New Businesses Popping Up? A couple...

It's nasty out there and we're not talking about the weather (well today the weather was pretty bad). Anyway, the current economic situation is putting a strain on almost everybody. However, a couple of new businesses have sprung up in the sloop recently:

Elements of Style Boutique is located just north of Roosevelt on Wabash (1130 S. Wabash). According to their website, the focus on 'high-quality women's apparel and accessories'. We haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but plan to soon.

The Art of Modern Dentistry is located at 1339 S. Michigan. Again, we haven't been inside yet, but judging from the finishes we can see through the windows, it looks pretty amazing. Flat screen TVs, exposed brick walls, beautiful finishes and trendy glass work decorate the waiting room, so we can only imagine what the actual rooms look like.

Finally, all of the recently completed high rises on Michigan avenue seem to be having some trouble filling their retail space. The exception seems to be the high rise on the northeast corner of Michigan and 14th (100 E. 14th Street). They now have two of their five retail spaces filled with the recent openings of Art of Modern Dentistry and Homemade Pizza Co. The space between these two businesses is also showing some signs of life as the walls are being painted and carpet is being laid (However we're unsure if this is for a specific business or just basic touch ups to appeal to potential businesses). Regardless, this building seems to be doing better in regards to retail development then any of the others on Michigan Avenue.

To be specific, there seems to be no signs of retail life at Michigan Avenue Tower II (14oo S. Michigan), Marquee (1464 S. Michigan) or 1720 S. Michigan, all of which are high rises that have delivered units this past year. There are numerous other retail vacancies around the South Loop, so when/if the economy turns it will be interesting to watch how these spots develop.