but after seeing the state of bicycle parking and use around Evanston, this makes a lot of sense.  People there seem to use bicycles a lot more than I'm used to seeing in downtown Chicago.

In terms of finishes, the units are well done, but not exceptional.  There is extensive use of sustainable bamboo as part of the building's environmental program, and the hallways seem understated and classy.  Inside the units -- stainless steel appliances?  Check.  Granite countertops?  Check.  White vinyl-coated wire shelves in the closets?  Oh, dear.

Only one of the three condominiums that we toured was decked out as a demo unit, and it had those awful white wire closet systems that you can pick up in any Ace Hardware store for a few bucks.  For the price of these homes, I would have expected custom closets with cedar shelves.  The kitchen cabinets are imported from Italy, but it's important to note that even Rome has two Ikeas.  The cupboard doors are thin and the interiors have those rows of peg holes which give away the fact that these aren't custom-made, but mass produced parts designed to fit any home, not just yours.  I'm not harshing on Ikea-style cabinets.  The ones in my home are Ikea.  But then my home is 40 years old and cost an order of magnitude less than the one on the 14th floor of the Winthrop Club.

Still, it's important to remember these are condos, not apartments.  The interiors are as classy as you choose to make them.  If you can splash out $600,000 on an 1,100 square-foot space then it's not unreasonable to expect you to splash out a little more to make sure your space is appropriately kitted out.

As they say, the most important thing in real estate is location, location, location.  And that's something the Winthrop club has in spades.  It's right next to the Davis CTA and Metra stops and within a couple of blocks of a number of CTA stops, Pace routes, shops, restaurants, bookstores, even a movie theater.  Starbucks is a few blocks away, but there's an Argo Tea right around the corner.  And in spite of its proximity to the train lines, when the El and Metra trains went by we didn't hear them inside the units.  Several noise-reduction measures have been taken in the construction of this building, including having the joists in the walls offset so that they don't transmit noise between levels.

But the piece de résistance of this building is the condo we saw on the sixth floor.  It's a south-facing unit that is laterally oriented.  It's an unusual layout, but ends up with some great features.  Among them, a second entrance from the hallway with a tile floor to keep your muddy young ones from mucking up the nice carpet.  And outside is a landscaped terrace that runs nearly the length of the building.  Each bedroom has its own door opening onto the terrace, and one of the bathrooms has floor-to-ceiling glass which absolutely floods it with light, and gives you a commanding view of your domain while sitting on the throne.  Can people see inside while you're taking a shower?  Only if they put a 60-foot-tall hydraulic lift in the parking lot next door.  And that parking lot is expected to remain a parking lot for the foreseeable future.  The bank that owns the adjacent property isn't going to build upward, and even owns a dozen parking spaces inside the Winthrop Club's garage.  The developers believe this is perhaps the last plot in downtown Evanston available for high-rise development, and expect views from this building to be preserved for the foreseeable future.

All in all, the Winthrop Club is a worthy addition to the Evanston condo scene.  Its fit and finish is far better than what I've seen in the other condominium blocks.  The ceilings are taller, the materials better, and it's designed for the environment, if that sort of thing is important to you.  Whether you plan to stay in town, or commute down to Chicago, you couldn't ask for a better location, and the views of the surrounding area are fantastic.

Over the next couple of days we'll post a few videos we shot of the property.  I especially recommend watching the first one and hearing the developer describe his struggles against Evanston's city council to get this tower built.

You can also view lots more pictures of the building's interior and views on the Chicago Architecture Flickr pool.

View of the Chicago skyline from the Winthrop Club

Follow-up: Michael Kors Uncovered

The person who sent us the pictures of the new Michigan Avenue Michael Kors store this morning has sent in a much better picture and confirms that the store isn't open quite yet, but the people inside are stocking the shelves.