Status Update: MetraMarket

A lot of people, including us, have a lot of high hopes for the MetraMarket at the Ogilvie Transporatation Center, 500 West Randolph Street.  There have been many announcements made -- most recently, that Lavazza will open there.  But this is the first time we've seen an actual store-specific "coming soon" sign.  In the tiny box at the center of this pic, you can see "CVS/Pharmacy Coming Soon."

Hope springs eternal.

Encouraging News from the Near West Side

We received a note from the people at the Fulton River District Association about what's going on on the other side of the Chicago River.  Of course, it's the Association's business to promote the area, but even beyond that it appears that things are moving along nicely just west of the Loop.

Some highlights:

• The Echelon at K Station is 65% leased.
• River Point is 66% leased.
• Construction continues on Metra Market.
• Alta at K Station plans to start leasing next March.

When we moved to Chicago just six years ago, the Fulton River District wasn't a place we would have considered living.  But an entire neighborhood has sprung up and the area is well on its way to becoming  a vibrant urban district as surface parking lots become condo towers and old warehouses are turned into lofts.

Metra Market Moving Forward

It's been decades since this was first proposed, but finally some dirt is turning with the Metra Market project.

This will take that bricked-up arcade beneath the Metra rail tracks north of the Ogilvie Transportation Center and turn it into a shopping and restaurant plaza.  Similar projects have been successful from Paris to Evanston, and with the recent spike in residential density in the West Loop it looks like this might actually happen this time.

The lead tenant is supposed to be a "French Market" (not sure if that's a brand or a description) which will be made up of a couple dozen specialty food vendors (cheeses, breads, etc...)  Boutique foods marts have increased in popularity in the last few years in the Loop are with the emergence of Fox & Obel, Pastoral, Lavazza, and others.   Hopefully they will do as well or better in the West Loop location.  However, what downtown really needs is a proper butcher shop.  Abe Froman would blanch at the current state of Chicago's retail meat scene.