There has been a lot of recent press about the success of downtown colleges in the Loop and South Loop. As a result it's not surprising to see many of these organizations continuing their expansions in the area.Last year we got word of Columbia College's proposed Media Production Center at the corner of State and 16th. The construction is officially underway:
The official groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for early 2009, possibly in February if weather permits, Micki Leventhal, director of Media Relations, said. The building is slated to be finished by spring 2010.The building will provide some new facilities for the school and their students:
The Film, Television and Interactive Arts and Media departments will all be working together in the new space. The building will include two sound stages and a motion capture studio.Here is a picture of the construction progress from a High rise in the South Loop:
(Hat Tip for the picture: Ryan L)(Image from MICKI LEVENTHAL)
That would be fantastic for the area. There is room for in-fill development on State street. I'm just relieved it's not another condo building. I've heard that Columbia is slowly acquiring more and more property in the south loop with the goal of sprinkling buildings in the area. Kind of like what NYU did in the early 1990's when NY real estate was in the crapper.
ReplyDeleteIf this gets built, I can actually see even more of a push for a Green line stop at 18th Street to get students to the new buildings in the area.
It's under construction, so it looks like it's going to be built. It's not a condo building (so it's not like they are going to run out of money, or at least we would assume not).
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to see the area evolve into a neighborhood of diverse higher learning (ala NYU). With the city willing to sell the land for such a deep discount ($200K vs $3,200K) it would be stupid for Columbia or any other college not to expand.
Response to Me:
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you have against condo buildings.
Who is going to walk on all those half-empty sidewalks and patronize local businesses if there aren't more people living in the neighborhood?
Leave the NIMBYism in the suburbs, where it belongs.
I don't have a problem with condo buildings. I have a problem with empty condo buildings and the massive glut of inventory. Colleges like Columbia have played a big role spurring the development of the area.
ReplyDelete