Another Chicago building gets a good cleaning. The Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue.

Wow, I’m naiive…and I guess stupid but why is it that I always think these buildings are supposed to be this dark and grimy color?  First it was the Old Colony building and now it’s the Fine Arts Building that is returning to its original splendor after a nice bath.  The Fine Arts Building, located at 410 S. Michigan Avenue across from Chicago’s Grant Park, has been going through the tedious process of cleaning the facade after decades of filth and grime soaked into the exterior stone.  Look at the pictures, especially the last one, and you’ll notice the change.  A big thanks goes to the ArchitectureChicago Plus website for the post and the photos!

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!

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

Trio in the Fulton River District and Mondial in River West likely to go rental soon.

Another Crain’s Chicago Business article about the most recent industry troubles.  Mostly because of very poor sales figures, two more condo buildings, Trio, located in the Fulton River District and Mondial, located in the River West neighborhood may go rental very soon.

2 downtown condo projects may switch to apartments

By: Alby Gallun Oct. 28, 2009

(Crain’s) — With the condominium market stuck in a funk, two more downtown condo developers are considering replacing “For Sale” signs with ones that say “For Rent.”

The Mondial, a 141-unit condo project in River West, and the 100-unit Trio high-rise under construction in the West Loop could go rental in the coming months, a switch that has become increasingly attractive in an overbuilt and cutthroat downtown condo market.

“We’re just trying to figure out how fast all the other guys who are dumping units will clear the marketplace,” says Jack Berger, the developer of the Mondial, a nearly finished 15-story building at 900 W. Huron Street.

Mr. Berger says he recently canceled about 50 purchase contracts for condos in the project and gave the buyers their deposits back. Yet he hasn’t given up completely on condos, saying he expects to make a final decision by the end of the year on whether to switch over to apartments.

“Do you think someone who has a contract for a $450,000 unit that they signed two years ago is going to close?” Mr. Berger asks. “They aren’t going to close, so why alienate the marketplace? We have to do the responsible thing.”

Many condo buyers nowadays can’t get a loan to finance a new condo purchase, one reason downtown developers are sitting on so many unsold units. Switching to apartments could make sense for projects close to completion, allowing developers to trade a risky condo market for a more stable, albeit still sluggish, downtown rental market….

To read the full Crain’s article, click HERE!

So the Chicago Post Office sale is finalized? Alright, I’ll go with it.

Old Main Post Office sold to original winner.

By Andrew Schroedter, Oct. 21, 2009

(Crain’s) — English developer Bill Davies has completed his acquisition of Chicago’s Old Main Post Office, roughly two months after he agreed to pay $40 million for the property at auction.

Sources say Mr. Davies renegotiated a lower price for the nearly 3-million-square-foot structure that straddles Congress Parkway downtown at 433 W. Van Buren St. But that new amount could not be determined.

The deal closed today.

“We are excited that this historic landmark now enters the redevelopment phase, and we look forward to seeing it contribute to the growth and vitality of downtown Chicago after many years of vacancy,” Tom Samra, the Postal Service’s vice-president of facilities, said in a statement. “We wish the new owners of this property the best of luck in their efforts….”

Check out the full Chicago Real Estate Daily article by clicking HERE!

GREEN ROOF ALERT! Lush gardens on top of Chicago’s City Hall!

This green roof on top of Chicago’s City Hall has got to be the baby of Mayor Daley’s green roofing binge…and I’m glad he made this his first major one because it turned out great.  Started in 2000, the City Hall rooftop garden was started as  part of the Chicago’s Urban Heat Island Initiative which tests the benefits of green roofs and how they affect air temperature and air quality.  The green roof has around 20,000 plants and 100 species which were selected because of their ability to survive on top of an 11 story building in the middle of Chicago.

According to the City of Chicago website:  “The City Hall rooftop garden improves air quality, helps conserve energy, reduces stormwater runoff and helps lessen the urban heat island effect.  The plants reflect heat, provide shade and help cool the surrounding air through evapotranspiration, which occurs when plants secrete or “transpire” water through pores in their leaves.  The water draws heat as it evaporates, cooling the air in the process.  Plants also filter the air, which improves air quality by using excess carbon dioxide to produce oxygen.”

The green roof also replaced the traditional black tar roof with green plants, plants that absorb much less heat from the sun than the tar roof would.  This keeps the building cooler in summer which means less energy for air conditioning.  The roof can also retain 75% of a 1 inch rainfall before stormwater runs off into the sewers.

Unfortunately, the City Hall green roof isn’t open for public tours but if you’re lucky enough to work in neighboring buildings, that’s probably your best bet of seeing the roof.  If you want to view the garden from the Department Of Environment’s offices, contact Larry Merritt at (312) 744-5716 for an appointment.

What do you all think of it?

Photo courtesy of World Business Chicago

Old being turned into new in the West Loop’s Igoe Building.

I just read from Skyscraperpage‘s ‘spyguy’ that the Igoe Building, located at 600 W. Van Buren Street in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, is being renovated…but for office or residential?!  When researching the background of the name, either the Igoe Building was named after a printer or was named after James T. Igoe, a former U.S. representative who was as Chicago’s city clerk from 1917 – 1923 and was later chairman of the executive committee of Chicago.  For the past year, whenever I’ve gone past this building, I’ve thought the the Igoe Building would make a great loft condo building because of the massive windows but we’ll see.  The 285,900 square foot former industrial turned loft office building already has a Panera Bread opening up on the ground floor.

Plans for a fully renovated Igoe Building.

Current look of the Igoe Building.

GREEN ROOF ALERT in Chicago’s Theatre District! Joffrey Tower!

When walking on State Street, in downtown Chicago, I have seen the trees that peek above the roof line of Joffrey Tower, located at 151 N State Street.  At the base of the condo building, formally known as MoMo, is retail space and the home of the Joffrey Ballet.  Above the base is a major opening that flows straight through Joffrey Tower and as you can see from the picture below, an awesome green roof.

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!