North/Clybourn Apple Store to be much like the Scottsdale, Arizona Apple Store.

So word on the street is that the new Apple Store, located at North Avenue and Halsted Street, will look exactly like Apple’s Scottsdale, Arizona store.  After I heard this, I immediately Google’d to find the image and sure enough, it looks like it’s true.  You can already tell from the steel frame of Chicago’s Apple Store that, when finished, they will be the same.  Take a look.

If you’ve walked or driven by the new Apple Store, you’ll definitely notice a resemblence.  Too bad I don’t have a picture from here.

 

Block 37 stores to open by Thanksgiving. Good news for Chicago’s State Street!

Block 37 signs 13 new tenants, plans to open by Thanksgiving

By Sandra M. Jones

Tribune staff reporter

3:41 p.m. CST, November 3, 2009

Joseph Freed and Associates LLC said it signed leases for 13 new tenants at Block 37, the embattled retail development that has been threatened with foreclosure.

The announcement of the new leases comes as developer Freed fights a move by lead lender Bank of America to put the retail and transit project at 108 N. State Street. into receivership less than a month before the mall’s first shops were set to open.

The new tenants — which include Sephora, Michelle Tan and Comic Vault — are a mix of chains and local shops aimed at satisfying the city’s redevelopment agreement to put unique retail in the famous city block.

Freed, which is contesting the foreclosure lawsuit, said it plans to open the mall by Thanksgiving and complete the project by the end of 2010, “assuming the bank cooperates on necessary funding.”

The banks filed a foreclosure suit last month, claiming that Freed essentially ran out of money to complete construction. .

Among the new tenants:

Sephora, the beauty chain owned by Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, will open a 6,000 square foot store on the first floor of the four-story indoor mall with access onto State Street.

L’Occitane en Provence, a body care products chain, will occupy 750 square feet on the first floor.

Michelle Tan, a local women’s clothing designer, agreed to lease 650 square feet on the second level….

 

Check out the full Chicago Tribune article by clicking HERE!  This is great news for the retailers getting ready for the Christmas shopping season and there’s even more information on the new stores going into Block 37 in the article!

The new Apple store to play a key role in the Clybourn Red Line station!

Doors will open on the right at the Apple stop

By: Thomas A. Corfman October 26, 2009

The North and Clybourn station on the CTA’s Red Line may become the iStop.

In exchange for Apple Inc. spending more than $4 million to renovate the scruffy station, the Chicago Transit Authority gave the maker of MacBooks and iPhones first dibs on naming rights, if the agency decides to go that route. It’s apparently the first such deal ever by the cash-strapped CTA. Apple also gets the exclusive right to buy all the ad space in the station, at 1555 N. Clybourn Avenue.

The CTA has been considering naming-rights agreements since at least 2005, but the idea is seemingly getting another look as President Richard Rodriguez scrambles to avoid hiking fares and cutting services to cover next year’s projected budget deficit of $178 million. A CTA spokeswoman did not respond to questions.

Cities nationwide are increasingly looking at corporate sponsorships to ease budget woes. The risk to the CTA is that slapping corporate logos on stations could confuse riders and cheapen the city’s image, and make only a small dent in the massive financial problems….

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE!  From driving by the construction zone, you can see the general design of the store, which is different from the picture below.  So far, I like where they’re going with it but I hope they keep it very light, open, and covered in glass.

Hopefully VERY preliminary plans...

New construction across from Wrigley Field…and it’s pretty nice!

A big thanks to Skyscraperpage user ‘george’ for the great photo work and updating everyone on this new construction building right across from Wrigley Field in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood.  When I first found out they were tearing down the old building, I was dreading what would be built in its place.  But I can rest assured and say that I’m really impressed with the new building. 

Old building, prior to demolition.

New building.

New building.

The Roosevelt Collection hit hard…switching from condos to apartments!

Word broke around a week ago that The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection, located around 150 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago’s South Loop.  Developed by Centrum Properties, The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection was set to include 342 loft condominiums in addition to a 300,000 square-feet of retail space.  With around 60% of the homes under contract, this is a hard hit…but at least these homeowners received their earnest money back.  According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com article, the development will be anchored by a 16 screen Kerasotes Showplace movie theater and a David Barton gym with the remaining retail space at about 50% leased.  Centrum is in “serious negotiations” with tenants for another 40% of the space which is great news.  So if you’re in the market for a brand spankin’ new loft apartment, check out their website or give the leasing office at call at 312-588-1688.  Rents start at $1,375/month for a one-bedroom and $2,300 for two bedrooms.

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!

“A lot of” interest in finishing the 26 story shell of Waterview Tower?!

Probably some of the best news to come out of Chicago real estate in a long time comes from this Chicago Tribune article.  Waterview Tower, located at 111 W. Wacker Drive in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood, was supposed to be a 90 story hotel and condominium high rise right along the Chicago River on Wacker Drive.  Due to some very…very…very…”little known” financial and economic reasons…construction was stopped at just 26 bare concrete floors.  The odd piece of the puzzle is that a very high percentage of Waterview Tower’s condominiums were sold but to make matters worse, plans for a Shangri-La Hotel on the lower floors were recently scrapped.

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!  Also, thank you to ‘harryc’ at Skyscrapercity for the below picture!

GREEN ROOF ALERT! Office building at 353 N. Clark Street in River North!

Thanks to Skyscraperpage user, ‘harryc,’ who posted these great pictures of an almost complete 45 story office building, located at 353 N. Clark Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.  353 N. Clark is being developed and anchored by Mesirow Financial and from what I understand, the green roof is located on top of the building’s retail and underground parking entrance as well as the 45th floor mechanical penthouse.  Props for the cool design too!

Construction views from a Northerly Island bike ride.

This picture was taken from Northerly Island one sunny, hot, summer day.  Because of Mayor Daley’s…ahem…tenacity…Northerly Island has been turned into a prairie with native wildflowers and plants and it even  has some good trails to run and ride your bike on.  Plus, the beach is rarely packed like most lakefront beaches.

Back to the point of this picture, you can see a few construction projects like Trump International Hotel and Tower, One Museum Park West, Legacy at Millennium Park, Blue Cross-Blue Shield expansion, and even the very top of Aqua.  Enjoy!

Construction update for EnV, a River North apartment building.

Over a month ago, I took a walk in the River North neighborhood to give an update on the construction of EnV, Chicago’s first LEED certified luxury apartment building.  Construction seems to be coming along quite nicely and I’m pretty sure there are only a couple more floors left to pour.  Standing at 29 floors when complete in the spring of 2010, EnV is located at 161 W. Kinzie Street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.  Amenities include a dog run, rooftop deck and pool, and residents will be able to control things like heat and air in their homes via iPod or iPhone.  Pretty cool!

EnV before!

EnV now!

Renovation brings a JW Marriott hotel into a Daniel Burnham designed building in the Loop.

Slated for a June 2010 opening, a new JW Marriott Chicago will be located at 151 West Adams Street in a converted Daniel Burnham designed bank building after a lengthy $369M restoration.  When finished, the JW Marriott Chicago will include 609 large guestrooms, 125 luxury suites, two ballrooms, and 48,000 square feet of meeting and event space.  Included in the newly renovated building is a 20,000 square foot spa which is an amenity not usually found in most Loop hotels. 

I’m excited for the JW Marriott Chicago to be finished for a couple reasons.  First, I am always a huge proponent of the smart re-use of an old and historically significant building especially when many are being torn down without much thought.  Secondly, this part of the Loop becomes a ghost town after 5pm.  With the W Hotel – City Center right across the street at 172 West Adams Street, I am hoping more restaurants and shops will choose to move here and stay open longer.