This project has been floating around for a short while now, but we're starting to see signs that things are getting serious with 108 North Jefferson Street.
The 34-story apartment block is ready to go before the Chicago Plan Commission. It's a fairly typical Chicago building: 304 residences sitting on a parking garage podium. While it's not a stand out building, it's certainly light years better than what's there now: Yet another surface parking lot.
We first mentioned 108 North Jefferson in September of 2008, and again in February of 2009. Since then it's been scaled down a little bit -- from 41 stories to 34, and from 311 residences to 304.
I've heard some people complaining that this project doesn't offer any ground floor retail, but I think they're mistaken. On the planning documents I've seen there are clearly designated retail spaces on Jefferson Street. Not much, maybe one or two shops could fit in there, but to say there is no retail element is a falsehood.
For you height junkies -- the roof will be at 352 feet and one inch (352.08 feet). The total building height will be 373 feet, seven inches (373.58 feet).
And because we're all so eco-conscious these days, there will be a 9,200-square-foot green roof, and the entire project is going to basic LEED certification.
Those of you who love reading the nitty-gritty of these sorts of things will enjoy the public documents on it:
Monday, November 30, 2009
Status Update: 235 Van Buren
235 Van Buren (235 West Van Buren Street) looks pretty much done. All of the oddly spaced balconies give it a great texture and interesting visual appeal. it's like Aqua, but without the curves or the hype.
Slice of Life: Memories of Summer
Sunday, November 29, 2009
No Spike In Dead People In Chicago's Gold Coast
A proposal to turn the amazing old, yet somehow still abandoned, Three Arts Club Building into a columbarium is off.
For those of you not up to speed on the proposal, columbarium is a fancy word for a mausoleum where the ashes of the dead are kept. Mausoleum is a fancy word for dead people warehouse.
At the beginning of November we reported on a proposal to fill the Three Arts Building with the deceased. It seemed like a perfect use. No noise; minimal traffic; a respectful use of a beautiful building. But it looks like it's not going to happen, as a letter from the person behind the project makes clear:
For those of you not up to speed on the proposal, columbarium is a fancy word for a mausoleum where the ashes of the dead are kept. Mausoleum is a fancy word for dead people warehouse.
At the beginning of November we reported on a proposal to fill the Three Arts Building with the deceased. It seemed like a perfect use. No noise; minimal traffic; a respectful use of a beautiful building. But it looks like it's not going to happen, as a letter from the person behind the project makes clear:
Hopefully the Three Arts Building will find new life among the living.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Park District to Burn Lincoln Park
Bad things happen in nature. The cute and fuzzy are eaten by the ugly and toothy. Sometimes the cutest penguin gets left behind. And every once in a while Mother Nature sets things on fire.
The Chicago Park District has worked hard to restore patches of the city's parks to what they used to be -- Illinois prairie. In the hum and thrush of summer they are fascinating places to sit and watch nature at work. But as poet Bonnie Eldred noted, "Mother Nature is a bitch."
In the natural world she occasionally takes our her frustration on the prairie in the form of a prairie fire. It's frightening and chaotic when it's happening, but in the long run it is cleansing and cathartic for the ecosystem. And in the District's quest to really go the extra mile in simulating a natural environment in downtown Chicago, something's gotta burn.
Those things are the recreated prairies along the edge of Lincoln Park's north pond. The exact date for this year's burn hasn't been set, but it's expected to happen before the end of the year depending on weather conditions.
Though I love the smell of a good wood fire, I don't know what a prairie fire smells like. I don't think the neighbors are going to be too happy with it. But the Park Department does have an entire web page about why burning is a good thing. You can read it here: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/custom.natureOasis01 Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in seven years.
Here's the summary about this year's burn from the public notice:
So, Lincoln Park is officially on burn notice.
The Chicago Park District has worked hard to restore patches of the city's parks to what they used to be -- Illinois prairie. In the hum and thrush of summer they are fascinating places to sit and watch nature at work. But as poet Bonnie Eldred noted, "Mother Nature is a bitch."
In the natural world she occasionally takes our her frustration on the prairie in the form of a prairie fire. It's frightening and chaotic when it's happening, but in the long run it is cleansing and cathartic for the ecosystem. And in the District's quest to really go the extra mile in simulating a natural environment in downtown Chicago, something's gotta burn.
Though I love the smell of a good wood fire, I don't know what a prairie fire smells like. I don't think the neighbors are going to be too happy with it. But the Park Department does have an entire web page about why burning is a good thing. You can read it here: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/custom.natureOasis01 Unfortunately, it hasn't been updated in seven years.
Here's the summary about this year's burn from the public notice:
The Chicago Park District uses controlled burn management to help maintain native plant communities. A controlled burn is the use of fire as a management tool in a carefully planned and controlled manner. Controlled burn management is an efficient and economical tool that reduces the amount of pesticides that otherwise may be needed to control invasive plants. Fire helps promote species diversity by controlling invasive woody shrubs and trees. Without fire, natural areas often become thickets of shrubs or weeds with little diversity. Fire burns off dead vegetation and stimulates new plant growth by allowing sunlight to warm the dark soil, encouraging germination. Fire also enriches the soil by returning nutrients back to the soil.
Research shows that fire is a natural part of native Illinois ecosystems. These landscapes need to be burned periodically in order to stay healthy and to provide habitat for native plants and animals.
All persons who conduct controlled burns are specially trained, equipped, and supervised. The fire department has been notified and all permits have been obtained to do this work.
So, Lincoln Park is officially on burn notice.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Block 37: What Stores Are Coming And When
The atrium in the center is beautiful, light and airy even on a rainy day. Everything is shiny and new, and the whole place has that new mall smell.
The pedway connection between the Red and Blue Line subways is open as is one store, but many others look like they could open any day. Here's a list of the stores that should be open in time for you to do some Christmas shopping:
- Always Cellular
- Anthropologie
- Au Bon Pain
- Auntie Anne's
- Beard Papa's
- Clearwire
- dom itp
- Gateway Newstands
- GNC
- Godiva Chocolatier
- L'Occitane en Provence
- Premium Skin Care
- Puma
- Royale
- Sabon
- Starfruit
- Steve Madden (already open)
- Sunglass Hut
- Swarovski
- Zara
Some of them, like Swarovski, Au Bon Pain, Anthropologie, and Auntie Anne's pretzels looked ready to go -- they just needed some stock. Others, like Starfruit and Puma were deep in the throes of construction.
Here's a list of what's coming soonish (think 2010):
- Accent Chicago
- Akira Chicago
- Alternatives Shoes
- Bigsby & Kruthers
- Bleeding Heart Bakery
- Claudia Kleiner Malabar
- ComicVault
- iCandylicious
- Ladies & Gentlemen
- Local Charm
- Michelle Tan
- Rosa Mexicano
- Sephora
- Simply Thalia
- Spirit of the City
- Which Wich
There's also supposed to be a restaurant from the Lettuce Entertain You group, but which one hasn't been announced yet.
You've probably noticed that a lot of the places named are eateries. You're right, and most of them are in the pedway section. It makes sense, because even though Mayor Daley has done pretty much everything in his power to turn State Street into a 24-hour shopping destination, the fact remains that the only way for most retailers in the Loop to survive is to cater to the itinerant suburban commuter crowd. It's just a fact of life.
You may also have noticed that this is the third Sephora store within one mile. There's the one at Water Tower Place (845 North Michigan Avenue), the one at The Shops at North Bridge (520 North Michigan Avenue "The Nordstrom Mall"), and now one at Block 37. It's precisely one mile from Block 37 to Water Tower Place.
Also worth noting -- Block 37 is now using the address 1 West Randolph Street. 108 North State is a thing of the past.
TweetEcho: November 9-November 24, 2009
For those of you who don't subscribe to our Twitter feed, here are the items we tweeted in the last week or so:
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