Roosevelt University to construct 32 story building. 2nd tallest in United States!

Roosevelt University to Build 32-Story Vertical Campus for Academics, Student Life and Housing

Roosevelt University will begin construction in February on a dramatic skyscraper that will be the second tallest university building in the nation.

The University’s new vertical campus will be sleek and contemporary, featuring a glass exterior, undulating shape, views of Lake Michigan and connections in four locations with the University’s landmark Auditorium Building.  A groundbreaking ceremony for the project is planned for April.

Designed with open spaces that will make the building feel like a series of neighborhoods, the structure will be a “green” building, drawing in natural light and cutting energy costs, and will be one of the few skyscrapers in Chicago that is LEED certified.

The 32-story multi-purpose building will be located at 425 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago on the site of the University’s old Herman Crown Center, which is currently being demolished.

The structure will have classrooms, lecture halls, state-of-the-art science labs, conference space, a dining center, a student recreation center, residence suites for more than 600 students, offices and space for the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration.

The new facility is needed for increasing numbers of full-time students who are taking more credit hours than ever before at the Chicago Campus. The University is projecting full-time equivalency enrollments will continue to rise significantly through 2017. The building will increase classroom capacity by 40 percent at the Chicago Campus and will pave the way for centralization of student services and new facilities for growing numbers of student-life organizations.

“This is the most important development in the University’s history since the Auditorium Building was acquired in 1946,” said Roosevelt University President Chuck Middleton. “We are building the quintessential 21st Century university structure and it’s going to give us a dramatic new image on Chicago’s skyline….”

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!  Photos courtesy of Roosevelt University’s website!

 

 

Major expansion plans for DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus. Some plans already approved!

Huge score for DePaul

NO DISSENT | City planners OK new music, theater schools in Lincoln Park

November 20, 2009

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

DePaul University’s schools of theater and music would finally have the world-class facilities to match their top-notch talent, thanks to a 10-year master plan for the Lincoln Park campus approved Thursday.

Without a word of dissent, the Chicago Plan Commission signed off on DePaul’s ambitious plan to build new schools for theater and music, a new academic center, and to redevelop Fullerton Avenue with a hotel, student housing and market-rate housing.

The project — with a price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars — calls for closing Kenmore Avenue to vehicles between Fullerton and Belden to improve student safety, add landscaping and create a greater “campus feel.” Spectator stands, new dugouts and press box facilities also are planned for Wish Field.

“Those two schools have some of the finest faculty in the world and some of the finest students in the country. And they’re literally performing in spaces with dropped ceilings and walls that bleed sound,” said the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, DePaul’s president.

“It’s not where you learn how to play an instrument. It’s not where you learn how to sing. We need a space where musicians [and actors] can be properly trained.”

The new music school won’t come soon enough for clarinet performance major Philip Espe. But it’s still a dream come true.

“I walk into the practice rooms at 10 a.m. any morning. There’s no place for me to practice. I’m sometimes in rehearsal for six hours a day, and there’s no space. It’s incredibly small. The practice rooms are not acoustically sound,” Espe said.

Holtschneider assured the Plan Commission that there would be no influx of students at the already-cramped Lincoln Park campus….

 

To read the full Chicago Sun Times article about the expansion, click HERE!

Hotel Cool in the Gold Coast at State and Rush Street. Lame name, cool building.

Like the title says, I’m not a fan of the name but it’s safe to assume the name is very very preliminary.  I’m also not normally a fan of modern architecture but lately, I’ve been getting tired of Chicago’s boxy, beige, and bland new construction buildings that have been going up.  Granted, this proposed hotel IS boxy, but one out of three makes it fine.  I found the proposed Hotel Cool, designed by Laurence Booth of Booth Hansen, on The Burnham Plan Centennial website.  The website states:  “Urban hotels make visiting Chicago exciting and enlivening. While corridors and rooms provide the function, public spaces create the experience. Hotel Cool Chicago builds the rooms to form a large, high public space and garden on the second level, creating fresh views of the surrounding city. Bringing an ever-changing cast of characters together in a dynamic, energetic gathering room will keep people returning.”

What do you guys think of it?

Proposed Hotel Cool Chicago

Proposed hotel near Wrigley Field done giving in to demanding neighbors! FINALLY!

I’m never a fan of NIMBY’s (Not In My Back Yard).  Personally, I have the mentality of a developer.  I’d rather have what I see as an improvement on current conditions than nothing at all.  I completely understand and am fully aware of the concerns from said neighbors but my opinion remains the same.

Wrigley hotel done shrinking

Planned complex across from ballpark downsized enough, developer says

October 12, 2009

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

Developers of a hotel, retail and residential complex across the street from Wrigley Field are apparently done compromising with area residents concerned about game-day congestion.

After shrinking the project considerably and lowering the height to below the Wrigley roofline, M&R Development has filed a zoning application that includes a 137-room Hyatt hotel, 135 residential units, 147,000 square feet of retail space and a 403-space underground parking garage at Addison and Clark.

“There are certain people in the neighborhood who think it hasn’t come down far enough and other people who are happy with it. There are some people you’re never gonna satisfy,” said managing partner Anthony Rossi.

“It’s probably about as far as we can go in reducing [the project] and still have it make economic sense. We’ve come down quite a bit with the size and mass. The height has been reduced dramatically. … With land and building costs, you can’t very well take a 137-room hotel and make it 50 rooms….”

Check out the full Sun Times article by clicking HERE!

Developer Sean Conlon proposes a 7 story River West apartment building!

Thanks again to Crain’s Chicago for this article about developer and real estate veteran Sean Conlon’s proposed apartment building in Chicago’s River West neighborhood, located at 1100 W. Grand Avenue.  This location used to house a gas station but after purchasing the property for $1.9M, the existing building and underground gas tanks have been removed.  This proposed rental building will include 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail and 59 parking spaces.  The amount of apartments is unknown at this point.

I’m pretty excited about this proposed building, not only because I live a couple blocks away but I truely believe this neighborhood has so much potential and Mr. Conlon is helping it reach that potential.  I would love to see a contemporary building with floor to ceiling windows which will take advantage of the amazing skyline view. 

Check out the full article by clicking HERE!

514 luxury apartments proposed for Crowne Plaza parking lot in the West Loop

At a time when barely anything is being proposed in Chicago, let alone the West Loop, this article coming from Gazette Chicago speaks about a 514 luxury apartment development planned for Crowne Plaza’sparking lot.  Included in the development, proposed by Skokie developer F&F Realty, Ltd., is 10,000 square feet of retail space fronting Halsted Street.  The parking lot is located at the Southeast corner of Halsted and Madison Streets.

This parking lot was just begging for something of this magnitude for such a long time.  Now, lets all say a prayer that the design will be good.

Check out the full Gazette Chicago article by clicking HERE!

Millennium Park Plaza expansion. Filling up a final piece of Millennium Park real estate.

When first proposed, I found that this building was called Millennium Park Plaza but unfortunately, that name is already taken by the building right behind this proposed residential building.  The address also says it is at 151 N. Michigan Avenue which is the address for the current building.  It wasn’t until I did a little more research and found out this building would be an addition to the 26 year old Millennium Park Plaza apartment building. 

According to this ChicagoRealEstateDaily article, the developers originally wanted 74 luxury apartments but the plan has now changed to more than double the original amount…now 185.  The building will also include retail on the first floor, a restaurant on the second and third floors as well as a winter garden and thirty foot tall terrace overlooking Millennium Park.  From the looks of it, the existing Millennium Park Plaza’s first few floors will also be reclad.

Does anyone have any updated information they can contribute?

Massive empty lots = massive potential for Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Streeterville!

Another picture taken from Onterie Center’s rooftop deck shows two massive lots that have been cleared of their old, historic buildings.  A previous post talked about what will take place on the empty lot to the left so check the post out by clicking HERE! 

The massive lot that is smack dab in the middle of this picture used to house the Lakeside Veterans Administration Hospital which was located at 333 E. Huron Street in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood.  The hospital closed in 2003 and just sat there surrounded by Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s state of the art buildings so what is Northwestern to do with this huge piece of potential?  The initial plans call for a parking garage…covering the whole city block…

Looking Northeast.

Looking Northwest.

New rental tower to replace a parking garage eyesore in the Loop. Score!

There’s not a lot of information going on about this proposed apartment tower, located at 171 N. Wabash Avenue, but what we do know is that it went to Chicago’s Plan Commission in August 2008 and was approved.  This rental tower is being developed by M&R Development LLC and will include up to 321 apartments in 44 stories.  Approximately 25,000 square feet of retail and office space will also be included in addition to 431 parking spots.  You’ll see in the pictures that the parking garage wraps around the neighboring building, MDA Chicago City Apartments, a very nice Village Green rental community. 

Anyone have further information?  It would be much appreciated!

Looking to the Southwest.

Looking to the Northeast from Wabash Avenue.

Five-star, 50 story, green hotel planned next to Sears Tower in the Loop!

Check out this article from the Sun Times.  The owners of the Sears Tower, soon to be known as Willis Tower, have rolled out plans for a 50 story, “net zero,” five-star, green hotel…wow, that’s a lot of adjectives?  Confused as to where this new hotel will be located?  There is a large plaza area right next to the Sears Tower and the new hotel will be located on the Northeast corner of Jackson and Wacker Drive on that plaza.   

By the looks of it, there will be a rather large landscaped plaza and retail area at the base of the hotel as well as green roofs at certain points higher up in the tower. 

Some are pretty skeptical about these plans due to the lack of things to do in this part of the Loop after 5pm as well as the lack of financing going towards new projects…let alone large projects.  Again, I could go on and on but I figure the actual article is a better read.