Hey everyone, Belgravia Group and Union Row Townhomes is teaming up with the Chicago Art Department to host another private art gallery tour on Friday, May 8th! Everyone will meet up at Union Row’s model home, located at 644 W. 16th Street, at 7pm for some wine and around 730pm everyone will walk over to the Chicago Art Department’s gallery for their private gallery tour…and some more wine and snacks. This will be Union Row’s fourth time teaming up with different galleries for the 2nd Fridays events. 2nd Fridays is where many of the art galleries, around 18th and Halsted Street, open up their studios to the public to showcase their pieces. I actually bought my first piece at the Chicago Art Department four months ago for only $30. Give Union Row Townhomes a call if you want to RSVP to this really fun event, their number is 312-829-4600.
Part of the earlier development at K Station included Kinzie Station Condominiums which is just South of Echelon at K Station. Plans originally called for a twin of Kinzie Station Condominiums where Trio is now located. Check out the picture from Linn-Mathes Inc.’s website.
I’ve mentioned the smell of chocolate wafting through the air from the Blommer Chocolate Company in a couple earlier posts and I want to see what everyone thinks about the smell. With the explosion of new condos and apartments being built basically across the street from the Blommer factory, these residents most likely know about the smell of the chocolate before they even buy or rent their home. Would you want to live across from something that churns out the smell of chocolate on a daily basis? ChicagoismynewBlog would…and I would even get a North facing home (Blommer is North of the new bulidings). Vote time!
Construction Of Soaring Apartment Tower Has Been Delayed
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The ill-fated Chicago Spire could rise from the dust, after being only an enormous hole in the ground for the past several months.
A major union says its pension fund could help pay for construction of the building.
There were big plans for the giant residential tower at 400 N. Lake Shore Dr. It would have surpassed the Sears Tower – soon to be renamed the Willis Tower – as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and was supposed to be one of the tallest buildings in the world.
But the site has been empty for months, except for a broad, round hole that was dug for the foundation. The plan began to unwind after celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava filed a lien on the project, claiming the developer hadn’t paid him $11.34 million he was owed for his work.
Also, the Chicago architectural firm Perkins & Will, hired as a local overseer of the design, filed its own lien, claiming it is owed $4.85 million.
Meanwhile, the spire’s developer, Shelbourne Development Ltd., acknowledged slowing the pace of the work last fall because turmoil in financial markets limited access to credit.
But now, the Chicago Tribune reports on its Web site that the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trusts are meeting with Shelbourne on Tuesday for preliminary discussions. It could be a win-win for both sides, with the developer getting the building, and the union securing jobs.
Plans for the Spire were first announced in 2005. The soaring spiral design of the building by the celebrity architect has won fans. Calatrava in published reports has compared the structure to a smoke spiral rising from a campfire along the Chicago River.
But unlike the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower, which would both be dwarfed by the building, the Chicago Spire does not have plans for any public restaurants or observatories. The building would be open only to residents, and that group is a select few. The condos in the building are priced from $750,000 to $15 million each.
- A big thank you to CBS2 Chicago for the most recent article on reviving the Chicago Spire. Click here if you want to read the actual article. Hopefully this raises more confidence to get some sales going. When last reported, Shelbourne Development stated that over 30% of the Spire’s homes were sold after only four months. This is no small feat because 30% means over 350 homes. Now this was reported in April, 2008 so I’m curious to hear how many have sold since then. -
